Posts Tagged ‘parents’
Thursday, August 4th, 2011
The U.S. National Library of Medicine estimates that at least one out of five children in the U.S. is overweight. There are several reasons why parents need be concerned over an overweight or obese child. Obese children and adolescents have shown an alarming increase in the incidence of type 2 diabetes, also known as adult-onset diabetes. Many obese children have high cholesterol and blood pressure levels, which are risk factors for heart disease. One of the most severe problems for obese children is sleep apnea (interrupted breathing while sleeping). In some cases this can lead to problems with learning and memory. In addition, obese children have a high incidence of orthopedic problems, liver disease, and asthma.
How to determine if your child is overweight or obese:
A doctor is the best person to determine whether your child has a weight problem. Doctors will measure your child’s weight, height, age and growth patterns to determine if his or her weight is within a healthy range. Based on your child’s height and weight, they will calculate a body mass index (BMI). If your child’s BMI is greater than 95 percent of children their age and gender, they are considered to be overweight.
Why children become overweight:
Genetic factors: Children become overweight for a variety of reasons. The most common causes are genetic factors, lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of these factors. In rare cases, a medical problem, such as an endocrine disorder, may cause a child to become overweight. A careful physical exam and some blood tests will determine if your child is overweight due to this type of problem.
Children whose parents or brothers or sisters are overweight may be at an increased risk of becoming overweight themselves. However, not all children with a family history of obesity will be overweight. Genetic factors play a role in increasing the likelihood that a child will be overweight, but shared family behaviors such as eating and activity habits also greatly influence body weight.
Lifestyle: A child’s total diet and his or her activity level both play an important role in determining a child’s weight. The average American child spends approximately 24 hours each week watching television – time that could be spent in some sort of physical activity.
What parents can do to help:
Be supportive: Overweight children need support, acceptance, and encouragement from their parents. Children’s feelings about themselves often are based on their parents’ feelings about them. It is also important to talk to your children about weight, allowing them to share their concerns with you.
Don’t use food as a punishment or reward: Withholding food as a punishment may lead children to worry that they will not get enough food which may result in overeating. When foods, such as sweets, are used as a reward, children may assume that these foods are better or more valuable than other foods. For example, telling children that they will get dessert if they eat all of their vegetables sends the wrong message about vegetables.
Set a good example: Children are good learners, and they learn best by example. Set a good example for your kids by eating a variety of foods and being physically active. Involve children in food shopping and preparing. Children may be more willing to eat or try foods that they help prepare.
Teach healthy habits: Teaching healthy eating practices early will help children approach eating with the right attitude: Food should be enjoyed and is necessary for growth, development, and for energy to keep the body running. Guide their choices rather than dictate foods. This will help your children learn how to make healthy food choices. Encourage your child to eat slowly. A child can detect hunger and fullness better when eating slowly.
Cut down on fat: Reducing fat is a good way to cut calories without depriving your child of nutrients. Simple ways to cut the fat in your family’s diet include eating lowfat or nonfat dairy products, poultry without skin and lean meats, and low-fat or fat-free breads and cereals. By the time the child is about 5 years old, you should gradually adopt a diet that contains no more than 30 percent of calories from fat.
Healthy snacking: You should make snacks as nutritious as possible, without depriving your child of occasional chips or cookies, especially at parties or other social events. Healthy snacks include: applesauce, carrot sticks with hummus, peanut butter on apples, yogurt, dried fruit, fruit juice popsicles, low fat cheese, etc.
Increase your physical activity: Regular physical activity, combined with healthy eating habits, is the most efficient and healthful way to control your weight. Some simple ways to increase your family’s physical activity include the following: Plan family activities like walking, dancing, biking, or swimming. For example, schedule a walk with your family after dinner instead of watching TV or playing video games. Overweight children may feel uncomfortable about participating in certain activities so it is important to help your child find physical activities that they enjoy and that aren’t embarrassing or too difficult.
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Wednesday, April 13th, 2011
Making exercise a priority is a challenge for everyone. For parents it can be difficult to find time to workout because of the full plates that they often juggle, whereas for many kids, biking to the playground and playing kickball in the backyard have given way to watching television, playing video games and spending hours online.
Wonder how much physical activity is enough? Consider these guidelines from the Department of Health and Human Services:
- Kids. Children and adolescents age 6 and older need at least an hour a day of physical activity. Most of the hour should be either moderate or vigorous aerobic activity. In addition, children should participate in muscle-strengthening and bone-strengthening activities at least three days a week.
