Did you know that childhood obesity has more than doubled in the last 30 years?
Statistics show that in 2010 nearly 43 million children under the age of 5 were overweight. Obesity can lead to many health problems, including heart disease, stroke and diabetes (to name a few).
Fortunately, this is a problem that has many solutions. As adults it is our responsibility to look out for the younger generation. We need to lead by example and help to teach children right from wrong when it comes to making healthy decisions.
Tip 1: Encourage your child to pack a healthy lunch for school. I recommend purchasing the book "Eat This Not That for Kids." This book has some fun suggestions for healthy lunches, as well as some great tidbits on the nutrition values of common-day foods.
Tip 2: Exercise with your kids. Summit Hill elementary school offers a family fit boot camp every Thursday morning free of charge. If your child does not attend Summit Hill, find something that would work with your schedule. Go for a morning run or throw on some music and dance the morning away.
Tip 3: Limit screen time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no more than two hours of entertainment media time for school-aged kids a day (including 1 to 2 hours of educational, non-violent television). Establish a television time limit that you feel is reasonable, then try to sit down each week and let your child figure out how he or she plans to use it. Just make sure that screen time doesn't interfere with homework or meals.
Tip 4: Enroll your child in some sort of physical activity. Find what works best for your child. Here in the Milton area we have many different avenues for exercise, from the greenway, to off-road bike trails, to football and soccer -- there are even Parkour (that city-based gymnastics you see all over television) classes and Ironman kids programs around.
The bottom line is this: there are many different ways to be active. Find what interests your child and encourage him or her to follow through.
Click here for more information on the City of Milton/CorePhysique fitness camps.
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