Children

     Although preventative health care is raging in America today, 50% of American adults are overweight. 17% of adults are obese. Although these statistics are staggering and should definitely attract our concern, I would point you to an even greater cloud on the horizon. In fact, it's darkening and coming our way at 100 miles per hour.

What is this Dark Cloud on the Horizon?
The rising generation learns from what we say, but most importantly what we do. Actions speak louder than words. Only 6% of children were overweight twenty years ago, around 1990. Today, 33.3% of children are overweight; an increasing number of them are sadly obese.

What Has Happened?
There are many factors, so we'll look at some of the major and most common issues our children face today:

1. Highly Processed Foods, including TV dinners, chips, sodas, cookies, crackers, cheez-its, etc. Not only do these foods provide zippo nutrition to the body, but they tax the immune system with preservatives and other chemicals. Why do they taste so good? It's all fake flavorings that stimulate your brain to keep asking for MORE. Because processed foods don't provide your body with nutrients, your immune system believes you are still hungry and so you eat more. This begins a vicious cycle that is usually unbroken, causing serious weight gain.

2. Inactivity--GameBoy, Cell Phones, Chat, Facebook, TV/Movies, Computer Surfing, etc. Most kids are so busy with there electronics that they spend the majority of there free time sitting. Anyone gets overweight if they don't get any exercise, especially when they are children. Kids should be using and developing their bodies when they are young, to make it easier to stay fit as adults.

3. Long School Hours--Okay, you may laugh, but I'm serious. Most children spend at least eight hours in school, including riding the bus (and they usually don't walk more than ten steps to the bus pick up nowadays!).

What Can You Do?

1. Have your child exercise for at least 30 minutes each day. This could be playing in the backyard with you, gym equipment, jogging/running, swimming, walking or an organized sport. If your child is resisting exercise, I would enroll them in a sport at school that forces them to do heavy exercise often. In the summer, find them a community team to play on.

2. Get rid of the processed snack food! Instead, have whole grain baked breads, fresh fruit and other healthy snacks for your kids when they get home from school. Cook good, wholesome food for their meals. If necessary, declare Saturday cooking day and freeze the next week's meals. Recruit your kids help with the cooking if they are old enough. Kids need to learn responsibility and the earlier the better.

3. Limit the computer, TV and other electronic games to a minimum. Say maybe 30 minutes each day--absolutely no more. It may be hard, but it'll be worth your kid's health.

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