- Adults. Most healthy adults need at least 150 minutes a week of moderate aerobic activity, such as brisk walking or swimming, or 75 minutes a week of vigorous aerobic activity, such as running — preferably spread throughout the week. Adults also need strength training exercises at least twice a week.
The big question is how to make physical activity a priority that fits into your busy schedules. Well, it’s actually easier than you may think. With a little planning you can find ways to incorporate physical activity into the time you spend with your children. Here are some tips to help you and your kids to get moving!
First and Foremost, Set a good example
A parent’s active lifestyle can be a powerful stimulus to their child. Therefore, if you want an active child, be active yourself. For example, relive recess and invite your family to play catch or join you on a walk. Be sure to talk about physical activity as an opportunity to take care of your body, rather than a punishment or a chore.
Limit Screen Time
A surefire way to increase you and your child’s activity level is to limit the number of hours spent in front of a screen — including television, video games and online activities. If your child plays video games, opt for those that require movement and join in on the game. Wii and X Box 360 Kinect have fun, action packed games for the entire family, such as, Wii Sports Resort, Family Party: Fitness Fun, Kinect Sports, and Just Dance.
Establish a routine
Set aside time each day for physical activity. Get up early with your child to walk the dog, take a walk together after dinner, or make Saturdays or Sundays family bike outing or rollerblading day. Start small, gradually adding new activities to the routine as you — and your child — become more fit.
Promote Activity, Not Exercise
To keep your child interested in physical activity, make it fun:
- Get in the game. Play catch, get the whole family involved in a game of tag or have a jump-rope contest. Try classic movement games such as Simon Says or Red Light, Green Light (my personal preference!).
- Try an activity party. For your child’s next birthday, schedule a bowling party, take the kids to a climbing wall or set up relay races outside.
- Give the gift of activity. Offer activity-related equipment, games or outings as gifts and rewards — both for your child and others.
- Make A Splash- For pool outings, don’t just spend time soaking up the sun. Walk back and forth in shallow water while your kids have fun splashing about or challenge your kids to a race across the pool.
- Shop it off – Your teens will love this idea, plus you’ll torch approximately 11 calories for every outfit you try on.
- Do the Dirty Work- Have your kids help you clean the yard, wash your car, or go grocery shopping. It will lessen your workload while also getting the kids off the couch and into good habits!
Exercise along with a balanced diet provides the foundation for a healthy, active life. One of the most important things parents can do is encourage healthy habits in their children early on in life. It is never too late to start getting fit fast!
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Monday, April 4th, 2011
While they might not realize it, parents play a huge role in their children’s eating and exercise habits. Kids are still spending most of their time at home and eating most meals at home. Parents buy and prepare food, and decide what and how much kids can eat. They are responsible for providing opportunities for children to be active and can set rules for TV and video game use.
With obesity increasingly becoming a critical medical problem in children, parents need to step up to the plate. In the United States, a whopping 17 percent of children and adolescents aged 2 to 19 years are obese, as per the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, but mom and dad, don’t fret.
According to a study recently published in medical journal Pediatrics, diet and exercise programs with parental involvement, parent and child centered program, are the best way to help kids stay trim and fit.
The study involved 165 overweight children between ages 6 to 10 years old, who were randomly assigned to one of three interventions: a diet program taught to parents by dietitians that focused on goal setting, problem solving and positive reinforcement from parents; an activity program for kids taught by physical education teachers, with parents taking part early on and encouraged to do more at home with their kids; and a combination of the two programs, with parents and children both participating.
Children in all three groups reduced their body mass index and waist circumference after two years, with the diet program and the combination program yielding better results than the activity program.
Therefore, parents’ input might actually be necessary to see results. They can be trained to be effective agents of change where management of obesity in children is concerned. After the study, parents reported feeling more comfortable saying “no” to their children’s demands, setting limits on the type of food the children could eat, limiting the amount of time they spent watching TV or playing video games, and establishing consequences for breaking the rules.
This study shows that interventions that target parents alone may be an effective and non-stigmatizing strategy for achieving effective weight loss in obese children. Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right’s child and parent centered program utilizes this strategy, and enables parents and children to make the right food choices and have fun eating healthy, wholesome meals. Power to the parents, you can do it!
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Wednesday, June 10th, 2009
Advertisers work hard to earn their money. They can take any food and make it sound nutritious. Very few laws protect the consumer from advertisers’ half-truths. It is up to us to learn how to tell what it a valid claim and what is just hype. How can you wade through the misleading information to find the truth? Easy… just look at the nutrition label and the ingredient list! The nutrition label and the ingredient list have all the information that you need to determine whether a food is healthy.
