Help Fight Children's Obesity
Healthy Children become healthy adults
Prevention Starts At Home
Once upon a time, childhood obesity was not an epidemic among children. In fact, “once upon a time” was less than 30 years ago. From 1980 – 2004, the rate of obesity in preschool children has jumped from 5% to nearly 14%. Rates among elementary school children have increased from 6.5% to a whopping 18.8%. And, according to the Centers For Disease Control, these rates show no signs of slowing. Researchers at Yale University’s Psychological Bulletin estimate that by the year 2010, 50% of children in North America will be overweight.
What has changed in our society to explain that nearly 1 in every 3 children today is overweight? No one single thing – that would be too easy. Over the past 30 years, we have experienced a “global swarming” of cultural changes that have brought us to where we are today. Changes that include a computer and technology-dominated society that promotes sedentary behaviors and it’s now affecting our children with increased TV viewing, computer time and lack of free play. Much of the food we eat is fast, processed and easy – considered “necessary” in meeting the needs of our hurried and over-extended society. Even our mindset about how we eat, or even why we eat has changed with the effective marketing efforts of big food companies. Their efforts have changed the rules about eating and nutrition – no longer vital for life, food has become a source of recreation and instant gratification. No other demographic is more influenced by these marketing campaigns than our children.
We cannot point a finger at “who” or “what” to blame for the obesity epidemic because it is entrenched with influences. As a society, we are incapable of reversing the hands of time and returning to a culture that supported proper nutrition, encouraged physical activity and raised healthier children. But as parents, we are capable of creating a healthy environment within our homes that support healthy habits in our children. Childhood obesity can be prevented. And prevention begins at home.
They Are What You Eat
Unfortunately, if it were that easy to just say, “Do this and do that…” prevention would be a cinch. Unfortunately, the obstacles in prevention are far more complicated than just doling out advice or instructions. Don’t forget – this is a cyclical monster! We are generations-deep in it. For many of us, unhealthy food preferences and poor eating habits have been ingrained and cemented by the time our own children come along. This new generation inherits these habits and so the cycle continues - until somebody makes a change.
For parents and caregivers, modeling healthy habits to our children – or “walking the walk” is as important in prevention as healthy food exposure. American novelist James Baldwin said it best with his famous quote: “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”
Modeling healthy eating habits begin as early as pregnancy, when the developing baby is exposed to flavors from the mother’s diet, and continue throughout the formative years of infancy, toddlerhood and preschool. Babies in their first year of life are driven by their internal cues to self-regulate eating, but during their second year, they begin to inherit their behaviors from those around them - or rather, those around the dinner table.
Unfortunately, it’s not a “50-50” rule – healthy habit building needs a little more work than unhealthy habits do. This is due to the fact that all children are born with a preference towards sweet tastes – making it quite easy to transition to a diet high in sugar laden, highly processed foods. Bitter or bland foods require more effort on behalf of parents, and require their active participation in role modeling. Research has found that children need repeated exposure to healthy food choices, as well as the reinforcement of observing trusted caregivers eating them as well, to encourage acceptance.
How To End The Epidemic
Becoming an unhealthy society didn’t just happen overnight! Learned behaviors are often difficult to change, but certainly not impossible. We owe it to ourselves to modify unhealthy habits – not just for our children, but for our futures as well. For many people, unhealthy habits often go unrecognized. The first step in ending this epidemic is to first learn what are considered healthy habits and what are considered unhealthy habits. What is right nutrition and what is wrong nutrition? For example: eating breakfast is a healthy habit, but choosing to eat a cereal high in sugar, artificial colorings and additives may be considered wrong nutrition. Why is it wrong? Because it contains chemicals our bodies do not utilize, and an excessive amount of sugar that our bodies cannot utilize. The long-term affects of wrong nutrition and unhealthy habits include obesity, diabetes, heart disease and cancer. According to statistics from the CDC, overweight children, as young as 5 years old, are already exhibiting risk factors associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) – factors that include high cholesterol, high blood pressure and impaired glucose tolerance. In fact, 60% of overweight children have at least one risk factor associated with CVD and 25% already have 2 or more risk factors. These health risks common among obese adults are starting far too early in our children.
In order to bring about changes needed to raise our children to healthy heights, parents and caregivers need to make the necessary first steps. According to a 2006 Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition Review, “In the words of one expert, ‘If you have malaria, you drain the swamp. If you have death on the roads, you impose seatbelts… Like any epidemic, we need to change the environment.’”
This environment is your home. Are you a good role model? Are your children at risk for inheriting unhealthy habits? What modifications or changes are needed to make a difference in your family’s life? A little change can go a long way – generations even - and our children’s future’s are worth it. Click here to make that first step.