ENSURE YOUR CHILD HAS A HEALTHY FUTURE
Of course you would do anything to protect your children. You take them for regular medical checkups, use car seat belts appropriately, and insist upon a helmet when bike riding or skateboarding. But are you protecting them against chronic diseases? Read more...
Content
MAX HEALTH
Ensure Your
Child Has a
HEALTHY
FUTURE
BY LINDA HEPLER, BSN, RN
OF COURSE you would do anything to protect your
children. You take them for regular medical checkups, use
car seats and seat belts appropriately, and insist upon a
helmet when bike riding or skateboarding. But are you
protecting them against chronic diseases?
Chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes
type 2 and cancer usually emerge during middle age – and
most of us fnd it hard to even think about a time that far
ahead in our little ones’ lives. But according to the World
Health Organization, it is only after long exposure to
unhealthy lifestyle habits that we develop chronic diseases,
16 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM
ı SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
and if we can instill healthy lifestyle habits early in our
children’s lives, thus reducing some of the risk factors, a full
80 percent of premature heart disease, stroke and type 2
diabetes, and over 40 percent of cancers could be prevented.
In today’s busy world, with multiple demands on parents
and kids alike, helping kids to develop healthy behavior
habits is not easy, said Robert Hanks, Ph.D, R.N., an assistant
professor at the UTHealth School of Nursing. “…it does take
work and planning. However, even small steps are benefcial
in the long term in promoting healthy families.”
What are some of the steps you can take? Here are four
ideas from the health pros:
2
1
Begin early to instill healthy eating
habits. It’s never too early, said
Jennifer Ritchie, an International Board
Certifed Lactation Consultant who
owns Milkalicious, a lactation consulting
business in California. “I can tell you
that engendering a healthy lifestyle in
our kids starts, when possible, with
breastfeeding,” she claimed. “Statistics
don’t lie, and the statistics tell us that
children who are breastfed are far less
prone to obesity later in life…”
Obesity, as many of us are aware,
leads to chronic conditions like high
blood pressure, unstable cholesterol
levels and diabetes type 2, all of which
are risk factors for heart disease and
stroke. Obesity is also a risk factor for
many cancers.
As babies begin eating, it’s important
to incorporate healthy foods into their
diets, such as fruits and veggies, small
amounts of lean meats, dairy foods
and whole grains. “In addition,” said Dr.
Hanks, “resisting the urge to purchase
fast food or snack foods that are poor
nutritional choices is key.”
In other words, those foods that
are eaten regularly will become, over
a lifetime, what your child thinks of
as good. And what he hasn’t had very
often – like sugary cereals or treats
like pastries, cookies, candies and soft
drinks, salty snacks and fried foods –
will be considered an occasional treat,
and not a food to regularly indulge in.
When children get older, food issues
should be an important dialogue
between parents and children, said
Danelle Fisher, MD, Vice Chair of
Pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s
Health Center in Santa Monica,
California. “You can take your children to
the grocery store and teach them how
to read labels – not everything on the
label, but things like the protein, fat and
sugar content,” she explained.
One of the most important things to
learn to read on food product labels,
added Dr. Fisher, is what a serving size
is. “You think you’re doing great with
eating something without too much
sugar or fat,” she said, “until you fnd
out you’ve just consumed three servings
of it.”
Parents can make learning about
healthy foods fun for their kids, she
continued. “Even a toddler can pick out
a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store
or the farmers market to try this week.”
If you have time and space, kids can
help to plant and tend a small garden
plot, and harvest the produce for meals.
According to Dr. Fisher, kids should be
involved in the cooking process at age
appropriate levels. Whether it’s helping
to cut up veggies, stir the eggs for
breakfast or add interesting seasonings,
there are many learning opportunities
afforded by helping to prepare meals.
And despite the busy family schedule,
try to eke out one meal per day to eat
as a family as often as possible, she
suggested. “Eating meals together as
a family increases a child’s awareness
of what foods and what serving sizes
should be eaten, and it decreases the
likelihood of obesity.”
By the time your kids are into their
teen years, they’ll be making many of
their own food decisions, and you won’t
be able to be with them all of the time
to see what they’re eating. But if you’ve
done your job early on, they’ll likely be
eating as they were taught – at least
most of the time.
Incorporate physical activity into
daily life. “In short, get up and move!”
said Dr. Hanks. Encourage walking
or biking after school, whether it’s to
do errands or exercise the dog. You
can also “encourage your children to
participate in sports or even participate
in chores that require physical activity,”
recommended Dr. Hanks.
If your child isn’t interested in team
sports, there are a lot of individual
sports, too, such as martial arts,
swimming, or dancing. If classes don’t
ft into your budget, look for less
expensive options through your local
YMCA or Girls and Boys Club.
And while technology should be limited
because it promotes a sedentary
lifestyle, “not all technology is a
bad infuence,” said Dr. Hanks. “For
example, Wii can be used for exercise
routines and for instructional purposes.
Another example of technology being
a beneft to increasing activity is the
relatively new smart watch concept that
can double as an activity tracker.”