Last night was a perfect example. My kids and I were at my girlfriend’s house for dinner. She was telling me about this healthy snack she had found for her daughter. “And the best part is that she loves it!” my friend raved. She then showed me a package of Sunmaid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins. “They are raisins covered in yogurt so she’s getting fruit and milk.”
Here is how Sunmaid describes this product:
Sun-Maid starts with only the best, 100% natural raisins from sunny California. Then we cover them with a creamy, vanilla yogurt coating to create our delicious, convenient Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins.
They are the perfect high-energy snack food for people who are on-the-go. They also help you meet the 5-to-9 daily fruit and vegetable servings recommended by nutrition experts. Packed into the zip-close bag, Sun-Maid Vanilla Yogurt Raisins are easy to use in your party mix or cookie recipes or to pass around as a snack.
Sounds healthy, right? Then I looked at the nutrition label.
1 small package (about 25 pieces) of this “healthy snack” has 120 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 4 GRAMS OF SATURATED FAT.
That is a ton of saturated fat (the bad fat). I particularly dislike the claim that they help you meet your fruit and vegetable servings.
Looking further down the label, I noticed that the product contains 2% RDA Vitamin C, 0% RDA Vitamin A, and 4%RDA Calcium.
I certainly would not consider this a serving of fruit or vegetables. And despite the “yogurt” covering the raisins, there is very little calcium. I decided to inspect it further and turned to the ingredient list.
Ingredients:
Natural California Raisins, Yogurt Coating (Sugar, Partially Hydrogenated palm kernel Oil, Nonfat Milk Powder, Nonfat Yogurt Powder, Whey, Titanium Dioxide, Soy Lecithin, Vanilla), Confectioners Glaze, Corn Syrup, Dextrin, and Maltodextrin.
It seems that the raisins are not covered in yogurt but in a “yogurt coating” made mostly of sugar and partially hydrogenated oil (which is a trans fat- the WORST type of fat you can have). So while the raisins may be natural, the yogurt coating certainly isn’t.
Needless to say, my friend was dismayed to learn that this healthy snack was in no way healthy. “I should have looked more closely,” she said. I replied, “I bet raisinets are healthier than these yogurt raisins.” For fun, we went online to look.
The same serving size of raisinets has about the same calories (raisinets 118, yogurt raisins 120), slightly more fat (raisinets 4.8 grams, yogurt raisins 4.5 grams) but SIGNIFICANTLY LESS SATURATED FAT (raisinets 3.1 grams, yogurt raisins 4 grams).
The ingredient list for raisinets:
Milk Chocolate (sugar, chocolate, cocoa butter, milk, lactose, milkfat, soy lecithin, vanillin – an artificial flavor, natural flavor), Raisins, Sugar, Tapioca Dextrin, Cocoa Processed with Alkali, Confectioner’s Glaze.
Instead of an artifiical yogurt coating, at least raisinets are made with real milk chocolate. Now, I am not saying raisinets are good for you. But at least when you are giving your children raisinets to eat, you aren’t fooled into thinking they are healthy. Shame on Sunmaid for misleading parents into thinking their yogurt raisins are healthy.
This is a great example of how you can’t trust a product’s claims and must turn to the nutrition label for the truth. Don’t let yourself be misled! Always get the facts before serving a new food to your children!
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Thursday, May 7th, 2009
A new study suggests that there may be a link between child obesity and allergies. The findings, published in the May issue of the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, indicate that controlling your child’s weight may prevent her risk of developing allergies.
The researchers analyzed data on 4,000 children and young adults ages 2 to19 from a new national dataset designed to obtain information about allergies and asthma. Obese children and teens in the study were significantly more likely to have an allergy to something, especially a food allergy. Obese children were 26 percent more likely to have allergies than normal-weight children. The increased risk of food allergies was even higher. The rate of food allergies was 59 percent higher in obese children.
While the study found a link between obesity and allergies, it did not necessary prove that obesity CAUSES allergies. More research is needed to make that determination.
“Given that the prevalence of both obesity and allergic disease has increased among children over the last several decades, it is important to understand and, if possible, prevent these epidemics,” said Cynthia M. Visness, Ph.D., lead author on the paper and a scientist at Rho Federal Systems Division, Inc. in Chapel Hill, N.C.
Hopefully this new study will give parents of obese children an additional reason to start their kids on a weight loss program.
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