Everyone from politicians to parents is talking about fighting the war against childhood flab. It is odd that in a relatively wealthy countries such as the US and Australia improving children's health, weight and fitness should be a problem but it appears to be a sticking point with many.
Childhood obesity in a developed country like Australia and the United States is essentially a lifestyle issue. Children are overweight because they eat inappropriate amounts and types of food and they don't exercise enough. To put it simply many children are stacking on the weight because calorie intake is higher than calories burned.
Children's lifestyles are generally a reflection of those who raise them so parents need to figure heavily in any strategies put forward to improve the health and wellbeing of the next generation.
The trouble is many parents have grown accustomed to outsourcing those hard to deal with issues such as sexuality and drug education to schools and other agencies. Children' health and well-being is an issue that parents should take prime responsibility for. Parents can beat childhood obesity rather than leave it up to schools to fix or politicians to meddle with.
Here is a simple, fool-proof lifestyle plan that parents can adopt to ensure their children grow up healthy and fit rather than overweight and unhealthy:
1. Limit the amount of children's television, computer and electronic games usage to a maximum of two hours a day. Very little physical exertion is needed to watch TV or use other electronic equipment so for the sake of fitness their use of these needs to be limited. Send children outside, suggest they walk or ride to a friend's house or even suggest they have a friend or four over to play. One third of Australian children would prefer to play computer games than play outside so parents may have to be assertive and, at times, over-zealous but so be it.
2. Children walk or ride a bike to school each day. Recent Roy Morgan research revealed that 60 per cent of Australian 6 ? 13 year olds would like to walk to school but only 30 per cent actually do. Most children would get their required minimum two hours of exercise a week by walking or riding their bikes to school. This may mean that parents may have to walk to school with younger children or ensure they are adequately supervised. Bike riding is not safe for every child but more bike tracks in the vicinity of schools would be a great start.
3. Keep unhealthy food out of the trolley and include more fruit. This may be stating the bleeding obvious but as keepers of the family purse parents have the main stake in what food goes in and what stays out of the shopping trolley. It seems that parents are on the right track as more Australian children eat fruit after school than sweet biscuits but even so the number of fruit eaters can do with a boost. Only 43 per cent of Australian children eat fruit after school so more fruit could be a good place to start.
4. Serve healthy meals at the table on a regular basis. The humble ritual that sees adults and children who are related to each other breaking bread together on a daily or at least regular basis has a lot going for it. Far from being a refuelling stop mealtime is an opportunity for everyone to catch up and to share good healthy, well-prepared food. True, busyness of life get in the way of this healthy ritual but it is about getting our priorities right.
5. Parents play with their children or join them in a physical activity. The family that plays together stays thin together could well be the motto of our times. It should be easy for adults to sell their children on the virtues of playing physical games outside as play comes before work in most children's dictionaries. Fathers tend to be the kings of play but work and other lifestyle factors can get in the way.
6. Encourage children to be involved in at least one organised physical activity each week. Some parents may need to be insistent but 88 per cent of Australian children say they enjoy sport so getting children motivated for physical activity shouldn't be hard. There is no shortage of options for children these days as there are activities and sports that cater of a diverse range of interests, abilities and body types.
7. Parents model a healthy lifestyle. Do as I do not as I say is the idea here. It is little use parents telling their kids to go out and play as they tuck into their second wine or they slump into the couch. Modelling is the most important tool in the armoury if we want children to develop sustained healthy eating and exercise habits. For the record, a healthy lifestyle is one where people talk to each other (ideal for emotional well-being), one where food and alcohol intake occurs in moderation and physical activity is a natural part of the day.
This plan has a great deal going for it. It is cost-free, easy to use and places the responsibility where it lay ? with parents. It also has the added bonus of promoting healthy relationships as if they follow this plan parents and kids should spend more time together which can't be a bad thing.
For further ideas to help you raise happy children and resilient teenagers visit www.parentingideas.com.au . While you are there subscribe to Happy Kids newsletter and receive a free report - Seven ways to beat sibling rivalry.
Michael Grose is Australia's leading parenting educator. He is the author of six books and gives over 100 presentations a year and appears regularly on television, radio and in print.
For further ideas to help you raise happy children and resilient teenagers visit http://www.parentingideas.com.au. While you are there subscribe to Happy Kids newsletter and receive a free report Seven ways to beat sibling rivalry.
Culver prom limo ..In the early weeks after having weight loss surgery almost... Read More
Most men and women that I have trained over the... Read More
If you're serious about losing weight and getting fit, you... Read More
Holidays and special events should be a time of great... Read More
It all begins with water .... Water makes up 75%... Read More
Is Zone Diet a Fad?How do you recognize a fad... Read More
Weight Loss Axiom Number ThreeInsulin and GlucagonThese are the two... Read More
A bad day or even a bad week is not... Read More
Diabetes is one of the fastest growing diseases today. One... Read More
1. Increase your water intake to at least 1 gallon... Read More
With all of the conflicting studies and fuzzy interpretation of... Read More
For years the experts have been telling us that diets... Read More
One alternative method to traditional and tumescent liposuction is mesotherapy.... Read More
It has been 15 years since I was diagnosed with... Read More
Have you noticed since your WLS and return to regular... Read More
The words I read made me furious. There it was,... Read More
Are you sick of the hype? Wondering what diet products... Read More
Finally - you are alone. No one else is around.... Read More
Do you know the name of that one disease which... Read More
One-size-fits-all diets don't work....but then you probably know that already.... Read More
Offer a woman the choice between a dress she likes... Read More
Gastric bypass patients face a great task in the following... Read More
Not only was I fat, I was in poor health... Read More
How many meals do you eat in one day?Close study... Read More
Finding Mad Cow in Oregon puts a new wrinkle in... Read More
Wood Dale limo ..Looking to lose weight quickly? The good news is that... Read More
Weight loss, diets and "carbs" are common household topics. There... Read More
Today obesity, diabetes, and heart disease run through us at... Read More
A healthy pregnancy almost always involves weight gain. But now... Read More
"Help, none of this mainstream stuff works!"There is a specific... Read More
Dumping syndrome is an effective result of the gastric bypass... Read More
Obesity still remains one of the commonest avoidable causes of... Read More
If only there were a 'better body boot camp', we'd... Read More
Everybody knows that 98% of dieters fail. But do you... Read More
I do not smoke, never have, and admit to being... Read More
Obesity is now assuming epidemic proportions. Worldwide there are over... Read More
How to Say No When You Don't Want the FoodA... Read More
Fat does Not Make You Fat. One of the other... Read More
There are many subscriber programs available both online and in... Read More
A question from one of our readers:Dr. Mericle,With respect to... Read More
Phentermine, like many other prescription drugs, works with chemicals called... Read More
You see it all the time; people agonizing over their... Read More
What the Diet Industry Does Not Want You To Know:... Read More
In many cases conventional dieting wisdom simply doesn't work for... Read More
Ever wondered why some people manage to keep their weight... Read More
Just because you're working hard, doesn't mean that you're working... Read More
The problem isn't that you don't have enough will power... Read More
There are all kinds of fad diets and quick fixes... Read More
Your pants are a bit tight, you can't seem to... Read More
The Atkins diet can be boring because of the limited... Read More
Weight Loss |