• One study has found that kids who are obese are showing signs of heart disease.  We know that young children who are overweight or obese may have high cholesterol levels.  But in this study, it found that kids as young as 10 had the arteries of a 45 year old.  How scary is that!?  This study was done on 70 children so more data is needed

• Another study found a correlation that overweight kids and an enlarged left atrium (the heart’s main pumping chamber).  Enlarged left atrium is a risk factor for stroke and other heart conditions.

• A third study reported at the AHA conference showed that overweight children may have an impariment in the heart’s ability to relax between beats.  This is comparable to arterial stiffness of a 30-40 year old.

I share with you these studies because the data is piling up on how really, really serious the lifelong effects of being overweight or obese as a child can be.  We are talking about serious quality of life changes for our children.But we can do something about it.  We can make a difference by starting to change the child’s habits now, and it starts with the whole family making a family commitment towards health.  Don’t single out the child to make changes, the whole family needs to work together, afterall, where did they learn their habits from?

• Don’t change everything all at once.
• Just take one goal at a time.
• Use our free agreements to sit down and discuss the family goals and all sign and commit to working on that one healthy habit change
• Use our free tracking sheets to track it.  Our sheets are colorful and fun and appealing to children.
• Reward and celebrate small successes
• And yes, you know what I am going to say,  Be patient and keep it fun!
• Remember, every small change adds up to making a healthier child

Arizona  12.20% Arkansas  16.40%  

 District of Columbia   22.80%    Florida  14.40% 
Georgia  16.40%  Hawaii   13.30%

Indiana   15.60%     Iowa   12.50%

Louisiana  17.20% Maine   12.70%

Michigan  14.50%   Minnesota  10.10%  

  Montana  11.10%   Nebraska  11.90%

 New Jersey  13.70% New Mexico  16.80%  

North Dakota   12.10%   Ohio   14.20%

 Pennsylvania    13.30%  Rhode Island   11.90%

  Tennessee   20.00% Texas   19.10%

Virginia   13.80%   Washington 10.80%

 Wyoming   8.70%
Resources:
 BMI Calculator Tool- Check your child’s Body Mass Index (BMI)
Family Nutrition Tools and Tips - Free Interactive nutrition Tools
Online nutrition games for kids- Nourish Interactive’s nutrition games.

Holiday shopping with the kids can sabotage your good intentions just as much as party food.  Make sure you and the children have a healthy snack or a light meal before you hit the mall.  Eating before you shop can help avoide the food court.

• I’m Already Doing It:  These are people  who feel that maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise are very important; are concerned about diet, nutrition and overall fitness; and feel they are doing all they can to eat a healthy diet.

• I Know I Should: These are people who feel that maintaining a healthy diet and regular exercise are very important, but may not have taken significant actions to do all they can to eat a healthy diet.

• Don’t Bother Me: People who do not feel diet and exercise are very important to them and are the least concerned with their overall nutrition and fitness.

The “Don’t Bother Me” category (this is not your category because you would not be reading my blog if it was!) was at 32% in 2002 and is now at 19% in 2008.  A significant drop!  This is the first time that this group is less than 1/3 of the population.  It was as high as 40% back in the mid 90’s.

So what category is your family in, have you taken the leap to “We are already doing it”  or  has your family not quite begun yet.  Remember, you do not have to change everything all at once.  Small changes add up to a healthier family.  Being healthy does not mean “Never, ever can you eat…(whatever that is for you), it really means just not all the time, some foods are great once in a while.

If you need a jump start on goals to set for your family, we have many goals and tracking sheets that are focused on just one healthy change at a time.  And please, keep it simple and keep it fun.  Be patient and reward small changes with fun family activities.

To read more about the report, click here.

But how about if the schools let the kids come up with a list of healthy activities and created short skits about it.  Then they could perform their skits for the younger students and have lots of fun doing it.  Little children often look up to the older children.  And kids are so great at creatively coming up with ways to communicate messages to each other so that it really has meaning to them.

