Take a look around you and you will notice that fewer and fewer children today appear to be physically fit. We can blame it on a lot of things like fast food, junk food, more time in front of the t.v., lack of participation in sports, the list could go on. Regardless of the cause, it is important to understand that there is a solution..
Children naturally have a higher metabolism than adults. They need more calories than we do so that they can grow. However, (just like in adults) too many calories combined with too little physical activity leads to increased fat storage which in turn can lead to a lifetime of health problems. Why set our children up for failure? Teaching them how to live a healthy life NOW is just as important as teaching them how to read or how to save money. Who wouldn't want to set their kids up for a lifetime of success? The habits you teach your children now will carry over into adulthood.
So where do you start?
Exercise together as a family. Go on family walks, swim, play kickball, play basketball, go rollerblading or ride your bikes at the park. Pick something active that you like to do together and do it. Make exercise something fun and something to look forward to!
Make healthier food choices. This is a hard one. Most of the time, foods that you think are healthy (or that are marketed to you as healthy) are NOT healthy at all. Healthy to me means natural, whole foods. If you can grow it or pick it, its healthy. If it comes in a prepackaged box with a list of ingredients you can hardly pronounce (AKA "processed" foods), then avoid it as much as you can. Stick to foods with minimal ingredients that are fresh like fruit, vegetables, low fat dairy, lean meats, nuts, eggs, and whole wheat breads! Stay far away from ingredients like bleached, enriched, high fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated oils, etc.
Why are processed foods so bad? Well for one, you don't get as full when you eat them. You therefore can eat more and more and more of them before you ever come close to feeling full. Remember what i said before? Too many calories leads to increased fat storage? Not getting full on foods that already contain a lot of calories means you will still be hungry and looking for more foods which in turn means consuming even more calories, etc. You get the picture. Eat one apple and a piece of string cheese and you will walk away more satisfied (with less calories and for a longer period of time) than if you ate that sleeve of oreos.
Teach your children why exercise is important. If they know why they are doing it, they might be more likely to do it. Read books on the subject, look up information online, subscribe to prevention magazine and read articles together. Do a research paper as a family on type II diabetes, hypertension, heart disease....well maybe that's stretching it....but you would be surprised at what you would learn and what they will retain!
Provide healthier snack Items. You think your children won't eat them, but they will. They will not let themselves starve. If the only options available in the house are fruits, veggies, whole grains, low fat dairy, etc., then they are more likely to reach for those items. Better yet, put the choices out on the table and let them pick what they want. Here is an example: cut up different types of fruit and let them dip them into lowfat vanilla yogurt, bake whole wheat pita chips and let them dip them into bean dip, cut up veggies and serve them with low fat dips, natural peanut butter, or hummus. There are plenty of websites and cookbooks out there with great suggestions for healthy snacks.
I could go on and on. But I won't :). What I do know is that there are a lot of obesity related diseases out there that CAN be prevented. Get your kids on the right path now and give them the tools to be successful at taking care of the one thing that is most important......their body!
