Sunday, March 4, 2012
Middle Childhood Obesity--Kreslee Ketcham
In the United States population 32% of the children are overweight with 11% who are considered obese. Obesity has been shown to run in families however that is not always the reason, and no you cannot blame it entirely on technology. Parental feeding practices plays a HUGE role in your child's weight, some parents overfeed their children thinking that food will make them happy or help them with their discomforts. However these parents are really just setting their children up to lead unhealthy lives, causing maladaptive eating habits and to have serious health complications further down the road such as diabetes and chronic heart diseases. One way to insure your child's future health is to make sure that their diet consist of all the necessary nutritional needs. Yes, i know this sounds like a daunting task but if you really want what is best for your child a simple meal plan doesnt sound that bad does it. Remember that awful food pyramid they made you learn about in health class in junior high, that is your ticket to planning out your meals. The pyramid tells you how much of diary, breads/grains, fruits, vegetables, meat, and fats that you need throughout your day to make sure all your nutritional bases are covered. With portion control, adequate nutrition and a little bit of physical activity a day, you will help your children have the best possible step in the right direction to leading a healthy life. Also, if you think about it, you will also participate in this with your children so it will in turn help you in the long run. So picture this, don't your want to see your future grand-babies and be the cool hip grandparents that can still keep up with the young ones? Take the right step for your families future and think about the foods you put in your bodies, treat your bodies right because thats the only body your going to get.
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Your article hits home with me. I know I have attributed to my girls being overweight adults. I do think obesity, like other diseases, runs in families. They both come from families of overweight people. Eating habits are formed when they are small children. We offered candy and sweets as rewards at our house. I now see my daughter doing that with her two children. We need to take steps, however small, to correct our eating habits. This will prevent major health problems in the future
ReplyDeleteSusan Davis
Childhood obesity is a huge issue in the United States. However, it is very hard to provide healthy foods for our kids because everything healthy is twice or three times more expensive that the unhealthy foods. With our economy, people buy what they can afford. I think the awareness that Michelle Obama is bringing to this topic is great however, there is more that needs to be improved. They now consider pizza "healthy" in our schools because there enough pizza sauce on it to consider it a vegtable. Are you kidding me?? And they want to know why we have an obesity issue.
ReplyDeleteSam Martel
Food becomes such a source of comfort. Most family get-togethers, church events and block parties all center on food. When we celebrate, we eat, when we mourn, we eat, when we're anxious, we eat, when we're sad, we eat. In my family, every festivity revolves around food. It is going to be difficult to change the way we view food. If we only ate for nutritional value instead of recreation, we would be so much better off.
ReplyDeleteWith all the data that shows the ill effects of obesity, it is necessary to take the problem seriously and help the next generation be a little better.
It is so easy to put it off until another day but we need to do something now. I need to start with changing my own habits. I always envision myself starting tomorrow. Angela Johnson