Apr. 26, 2008 - Children, Obesity and Your Grocery Budget

Obesity in children is a growing epidemic in the United States.  I believe in part to processed packaged foods that are shoved in their faces at every turn, but also due to lack of exercise and hard work!  Children are not required to do the same amount of work as children just a generation or so ago! I know that I am more lax on my children concerning manual labor than I should be.  We recently bought a used push mower for our 10 year old son and he loves mowing with it!  This is a great form of exercise for him, and it also gets out all that pent up energy that he would be buzzing with during school time! If he only mows a little each day, it helps in numerous ways!

Another factor in childhood obesity is that we as parents, tend to allow our children to overeat. I have a problem with this on many levels. Not only is it unhealthy, but it is a waste of food, driving up our grocery bills. Some questions parents should be asking themselves....What is a serving size?  Here's a fun game that will teach children how to recognize a serving size.  What should my children be eating? What foods should my children be avoiding?  Keep in mind children need adequate calories to meet their needs for growing and energy, howver, portions that are too large could lead to overeating or seem overwhelming.  To teach children to eat only until satisfied instead of overeating, we as parents need to serve smaller portions to our young children and encourage them to ask for more if they are still hungry. Also, providing a relaxed atmosphere for eating will slow them down, allowing more time for them to assess fullness and aid in digestion!

If we make a recipe that serves 12 for a family of 6 and there are no leftovers, we should know that someone is overeating!  Many times children take their cue from us parents! Do we overeat? Do we reward ourselves with sugary treats? When we do these things we are speaking powerfully to our children without words!  Yes, our children are growing, yes we may have boys entering the teen years, but is that really an excuse to let them overeat? One way to get an indicator of our child's health is to check their Body Mass Index (BMI).  While this is not a perfect way to determine body fat, it is a good indicator.  Sometimes muscular children will have a high BMI but not actually be fat, this is when you use your eyes and the numbers to determine the truth.  If you think your child might be overweight or obese, and their BMI is in the 85th percentile or higher, then they may very well be headed down the road to obesity. 

It is a well documented fact that centenarians (people who live to 100 years of age or longer) are classic undereaters (healthy undereaters for the most part), consistently active, positive thinkers, and socially active. It's never to late to change bad behavior patterns, get out side and start playing ball with your children, then have a small, healthy picnic lunch, adopt a can-do attitude and you're well on your way to raising a generation of children who will live longer, healthier, more productive lives!

Here's a fun book:

Comments

Apr. 26, 2008 - Untitled Comment

Posted by homesklmom22

It is so sad to see what is happening to children today. It seems as though electronics have taken over being outside. God has given them such a beautiful playground to enjoy instead of always being cooped up inside.

You know, if people really looked at serving sizes they would think they would be starving themselves.

Excellent post.

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Apr. 30, 2008 - I agree...

Posted by OldSchoolMarm

I tend to give my children a bowl of fresh fruit before their meal so that I know for sure that they are getting that serving. Fortunately my kids enjoy any fruits and most vegetables. I'm very particular about serving sizes too. Children must eat everything on their plate to get a second serving. I am also sensitive to their tastes as my oldest abhors cheese (I have no idea where this came from) and even complains about the smell of it. One of my pet peeves is all the candy that their sunday school teachers give them. I try not to motivate with food as I feel that sends the wrong message. Anyway, just really wanted to say, great post! Blessings, Julie

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