Helping Children Make Healthy Food Choices
I’ve written several posts on the problems of childhood obesity. Not only are the number of overweight children on the rise, but even more troubling, is the increase of adult diseases these children are developing. Obese children are developing life threatening conditions like diabetes and high blood pressure at an alarming rate. What kind of life expectancy are these kids going to have? In my own experience, I never had high blood pressure until my thirties, but in less than ten years, my high blood pressure has damaged three of the valves in my heart. If this could happen to me in such a short period of time; I can’t even imagine what the long-term effects of high blood pressure will be on obese children. And I don’t think we can afford to wait to find out.
But what can we do?
In the long run, I think it’s going to take both individual changes as well as policy changes to make a real difference in childhood obesity. And I think banning trans fats in prepared foods is a good place to start. But until then – Parents need to know what foods are highest in trans-fat and then avoid them as much as possible.
From A Life Less Sweet – Trans Fat: What is it and why you DON’T want to eat it…
In a nutshell, trans fat is an issue because it is associated with all kinds of health problems. Trans fat can wreak havoc on your cholesterol levels – increasing your LDL (the “bad” cholesterol) and decreasing your HDL (the “good” cholesterol). A high LDL is a major risk factor for heart disease. HDL picks up excess cholesterol and takes it back to the liver, so higher HDL is a good thing.
Trans fat also increases triglycerides and causes more inflammation. Triglycerides are another kind of fat that may contribute to hardening or thickening of artery walls. Trans fat consumption is associated with an increased risk of stroke and type-2 diabetes.
Here are two links that can help you avoid trans-fats…
So…What if you’re the parent of an overweight child? Do we start putting our kids on diets?
NO!
No diets. Diets don’t even work for adults, and it’s crazy to think that starting a child on a diet would be helpful. The best thing we can do for our kids is to teach them how to make healthy food choices. The best way to do that, is to be a positive role model to our children. When our children see us making healthy lifestyle changes, they learn from us. Here are two links to posts I have done on healthy eating that might help you get started…
Another great resource for parents is a new book called Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right.
From Kelly at Basil and Spice…
Why the colored traffic lights? Kids relate to visual aids. The green, yellow, and red light association with various types of foods, helps them to remember how much to eat and when. For example, a red light food like pepperoni pizza should really be considered a special treat and only eaten no more than twice a week. Dr. Dolgoff also has Free Fuel foods–those which are unlimited–fresh fruits and vegetables.
I really like how this book is set up. It’s easy to understand, has great tips and recipes, and gives parents a lot of practical advice that can benefit the whole family.
But in a bad economy, many parents may have trouble affording healthier foods. I think I have a couple of ideas for that too. Here are a few things I do to help keep the costs of healthy foods down…
1. When possible, plan your menus a week ahead of time. What days will you have time to cook? What will you cook? Even plan for days you might need to do take-out (some fast food choices are better than others).
2. Make a shopping list. Write a detailed list of what you’ll need to make your healthy recipes. And when you go to the store – only buy what’s on the list (that’s the hard part for me).
3. Check your local supermarket ads. Since I’m on the computer all the time anyway, I do this online. Every supermarket has a website, and they all post their sale flyers. You can really save a lot of money if you shop at the stores that have the best sales on the items you need.
4. Use coupons. I have to admit, I rarely use coupons (aside from the ones at the supermarket)…But they are a great way to save money on groceries.
Do you have any tips for saving money on healthy foods at the supermarket?
Here are more links and posts on childhood obesity that you might be interested in.
Statistics from the CDC on how many obese children will become obese adults…
Obese children and adolescents are more likely to become obese as adults. For example, one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Another study found that 25% of obese adults were overweight as children. The latter study also found that if overweight begins before 8 years of age, obesity in adulthood is likely to be more severe.
More information and statistics on childhood obesity can be found on the CDC website.
From Super Healthy Kids…
The American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation joined forces in May of 2005 to create a healthier generation by addressing one of the nation’s leading public health threats – childhood obesity. The goal of the Alliance is to reduce the nationwide prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015, and to empower kids nationwide to make healthy lifestyle choices. The Alliance works to positively affect the places that can make a difference to a child’s health: homes, schools, restaurants, doctor’s offices and communities. For more information please visit: HealthierGeneration.org.
From Celebrity Baby Scoop – Jamie Oliver Fights Childhood Obesity…
In addition to his popular TV shows and cookbooks, Jamie launched the School Dinners/Feed Me Better campaign and Fifteen Foundation chef apprenticeship program in the UK. His new show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution USA, is set to air on ABC in 2010.
From Big Fat Deal – Awesome Childhood Obesity Guidelines…
These guidelines make sense, and I love the emphasis on not stigmatizing kids or making them feel fat is shameful. I hope parents and educators and OMG CHILDHOOD OBESITY crisis experts are listening. If these guidelines become the norm, we could really start to break the cycle of self-loathing and fat hate—and have physically and mentally healthier kids in the process.
Also See:
- How Obesity Policies Are Failing In America
- Childhood Obesity: Why Are More Poor Children Overweight?
- Childhood Obesity, Type 2 Diabetes and Prevention
- Childhood Obesity: Should We Give Children Cholesterol Lowering Medication
- The High Cost of Cheap Food and How Debt is Making Us Fat
Comment from Kelly Jad’on
Time: January 18, 2010, 8:18 am
Catherine,
Nice blog! Thanks very much for the consideration of the link. Dr. Joanna Dolgoff’s “Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right!” book is an excellent resource for teaching parents how to emphasis nutrition with their children.