Stopping the epidemic, one kid at a time
Posted on May 28th, 2008 – 7:41 AMBy Josephine Marcotty
Sometimes the hardest thing to do as a parent is to say nothing. You can’t say “you’re too fat.” You can’t say “did you eat the whole bag?” You can’t say, “why aren’t you outside?”
But that may be the best way to help your kids lose weight or stay at a healthy weight. Mary Story, an epidemiologist at the University of Minnesota, is an expert on adolescent obesity. She and her colleagues at the university have been running a research study called Project Eat for years. They’ve been following kids from pre-adolescence through teenage-hood and into young adulthood, surveying them and their families along the way. They are getting a handle on what works and what doesn’t.
“What drives obesity are two things. Its food. And how they are moving their bodies,” she said.
But it’s what parents don’t say — and what they do — that’s most important, she said. Eating regular family dinners is a big help, especially for girls, they found. So is taking the TV out of their bedrooms.
Don’t focus on their weight. Don’t focus on losing weight, she said. Instead, as long as you’re the one buying the groceries, focus on buying more fruit and vegetables and less junk. As long as you are the one making meals, make the portions a little smaller.
Entice them away from the computer and the TV. Do something with them that involves moving your bodies, and do that everyday. Too much? Okay then, four or five times a week. “Be a role model,” Story said.
That’s a lot harder.
What’s worked for you and your kids? Do you have any ideas to share about how you stopped the obesity epidemic in your family?
3 Responses to "Stopping the epidemic, one kid at a time"
Just common sense has worked so far. No TV except in the family room (and limited at that.) Healthy meals around the dining table. Breakfast every morning. Lots of running around (structured and unstructured) outdoors during all seasons.
The one thing I had to learn was that juice packs the sugar and calories. Until my oldest was a toddler I had thought that juice was a healthy beverage. Sure it’s not lethal, but I was very surprised at how loaded in sugar it is! (My kids’ ped. asked how much juice he was getting and I said not that much, but why? And he explained the sugar thing to me.)
My kids have chosen their awesomely cool (and expensive!!) sigg water bottles, which they carry around during these warm days. Funny how letting a kid choose a pattern, color or style will go a long way in getting said kid to cooperate!
Water and milk are about it for beverages unless it’s a special occasion. Oh, they also get dessert a few times a week, but it’s neither required nor forbidden - just a dish of ice cream every once in a while - which makes it feel natural and healthy and not like a big deal.
Sounds like you’ve got it down! I’ve said this before on this blog — one of my pet peeves is that food companies are not required to list the sugar they add to food or beverages (like juice packs)as a separate item on the nutrition label. They lump both natural and added sugars together.
Regarding the juice/sugar comments, I only buy No Sugar Added juice for myself these days… then I know it’s only natural sugar that I’m eating.
Anyway, when I was kid, we had a freezer in the basement with a variety of ice cream treats. Our kitchen cupboard had one whole section for fruit snacks, juice, and other processed junk, and our garage had a 24-pk. of Diet Mtn. Dew at all times.
Because of the constant availability to junk food, I never learned to control my treat-intake. And now as a young adult, I struggle with this on a DAILY basis. I also suffer from hypoglycemia, which is probably due to my naturally high metabolism and processed-sugar access as a child.
However, I was very active in multiple sports up until college, so I think this helped me stay healthy in most respects. I remember being able to eat anything I wanted and not gain an ounce of weight. Our family dinners were pretty healthy too, always including a vegetable of some sort.
But overall, I wish my parents had done more to teach me about treat control. One good thing that came out of having soda in constant supply, is that I quit drinking it YEARS ago. It disgusts me now!
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