Instilling good physical activity habits
can also mean teaching the simple
things, like walking to the library
instead of driving, taking the stairs
instead of opting for an elevator, or
using a push mower instead of the rider
at least some of the time.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
ı WWW.MAXSPORTSANDFITNESS.COM
17
3
4
Teach stress-busting techniques.
More and more research is showing
that not only do stress hormones cause
us to crave sugar, fat and starches Ð
like that candy bar you just had to have
while working against a deadline Ð but
they also cause physiological changes
in the body that lead to chronic health
conditions. One example is heart
disease; stress hormones cause plaque
to build up on blood vessel walls as well
as increasing body infammation, both
of which are bad for the ticker.
According to a recent study
published in the journal Biological
Psychiatry, stress hormones may slow
metabolism. In the study, women who
had experienced one or more stressful
events in the day prior to eating a
fast food meal burned over 100 fewer
calories after consuming the unhealthy
food than did women who ate the same
meal but reported little or no stress the
day before. Stress researchers believe
that stress hormones also contribute to
fat storage by making insulin levels rise
and fat oxidation levels fall.
While kids may have different
underlying reasons for stress than
adults do (mom and dadÕs divorce,
that tough test coming up, diffculties
at school or with friends), they do
experience stress Ð and the negative
effects it has on the body. You can help
them to combat stress by teaching
activities that relieve it. Blowing
bubbles is great even at the toddler
age, and simple yoga techniques work
well for little ones, too. Older kids can
relieve tension with walking or running,
listening to and/or dancing to music, or
18 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM
talking it out, either with you or with a
mental health professional.
toward healthier meals, many still lack
adequate funding for healthier foods,
especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
ÒParents canÕt assume that schools
will promote healthy lifestyle behaviors
in their childÕs education,Ó said Dr.
Hanks. ÒThey need to advocate for
health promotion, whether it be
increased physical activity, healthy
interactions between students or
healthy dietary habits.Ó
Stay on top of things by attending
school administrative meetings and
voicing the need for healthy lifestyle
behaviors to be incorporated into your
childÕs education, he suggested.
Once youÕve begun taking some steps
toward a healthier family lifestyle, youÕll
likely start to see the positive benefts
for both your child Ð and you. And you
can rest assured that youÕve done your
best to give your child the best chance
for a healthy future. MS&F
Don’t underestimate your power
as a role model, said Ritchie. ÒAs
a mother and a health practitioner,
I believe that a healthy lifestyle for
our children comes directly from the
example we set by the lifestyle we lead.
Balance in what we eat, in how much
we exercise, how much we work, and
in our emotional lives translates into
the same for our children.Ó
Not only can you be a role model
at home with your child, you can be a
role model and leader for your entire
community by getting involved in
health promotion at your childÕs school.
The Physical Activity Council reports
that a full 48 percent of high schools
have no PE classes, and recess time for
elementary kids is being cut short in
favor of increased learning time. And
while federal programs and funding
have helped many schools move
By The Numbers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetic Association,
and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute provide the following statistics about
chronic disease in the United States:
• Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in the country, with 7 out of every
10 deaths due to these conditions.
• Chronic health conditions account for $3 of every $4 spent on healthcare.
• The average health care costs for a person with 1 or more chronic health conditions
is 5 times greater than for those without a chronic disease.
• The rate of obesity, which leads to many chronic health conditions, has tripled in
kids aged 2-11 and more than tripled in kids aged 12-19 over the past 20 years.
• Without big changes, 1 in 3 babies born today will develop type 2 diabetes.
ı SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
Ensure Your
Child Has a
HEALTHY
FUTURE
BY LINDA HEPLER, BSN, RN
OF COURSE you would do anything to protect your
children. You take them for regular medical checkups, use
car seats and seat belts appropriately, and insist upon a
helmet when bike riding or skateboarding. But are you
protecting them against chronic diseases?
Chronic conditions such as heart disease, stroke, diabetes
type 2 and cancer usually emerge during middle age – and
most of us fnd it hard to even think about a time that far
ahead in our little ones’ lives. But according to the World
Health Organization, it is only after long exposure to
unhealthy lifestyle habits that we develop chronic diseases,
16 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM
ı SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
and if we can instill healthy lifestyle habits early in our
children’s lives, thus reducing some of the risk factors, a full
80 percent of premature heart disease, stroke and type 2
diabetes, and over 40 percent of cancers could be prevented.
In today’s busy world, with multiple demands on parents
and kids alike, helping kids to develop healthy behavior
habits is not easy, said Robert Hanks, Ph.D, R.N., an assistant
professor at the UTHealth School of Nursing. “…it does take
work and planning. However, even small steps are benefcial
in the long term in promoting healthy families.”
