Are you aware that childhood obesity is affecting your community?

It is easy to turn your back on childhood obesity, especially if you are not directly dealing with it in your home or family. However, the alarming rates in which this preventable disease is growing tells us that we need to stop and pay attention.

Childhood obesity doesn’t affect any one demographic, it affects ALL of them. Approximately 15 percent of children and adolescents are overweight, compared to just 4 percent a few decades ago, and another 15 percent are at risk for being overweight. Childhood obesity is a growing concern in today's world. A frightening number of children are obese and developing diseases normally seen in adulthood.

Weighing too much may increase your risk for developing many health problems. If your body mass index (BMI) indicates that you are overweight or obese, you may be at risk for many of obesity's health effects. These include:

Type 2 diabetes
Heart disease
Stroke
High blood pressure (hypertension)
High cholesterol (hypercholesterolemia)
Certain cancers
Sleep apnea
Osteoarthritis
Gallbladder disease and gallstones
Fatty liver disease (also called nonalcoholic steatohepatitis or NASH)
Gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD)
Gout
Psychological and emotional effects.

The good news is there are things that can be and are being done to combat this epidemic. Here in Arizona there many coalitions, grants and businesses working together to bring awareness and shift the paradigm that currently exists.

How can you help prevent childhood obesity?

• Get out and play. You don’t have to be an athlete or into sports to get out and be active.
• Limit your screen time. Video games, computers, and TV are all easy ways to become sedentary and lethargic. This is also an easy time to eat more than you anticipated.
• Become educated in health and nutrition. You don’t need to be a master, but try to learn how to read labels, and understand the importance of whole food health.
• Eat MORE fruits and veggies.
• Try to sit down when you eat and be as present to your food as you can.
• Become aware of your emotions when you eat. It will help to understand why and when you eat what you do.
  
  What can you do for your children or those in your community that are currently overweight or obese?
• Health education awareness that teaches you about food and nutrition
• Healthy eating plans that reduce calories but do not rule out specific foods or food groups
• Regular physical activity and/or exercise instruction
• Tips on healthy behavioral changes that also consider your cultural needs
• Slow and steady weight loss of about ¾ to 2 pounds per week and not more than 3 pounds per week (weight loss may be faster at the start of a program)
• Medical care if you are planning to lose weight by following a special formula diet, such as a low-calorie diet
• A plan to keep the weight off after you have lost it.
  
  What are some of the things being done in various communities to fight childhood obesity?
• In March 2008 the Arizona Department of Education (ADE) received a grant funded by the Centers for the Disease Control-Division of Adolescent and School Health (CDC-DASH) to develop and implement a statewide Coordinated School Health program. The administration of the AzCSHP is a collaborative effort between ADE and the Arizona Department of Health Services (ADHS). AzCSHP will be focusing on three areas: Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Tobacco Use Prevention. To learn more about Coordinated School Health http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/CSHP/
• There are several coalitions that are specifically working on childhood obesity such as Action for health Kids, South Phoenix Health Kids Partnership, Arizona Public Health Association School Health Section, etc.
• There is currently an active group that is specifically helping the South Mountain area through organic community gardens. These gardens will not only bring healthy foods to an area that does not have readily access to grocery stores or healthy eating, but also bring beautification and sustainability to the community.
  

There is a lot of work that needs to be done to help our children and young adults become healthy, happy and successful. They say it takes a village to raise a child. I believe it takes a community to shift the paradigm of childhood obesity. It isn’t easy to change things of comfort but it can be done. One step at a time, with the awareness, communication, and support we can change the lives of many children.

Consider that Our Old Patterns/Habits are in the Way of Optimum Health

Love is often given to our loved ones using unhealthy food such as an old-fashioned cookie, ice cream, soda, or candy. It is considered a treat or a reward. It means we are being good, we deserve it, or perhaps it is an act of love for no reason. If done too regularly this old way of thinking is hurting our bodies and creating patterns in our youth that is unnecessary and harmful.

Many in our society today are obsessed with and confused about food and our children are suffering because of it. *Between 8% - 45% of newly diagnosed cases of childhood diabetes are type II, associated with obesity, whereas 4% of childhood diabetes was type II in 1990. That number has risen to approximately 20%. Depending on the age group (Type II most frequent 10-19 group) and the racial/ethnic mix of group stated and of children diagnosed with Type II diabetes, 85% are obese.

We use food as a reward, as a means of numbing our pain, and to get our kids to behave. One of my biggest concerns is when I see children with sugar dripping from their mouths because mom wants them to behave while shopping, driving in the car, or even getting their haircut. It’s an easier out to treat your child with unhealthy sugar. This ultimately has the opposite effect on children’s behavior than what you want. I say there are other ways of rewarding, like an acknowledgement, a sticker, an apple or carrot, or better yet a hug or a high five. It’s easier to start good habits with a very young child before he knows what candy, McDonald’s, or other junk food is. If they are already exposed to “the sugars” and fast foods, it’s certainly worth your child’s health and well-being to teach them about how nutrient-dense foods make them healthier and strong and how processed foods can make them sick if they have too much.

I am often surprised at how I get treated for making sure my three-year-old son eats healthy and balanced meals minimizing the sugar and junk in his diet. I get called a mean mom, a sugar-Nazi, and a health freak while these parents are loading their children with chemicals and sugar that they were taught to believe was giving their child a treat. Love is caring about your children’s well being even if it causes you to take an unpopular stand for better long-term health. A big part of this comes from educating ourselves as parents about nutrition. We can’t pick up a newspaper or a magazine today that doesn’t emphasize the importance of good, healthy, whole-food meals with fresh fruits and vegetables.

Balance and variety are the key. Food is yummy and there are lots of ways to incorporate good tasting foods into your diet and enjoy life. I think it is completely fine to have cake at a birthday party… as long as there isn’t one every weekend. Most importantly there are plenty of pure foods that taste just like the ones filled with the unhealthy ingredients.

Consider that the younger we can train our children’s taste buds the better the chances they have to grow up with fruits and vegetables in their vocabulary and their tummies. As parents we must educate ourselves so we can offer our children the best and healthiest lives possible. All the statistics show that healthy, whole food eating effects our mind, body, and spirit in such a positive way. Bottom line…the next time your child is throwing a fit in the grocery store, think of another way to calm him rather than to pop a sucker into their mouths.


*References: National Institute of Diabetes & Digestive & Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and My.WebMD.com website
Consider that Our Old Patterns/Habits are in the Way of Optimum Health