2. Introduction
Just “google” childhood obesity and 1.3 million results pop up. According to the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent (over 9 million)children ages 6-19 years
old are overweight or obese—a number that has tripled since 1980.(1) Youfa Wang, an
assistant professor in the Bloomberg School's Department of International Health states,
"If the rate of obesity and overweight continues at this pace, by 2015, 75 percent of
adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or
obese."(2) This is a staggering statistic. We already know that children who are
overweight face serious physical and emotional issues. How can we prevent this
doomsday prediction for our future generation? The information in this eBook will
guide you and your family to living a more healthy lifestyle and avoid becoming a
statistic.
3. There is one way to change the pattern of childhood obesity that stands out among all
the rest. It is a lifestyle change. Sound simple? It is not. It is a multifaceted ideal that
includes: healthy eating, exercise, psychological support and consistency. It requires the
family to change habits, sometimes very deep-seated habits. Parent modeling is the only
way the lifestyle change can happen. It has to be a family decision or it will not work.
We all know that healthy eating is important. Choosing healthy foods is not easy. But it
is possible with the proper information and the inner strength to stick to it. You, as the
parent, are the gatekeeper of your food pantry. No one is making you buy that 2 liter
bottle of soda. Whether you buy it because of habit, emotional reasons or price, none of
them are important enough to risk your family's health. There are healthy alternatives.
First, you have to learn how to read nutrition labels. It is not hard. You can do this! Here
is a great site to help you. Search for “Buy Better Groceries” on google. Click on the site
under Washington Post. Another tip is not to take the children grocery shopping, it can
lead to impulse buying and non-healthy choices. If you have to take them, be firm that
you are only buying from the list. Maybe let them pick out some fruit. Remember you
are the gatekeeper!
Second, make a menu each week using healthy choices and shop for your food ahead of
time. Stick to your menu! Let your child help choose a healthy recipe you both find
online. There are tons! It doesn't have to be tofu, there are very tasty dishes out there that
are healthy. You can even let older children help prepare the meal or younger children,
with your assistance. Don't be discouraged if your child does not like certain foods at
first. In many cases, it can take several times for them to eat something new. If no one in
the family likes it, then perhaps you need a new recipe. Make sure your child eats
breakfast everyday. Skipping breakfast can leave your child hungry, tired, and looking
for less healthy foods later in the day.(3) Monitoring healthy lunches while at school can
be challenging but not impossible. Packing your child his/her lunch and monitoring what
they eat for school lunch will help. At my son's school, we pay for his lunch online and
are able to monitor his choices because the school posts each item and the breakdown of
the cost. He also knows he can only have pizza once a week. The rest of the week he has
to make healthy choices that we have discussed with him.
Next, start to replace those high fat, high sugar food and drink items with healthier
choices. For example, instead of soda, choose real fruit juices and buy low-fat or 2%
milk. Frozen juices are cheaper than prepackaged ones. Cut way back on cookies, candy,
chips and non-healthy snack foods. You don't have to overly restrict sweets or treats.
Eating fast food once in awhile is okay too. When you do, help your child to make
healthy choices. Perhaps ordering the chocolate milk instead of the soda and apples
instead of french fries. Please praise them when they do. Children love to be praised by
their parents and it reinforces that behavior.
4. Most importantly, do not use food as a punishment or reward. Children can quickly start
to associate food with things other than hunger. This is a behavior that is very difficult to
reverse once it is learned. As I am sure many adults can relate to. On a more serious
note, it can also lead to serious disorders such as anorexia or bulimia. Teaching your
child about proper nutrition will last them a lifetime. It is what they will teach their
children, your grandchildren and so on. Make some goals for you and your family to
achieve. For example, in one month we will completely change the way we shop and
choose healthy foods. Make the goals realistic and achievable. Weight loss should come
gradually. Never start your child on a diet without first consulting with your family
physician.
Eating healthy must always accompany physical activity in order to lose weight. Getting
your child to change their behavior to become more active can be difficult. However,
there are ways to accomplish this. Younger children are easier to engage in activity if
prompted by the parent. However, older children today spend way too much time
watching tv, playing video games, texting and talking on the phone. This sedentary
behavior must be limited to two hours per day. The National Institute of Diabetes and
Digestive and Kidney Disease(NIDDK) has a great website with information on how to
help your overweight child. It is recommended that kids need about 60 minutes of
physical activity a day, but this does not have to happen all at once. Several short 10 or
even 5 minute periods of activity throughout the day are just as good. If your children
are not used to being active, encourage them to start with what they can do and build up
to 60 minutes a day.(4) Some of the activities can include: bike riding, swimming, roller
skating, bouncing a ball, dancing, climbing on the jungle gym, playing catch, hopscotch
or jumping rope. There are many more physical activities. Out of ideas? There are
hundreds of ideas on the internet.
Taking the time to do any of these activities with your child will show them that you are
also committed to living a healthy lifestyle. It is also time you can spend communicating
with your child and offering love and support. Sometimes we get so busy with our daily
lives that we often don't spend enough time with our children. This is a great way to
spend time with them and get your exercise. It also reduces stress. Thinking about
buying your child a video game system? Choosing a system that is interactive and
includes baseball, skateboarding, snowboarding or other physical sports can get you and
your child off the couch. Encourage them to get up and move around when watching tv
or playing video games. Discourage snacking or at the very least, provide a healthy
snack when watching tv. Be creative in finding physical activity to do as a family. For
teens, shopping at the mall is always fun. Think about all the calories you will burn
walking around!
