Grow Healthy Children

Obesity in children has become a crisis in the United States. The question is, how?
A family friend of mine lets her son drink as much soda as he wants and having McDonalds everyday seems to be just fine with her.
“He’ll throw a tantrum if he doesn’t get it,” she said.
Her son, Joshua, at the age of six weighs 90 pounds.
A pediatric growth chart indicates that the average healthy weight for a six-year-old boy is around 30 to 35 pounds. If a child is overweight, he or she is at risk of heart problems, diabetes and more.
Not only will the child face health issues, he can also face emotional issues as well.
Joshua’s mother said that he has a hard time being active in sports because running is difficult due to his weight.
He starts breathing heavily about after three minutes of running and then gasping for air and wheezing after five minutes of running.
If you are a parent or have ever been around children, you would clearly notice that most of them seem to have an abundant amount of energy.
Due to Joshua’s weight and lack of athletic abilities, other children in his school tease him and make fun of him.
He gets picked last to be on a team. He gets called names such as “Fatty” and “Jumbo Josh.”
Speaking from experience of having been called names such as “Skinny” and “Miss Slim” while I was growing up, I can say that being made fun and receiving nicknames you didn’t pick for yourself can scar you emotionally and mentally.
It literally brings down your self-esteem and confidence.
Obviously, children are known to throw tantrums and fits when they don’t get what they want. Sadly, even adults do it.
The point is that parents need to maintain control of their child’s eating habits and what goes into their child’s body to give them a healthy life—even if they scream about it.
Almost everyday, Joshua gets to eat at McDonalds for lunch and dinner. His mother says that he eats adult sized meals “because the kids’ meal doesn’t fill him up.”
There is 250 calories in a McDonald’s hamburger, 380 calories in a medium size cup of french fries and 150 calories in a 16 oz. cup of Coca-Cola. Six-year-olds should be consuming only 1400 calories per day.
The Harvard School of Public Health says that “eating at fast food restaurants has been associated with an additional 120 calories per day.”
However, there are great solutions and tips out there for parents who are having trouble getting their kids to eat healthy.
It doesn’t mean bad parenting if your child is overweight. It just means you need to start taking control and start early on giving your child a healthy diet.
There are great tips from just about every pediatrician in the United States on how to diet and exercise.
However, I’ve come to realize that kids learn better when they get to be “hands-on.”
North Sacramento Natural Foods Co-op offers programs and classes for parents and children to learn how to eat healthy.
“Our classes and programs are designed to teach parents and childrenhow to take delicious whole foods and make simple meals out of them andthat eating well doesn't need to be a daunting prospect,” Julia Thomas, Education Coordinator for the Co-op, said.
The Co-op lets children see how things are grown with a guided tour of the Co-op.
“I think that children need to experience food by seeing how it is grown, learning how to make it, and by tasting new foods,” Thomas said.
Hopefully programs like these can help decrease the obesity rate in children and can keep them living a full and healthy life. Best of all, these programs are absolutely free!