| Parents,
help your kids fight obesity by changing your own habits
By Angel Larsen
November 14, 2005 | More
than 600,000 Americans die each year due to poor diet
and lack of physical activity, according to Mike Huckabee,
Arkansas governor and chairman of the National Governors
Association (NGA).
The NGA's 2005-06 campaign is to
combat obesity in America by informing the public about
a need for change in homes while showing state officials
ways to help through laws. This plan may bring change
but only if we take responsibility for our own health
and parents become responsible for their children's
health.
We need to look at our lifestyle
and see if we eat healthy food. Are we eating those
three meals a day from fast food places, or do we try
for some fruits and vegetables? Eating fast food does
not mean we are eating wrong. The question is whether
we are ordering the right foods or not. Do we order
a big, greasy cheeseburger or that salad with chicken
fingers? Choosing to change one item a day can begin
a healthier life.
Next comes the dreaded exercise.
By "exercising" it does not mean training for a marathon.
The change can be small, like using the stairs for those
two floors to your next class instead of the elevator.
Little changes like going on a 10, or even five minute,
walk will help boost your health. By starting with small
changes the task will not seem to overbearing and the
less likely we will fail.
While analyzing our lifestyles we
do not have to jump on that scale every day or suddenly
look like Cindy Crawford. Little changes like feeling
less tired all day or noticing more energy should be
enough reward for a desire to change.
If the scale is one way to mark progress
that is fine, but a Body Mass Index (BMI) should be
used as well. This number is a tool for indicating weight
status in adults according to the National Center for
Disease Control and Prevention. Weight can be a false
security for a healthy person because it does not put
into account type of bone structure or that muscle weighs
more than fat. The BMI is not a perfect number, but
it will give a more accurate portrayal.
To calculate a BMI multiply your
height in inches by itself. Then take your weight in
pounds and divide by your height number. The new number
is then multiplied by 703 to obtain a personal BMI.
An adult over 20 years old should have a BMI of 18.5
to 24.9 for normal weight. An obese person has a BMI
of 30 or more. As the BMI increases the risk for some
diseases increases, according to the Center for Disease
Control and Prevention. Some conditions related to overweight
and obesity include premature death, cardiovascular
disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, diabetes
and some cancers.
If we choose to improve our lifestyle
it can help prevent health risks later as well as improve
our physical and possible mental concept of ourselves
now.
As adults we can make a conscience
effort to improve our lifestyle, but children may not
be able to. Huckabee said in the NGA's pamphlet that
the percentage of overweight youth has tripled in the
past two decades. As parents we should accept responsibility
for helping our children. If we begin when they are
young by teaching them to eat a balanced diet of fruit,
vegetables, grains, meats and dairy products, they can
be healthier as well. This does not mean they cannot
have candy or soda pop. It just means they need it in
moderation. Moderation means that healthy foods should
fill most of t heir diet with junk food eaten rarely.
Children have an advantage to adults,
that they can be active during the day. They can go
outside to play after school instead of watching television
or playing video games. By persuading children to spend
30 more minutes, one television program, outside it
can help combat child obesity.
The final and biggest way to help
our children is to be an example ourselves by changing.
NW
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