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Heart Disease Begins at Six
If little Ray-Ray calls broccoli stalks "trees" because he has never seen them on his dinner table, don't get mad. Since kids emulate what they see you do, it will be virtually impossible to get your brood to eat their vegetables if you never eat any yourself. Childhood obesity has doubled in the last 29 years, with one in four, or a quarter, of American children considered obese.
Not only are more children overweight, but they are 20 to 30 percent heavier than their overweight cousins from 10 years ago. The explosion in the numbers of overweight and obese children can at least in part be attributed to the fact that we have replaced home cooking with fast food in our hustle-and-bustle society. Kids spend on average 24 – 40 hours a week in front of a television set, not running, jumping rope, or throwing balls on a basketball court. Fewer than half of U.S. schoolchildren participate in daily physical education.
BMI Charts for Kids
The Centers for Disease Control recently published new charts that create a different way of using BMIs to assess children, which includes everyone between ages 2 and 19. Unlike the adult charts, which classify all people of both sexes and ages as overweight if they have a BMI over 25 or obese if their BMI is over 30, the childhood charts that define overweight and obesity take both age and gender into account. And in order to allow for "baby fat" and for the normal weight gain that precedes a child's growth spurt's, the new charts use a very broad definition of what amounts to a healthy weight for children.
This calculator provides BMI and the corresponding BMI-for-age percentile on a CDC BMI-for-age growth chart. Use this calculator for children and teens, aged 2 through 19 years old. For adults, 20 years old and older, use the Adult BMI Calculator.
BMI Calculator for Child/Teen: http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/dnpabmi/
The Role of Obesity in Early-Onset Puberty
Another problem associated with overweight and obese children is early-onset puberty. In recent years, the number of elementary-school girls who look like high-schoolers and middle-school girls who look like they attend the local college has grown. Pediatricians nationwide are seeing girls 5 to 10 years old years old with breasts and public hair in alarming numbers--- one out of seven white girls and an astonishing one out of every two African Americans. Though the reasons for this phenomenon are still being researched, experts see possible links to obesity, to the pesticides sprayed on fruits and veggies, and to hormones in beef and in cow's milk.
It's Never Too Early for Veggies
All babies are born with taste buds that have a preference for sweet things, while their taste for other flavors must be developed. This is why as a nutritionist; I encourage parents to introduce infants to pureed vegetables as soon as they're ready to progress beyond milk and cereals, even before fruit. Otherwise the child will learn to prefer the sweet taste of the fruit and will be much less willing to try the vegetables.
Tips for Tots
- Limit the amount of junk food, including soda and juice drinks in your home. Keep purchases of junk food to a minimum.
- Set a good example. If you follow healthy and nutritious eating patterns, it's likely your children will, too.
- Try offering them a variety of healthy foods. Like adults, children have different palates.
- Cut foods into unusual and creative shapes to make food fun and more enticing.
- Have your child participate in meal preparation and selection may be more receptive to eating the finished product.
- Plant a vegetable garden, your child may be proud to enjoy the bounty of your joint labors.
- Prepare foods in unusual ways. Why don't you stick a tomato in the blender and let your child drink the result?
Getting Heart-Smart About Protecting Your Greatest Asset
Since science has already taught us that kids with high cholesterol become adults with the same problem (this is almost guaranteed if they're overweight), you must take precautions to protect them against this and other risk factors for heart disease. Besides the cholesterol risk factor, it should also be noted that children with high blood pressure are likely become adults with high blood pressure if the condition is left unchecked. If your child was born into a family with a history of high cholesterol checked as early as age 2. Pediatricians agree that if the child's total cholesterol is 170 mg/dl or higher and the LDL (bad) cholesterol is 110 mg/dl or higher, you need to pay close attention to his diet.
Healthy Snack Suggestions for Children
• Whole-grain cereal
• Cheese
• Cheese sticks
• Whole-grain crackers
• Dried fruits (children younger
than
3 should not eat dried
fruit because
it can be a
choking hazard; it also
promotes cavities)
• Fresh fruits |
• Fresh vegetables
• Hard-boiled eggs
• Whole-grain muffins
• Peanut butter
• Popcorn
• Sugar-free pudding
• Broth-based soups made
with vegetables
• Tuna |
Helping Your Sedentary Older Children to Get Movin'
To help reduce the risk of obesity-related illnesses, physical activity helps increase a child's alertness and attention span, this can lead to better academic performance. Limit TV watching time and encourage your child to get involved in a team sport. For many children, team sports such as baseball, soccer, and basketball enable them to stay physically active on a regular basis and will also plug them into a social network---a good deterrent to hiding away by themselves in their rooms, lost in a TV show or a computer game.
Before your child takes to the field, you should consider a few things. First, be sure the child gets a physical exam before playing any challenging competitive sport, so that you'll be confident there are no conditions that would preclude participation. Second, if he has spent the summer as a coach potato or lacks physical conditioning, tell the coach; coaches should develop training programs for their players that are tailored to age as well as physical abilities.
Checklist for Jump-starting Your Children
- How much time do my children spend sitting in front of the television or in front of the computer? And how does that compare to the amount of time I spend sedentary?
- What kind of space is there in my yard for play? Are there adequate play areas near my home?
- Have I provided them with the resources to be active-a bike, a basketball hoop, an area in the yard to kick a ball around?
- Is there a walking path near my home? Or can they walk around the block a few times?
- Are there walking or running tracks nearby?
- What type of physical education program, if any does my children's school offer? What can I do to increase physical education class offerings at my child's school?
- Do we engage in physical activities as a family?
- What kinds of physical activities do my kids enjoy doing? Have I done everything I could do to encourage them?
- I my child overweight, or does my child have any physical illness or limitation—and what is the pediatrician's advice on exercise?
- Have I provided support and encouragement for physical pursuits?
- Have I provided a role model for physical fitness?
If your answers say you haven't done the things necessary to get your children on the right track for a healthy, normal weight lifestyle, you've got to make things right. So throw out the fatback, dust off your vegetable steamer, and make a walking date for your family. Use the nutrition and fitness information in Dr. Ro's Ten Secrets To Livin' Healthy and start a Livin' Healthy Club with your family and friends. |
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