Young Women Misbehavin'

This goes without saying, but I have to write it anyway, but I love her.  The more I get to know her she truly inspires me with her wit, charm, intelligence, humor, composure, and sensibility.  Our First Lady is truly one of a kind, which is why I am always intrigued to learn more about her priority issues. 

Michele Obama has many including helping women acheive a better work-life balance and supporting women veterans and their families.   Additionally she is interested in the issue of childhood obesity, which has become a national health emergency as our young generation continues to gain weight at an alarming rate.
 
Childhood obesity is a real problem in this country, and getting worse.  It’s a serious medical condition that affects children and adolescents, and occurs when a child is well above the normal weight for his or her age and height.  It’s particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on a path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

There are many shocking statistics associated with this epidemic such as, 1 in 3 or 33% of American kids are obese.  When broken down by race, health inequities are evident as African American and Mexican American youth have greater degrees of obesity.  Overall our youngest generation is on track of being less healthy and having a shorter lifespan than their parents. 

As the First Lady has noted, it’s not a surprise that this is happening because of the burdens and pressures of modern day life.  Today’s busy families have fewer free moments to prepare nutritious, home-cooked meals.  Although genetics can play a role in whether or not an individual will become obese, behavioral and environmental factors are more likely responsible for the increased prevalence.  Our kids are eating less healthy and leading more sedentary lifestyles.  From fast food to electronics, quick and easy is the reality for many of today’s families.

Everyday parents are faced with the looming question of what to feed their children and how to make it healthy.  This is especially challenging for working parents who feel tired and stressed after a long day at work, and may not have the time or energy to put together a balanced meal. 

Kids are shuffled to and from a gazillion activities, and parents feel pressure to feed their kids at a certain time so trips to fast food restaurants become more frequent.  Over time those choices start to build up and the child comes to expect and like eating fast food.  And it’s not that parents don’t care about what their children are eating, or want them to eat healthily, but they need help.

To no one’s surprise, the best strategy to combat against excess weight for children is to improve their diet and exercise levels.  Like adults, most excess weight is caused by kids eating too much and exercising too little.  For those children that eat more calories than needed, they gain weight beyond what’s required to support their growing bodies.  And with more kids spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video-game console it becomes even harder to burn those excess calories. 

So what can parents do to tackle this challenge? Here are some tips:

• Try to have dinner together as a family as often as possible. 
• Lead by example because kids will follow your direction.
• Provide healthful food and beverage choices as much as possible, even if that means a few healthy TV dinners. 
• Assist and educate children in making healthful decisions regarding types of foods and beverages to consume, how often, and in what portion size.
• Encourage and support regular physical activity.
• Limit children’s television viewing and computer time to less than 2 hours per day.
• Discuss weight status with your child’s health-care provider.
• Get help from family members.