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Last Updated: Apr 28th, 2010 - 22:06:40 |
Suggestions for Reducing Your Child's Risk of Diabetes
By Christine Steendahl
Jul 31, 2008, 18:57
Keeping your kids healthy and diabetes-free.
The rate of childhood obesity is on the rise. Unhealthy habits have led to overweight kids having health-related health side effects, such as type 2 diabetes and elevated blood pressure. These diseases were previously seen only in adults.
Obesity is a threat to the health of kids in many ways. Being over weight impacts multiple systems of the body including:
*Cardiovascular system
*Pulmonary system
*Gastrointestinal system
*Orthopedic system
Over 12 million kids in the United States are inflicted with childhood obesity. This is an alarming number and a scary one for parents. The incidences of childhood obesity increased 100 percent in the last ten years.
The reasons for obesity are a societal as well as physical. There are two main forces that have created this phenomenon of overweight kids in our society.
The first main forces on the weight of our kids is the amount of fast food that is consumed on a regular basis. The fast food industry has changed the American diet into a junk food melee that lacks good nutrients. Fast food consumption combined with a less active lifestyles of children who play expensive video games rather than
playing outside contributes to the high incident of overweight children.
These activities lead directly to the causes of obesity in kids and to unhealthy parents. Kids require at least 90 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day to reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Parents require at least 30-45 minutes of exercise.
Kids require a nutritious diet for adequate growth and development. Unfortunately, fast food doesn't provide the nutrients that kids require. Healthful eating is almost a lost art for the standard family. Take out menus and fast food has become the easy and quick way to get the family fed. These lifestyle choices lead to overweight, high blood pressure and a myriad of other health issues for not only adults but for our kids.
An overview of the basic problems with the eating habits of a nation
are summed up by Eric Schlosser in his book "Fast Food Nation"
"A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants -- mainly at fast food restaurants". A hamburger and french fries is the quintessential American meal ... thanks to the promotional efforts of the fast food chains. The typical American now consumes approximately three hamburgers and four orders of french fries every week."
These facts reveal the problem. Some ways to correct this problem are in the hands of parents. Some short-terminterim solutions are offered below:
*Focus the family's diet on nutritious foods.
*Encourage an increase in physical activity.
*Have a wide variety of nutritious snacks on hand for snacking.
*Prepare a nutritious meal plan for the family.
Parents can take more proactive steps to prevent childhood obesity by making and serving nutritious meals at home. Taking the family on a hike or a bike ride after dinner is a great activity for the whole family. Let kids decide on some events. Kids can participate in their own health improvement by making physical activity an after school priority.
The trick is to follow healthy lifestyle suggestions as close as possible. Take baby steps until you can achieve the goal of good eating habits for the whole family.
It is hard to change entrenched bad eating habits. The rules will always get broken some of the time - allow for flexibility. The problems that keep us from doing all the right things is usually lack of time. We always need more of it.
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