"If You Didn't Come From a Healthy Family, Make Sure a Healthy Family Comes From You"
Childhood obesity has been called “one of the most serious public health challenges of the 21st century,” and sadly, with good reason.
I recently read an article explaining how obesity can harm nearly every system in a child’s body - heart and lungs, muscles and bones, kidneys and digestive tract, as well as the hormones that control blood sugar and puberty - and can also take a heavy social and emotional toll.
The worse part is that kids who are overweight or obese have substantially higher odds of remaining overweight or obese into adulthood, which increases their risk of disease and disability later in life.
I could give you more sad statistics … but in summary, it was estimated that by 2020, if the current epidemic of childhood obesity continues, globally, 9 percent of all preschoolers will be overweight or obese - nearly 60 million children. PRE-SCHOOLERS!!
Moms and Dads, we are the best models for our children. It’s up to US. I know with Covid we have some restrictions, but here’s what we can do:
Model an active lifestyle. They see Mom or Dad going to the gym, they will copy you. They will want to go to the gym. I love when I see “sweaty selfies” of my clients and their kids are doing the HIIT workout with them, or grandkids are exercising with them. Start small - family bike ride or a walk to the park with your dog. Walking to the school bus, riding bikes to school, or even just going to the playground to hang out. Family basketball games (these were common at our house).
Make exercise fun. Encourage your child to get other kids in the neighborhood to ride bikes together to school. Find an outdoor game or activity that they are interested in where they will want to stay active. My son would run around the neighborhood knocking on doors for kids to play flashlight tag after dark. When my boys were younger, my father-in-law would have track meets with them and their cousins. They may not have always enjoyed them, and there may have been some quarters involved or ice cream cones, but the kids were active. We also have some great family videos of those times at the track. Ask my husband’s cousins and I believe there were track meets when he was younger as well. Another idea is to join a YMCA or a family gym nearby. Usually there’s activities for kids, a playroom for younger kids, and even kid’s classes like Zumba, dance, karate, swim lessons, etc. It’s also a great place to go when the weather is bad or it’s winter … depending on where you live.
Encourage a healthy approach to food. You are the one that buys the groceries. Your focus should be on fresh fruits and vegetables. Kids will eat what’s in the house. Get them involved by ordering produce from a local farm if possible and trying new things. Even visit the farm if possible! Try new recipes and cook vegetables a variety of ways to find things they like. Minimize their intake of added sugars and processed foods. Stay away from sugary drinks and sports drinks as well. Encourage plenty of water. Don’t think kids can eat unhealthy foods just because they play sports.
Control screen time. Avoid screens within an hour of bedtime and limit their use of screens during the day. This will also get them outside and encourage physical activity. Sometimes controlling their screen time includes your screen time as well. Put down the phones and play a game or do something together as a family. We now have a pool table/ping pong table in our living room to remind me of this. ;)
Focus on quality sleep. Increase in physical activity usually means better sleep. The recommended amount of sleep that children three to five years old need 10 to 13 hours, children six to 13 years old need 9-11 hours, and teens 14 to 17 years need 8-10 hours of sleep each night. Scale back on evening activities so your kids can get enough rest, or maybe get them to bed early on the evenings where there isn’t an after school or evening activity. There are studies out there that find that obesity is linked to lack of sleep in children and adolescents. As we all know, being overweight can lead to cardiovascular disease and type 2 diabetes, which is increasing for children.
Make it a lifestyle. Kids who are in physical activities as a child, especially during the adolescent years, are more likely to be active as adults. However, the percentage of physically active kids that are active as adults has stayed pretty low. To keep our physical health in shape, it must become a lifestyle for us adults as well!
Studies show that regular exercise in kids boosts academic performance, improves sleep and behavior, improves heart health, muscular fitness, and bone health. Let’s raise these kids to be strong men and women to have courage to take on all life has to offer them!