Maybe some of the skits could perform for PTA night.  Talk about giving the parents a little FUN way to learn about nutrition!

If you have other ideas on ways to teach kids about nutrition, please share it with us.

Some suggestions to help Thanksgiving be enjoyable and still healthy:

• Don’t skip meals:  Make sure your children have their regular breakfast and lunch prior to the Thanksgiving dinner.  This will help you and your children eat  more reasonable portions because you won’t be starving.  We think “now don’t eat because you will spoil your appetite”.  Yes, I am guilty of this too but it really sets us up to overeat.

• Don’t forget those veggies and salads: They make great side dishes, color up the table and go great with turkey

• Think about the time your family will be eating:  Eating earlier is better than later so your family doesn’t go to bed with a full stomach

• Make an after dinner activity part of the holiday festivities: A brisk family walk or a little dancing is a great way to help digest that meal and burn off some of the calories and fun

• Add fresh fruits to the list of desserts:  Add some cut up fruit to the assortment of pies, they taste great and compliment pies nicely

And most importantly,  have a fun, memorable Thanksgiving.  These are some of the memories kids fondly look back on as they grow up, and will carry forward to their own families one day.

Lighten up today! It’s always best to exercise outdoors during daylight hours, but that can be tough – particularly at this time of year when days get shorter. If you exercise outdoors when it’s dark out, wear reflective materials to ensure that you and your family can be seen.

We know they are being influenced for sure!  If not, these high fat, high sugar companies would not be spending the millions and millions of dollars on advertising to them.  But what about parents?  I don’t have figures (but if I can find it, we all might be shocked!).  How much money is being spent to influence the parent to promote sugary foods and fatty foods to their kids?  Have you thought about that?

I really hadn’t thought about this until I saw a commercial (company shall rename nameless, tsk, tsk) that was actually geared towards parents.  It showed a mom giving her kids treats (sugary ones!) as a reward and then the narrator said something like “be a good mom” or something like that but it was clearly making an inference to being a good mom and giving her child treats and child contentment.

So parents, we have to be on the alert.  It is easy after a long day to go a little passive and just let those messages begin to sink into our minds without question.   They get us by showing how cooperative our kids can be and how much easier it is.   Don’t be fooled.  We are at a war to save our children from a future of illness from poor nutrition.  That may sound over dramatic but read the latest trends in childhood obesity, heart disease in children, diabetes in children, increasing emotional disorders in children, … it goes on and on.

Instead, let those ads serve as a reminder that our kids are worth every effort we make to FIGHT FUN with FUN.  Be creative and make eating healthier a great experience for your child.  A fun active family day is a much better reward than a sugary treat.  You are the most powerful marketing weapon against the high sugar, high fat companies.  (And BTW, I am not an extremist, sugary treats and fatty foods are okay every once in awhile, but let’s not make them out to the best thing and something kids really look forward to)

Healthy foods can be the most fun….if we make them fun!

There is a whole movement underway to help kids reconnect with  where food really comes from.  The path food travels from “farm to fork”.  This is another great way to have kids connect with healthy foods, helping them not only understand where food really comes from but seeing fresh food growing right before their eyes.  Meeting with local farmers to learn all about how food is grown.

It gives a whole new dimension to fruits and vegetables and also make them very interesting to learn about.

I have been reading about how schools are connecting with local farms to bring healthy foods fresh, organic to the child’s lunch program and even introducing programs that teach children about fresh fruits and vegetables and even growing them.

There is a wonderful organization called farmtoschool.org that is committed to connecting schools with local growers.  The organization has a great deal of information, program support and lists of grants that schools can apply for.

The National Farm to School Network sprouted from this desire to support community-based food systems, strengthen family farms, and improve student health by reducing childhood obesity.

Here is a link to a utube video about a farm to food program in Maynard, Massachusetts public school.  Pass this information on to your child’s school.