What are some of the steps you can take? Here are four
ideas from the health pros:
2
1
Begin early to instill healthy eating
habits. It’s never too early, said
Jennifer Ritchie, an International Board
Certifed Lactation Consultant who
owns Milkalicious, a lactation consulting
business in California. “I can tell you
that engendering a healthy lifestyle in
our kids starts, when possible, with
breastfeeding,” she claimed. “Statistics
don’t lie, and the statistics tell us that
children who are breastfed are far less
prone to obesity later in life…”
Obesity, as many of us are aware,
leads to chronic conditions like high
blood pressure, unstable cholesterol
levels and diabetes type 2, all of which
are risk factors for heart disease and
stroke. Obesity is also a risk factor for
many cancers.
As babies begin eating, it’s important
to incorporate healthy foods into their
diets, such as fruits and veggies, small
amounts of lean meats, dairy foods
and whole grains. “In addition,” said Dr.
Hanks, “resisting the urge to purchase
fast food or snack foods that are poor
nutritional choices is key.”
In other words, those foods that
are eaten regularly will become, over
a lifetime, what your child thinks of
as good. And what he hasn’t had very
often – like sugary cereals or treats
like pastries, cookies, candies and soft
drinks, salty snacks and fried foods –
will be considered an occasional treat,
and not a food to regularly indulge in.
When children get older, food issues
should be an important dialogue
between parents and children, said
Danelle Fisher, MD, Vice Chair of
Pediatrics at Providence Saint John’s
Health Center in Santa Monica,
California. “You can take your children to
the grocery store and teach them how
to read labels – not everything on the
label, but things like the protein, fat and
sugar content,” she explained.
One of the most important things to
learn to read on food product labels,
added Dr. Fisher, is what a serving size
is. “You think you’re doing great with
eating something without too much
sugar or fat,” she said, “until you fnd
out you’ve just consumed three servings
of it.”
Parents can make learning about
healthy foods fun for their kids, she
continued. “Even a toddler can pick out
a fruit or vegetable at the grocery store
or the farmers market to try this week.”
If you have time and space, kids can
help to plant and tend a small garden
plot, and harvest the produce for meals.
According to Dr. Fisher, kids should be
involved in the cooking process at age
appropriate levels. Whether it’s helping
to cut up veggies, stir the eggs for
breakfast or add interesting seasonings,
there are many learning opportunities
afforded by helping to prepare meals.
And despite the busy family schedule,
try to eke out one meal per day to eat
as a family as often as possible, she
suggested. “Eating meals together as
a family increases a child’s awareness
of what foods and what serving sizes
should be eaten, and it decreases the
likelihood of obesity.”
By the time your kids are into their
teen years, they’ll be making many of
their own food decisions, and you won’t
be able to be with them all of the time
to see what they’re eating. But if you’ve
done your job early on, they’ll likely be
eating as they were taught – at least
most of the time.
Incorporate physical activity into
daily life. “In short, get up and move!”
said Dr. Hanks. Encourage walking
or biking after school, whether it’s to
do errands or exercise the dog. You
can also “encourage your children to
participate in sports or even participate
in chores that require physical activity,”
recommended Dr. Hanks.
If your child isn’t interested in team
sports, there are a lot of individual
sports, too, such as martial arts,
swimming, or dancing. If classes don’t
ft into your budget, look for less
expensive options through your local
YMCA or Girls and Boys Club.
And while technology should be limited
because it promotes a sedentary
lifestyle, “not all technology is a
bad infuence,” said Dr. Hanks. “For
example, Wii can be used for exercise
routines and for instructional purposes.
Another example of technology being
a beneft to increasing activity is the
relatively new smart watch concept that
can double as an activity tracker.”
Instilling good physical activity habits
can also mean teaching the simple
things, like walking to the library
instead of driving, taking the stairs
instead of opting for an elevator, or
using a push mower instead of the rider
at least some of the time.
SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
ı WWW.MAXSPORTSANDFITNESS.COM
17
3
4
Teach stress-busting techniques.
More and more research is showing
that not only do stress hormones cause
us to crave sugar, fat and starches Ð
like that candy bar you just had to have
while working against a deadline Ð but
they also cause physiological changes
in the body that lead to chronic health
conditions. One example is heart
disease; stress hormones cause plaque
to build up on blood vessel walls as well
as increasing body infammation, both
of which are bad for the ticker.
According to a recent study
published in the journal Biological
Psychiatry, stress hormones may slow
metabolism. In the study, women who
had experienced one or more stressful
events in the day prior to eating a
fast food meal burned over 100 fewer
calories after consuming the unhealthy
food than did women who ate the same
meal but reported little or no stress the
day before. Stress researchers believe
that stress hormones also contribute to
fat storage by making insulin levels rise
and fat oxidation levels fall.
While kids may have different
underlying reasons for stress than
adults do (mom and dadÕs divorce,
that tough test coming up, diffculties
at school or with friends), they do
experience stress Ð and the negative
effects it has on the body. You can help
them to combat stress by teaching
activities that relieve it. Blowing
bubbles is great even at the toddler
age, and simple yoga techniques work
well for little ones, too. Older kids can
relieve tension with walking or running,
listening to and/or dancing to music, or
18 WWW.MAXMUSCLE.COM
talking it out, either with you or with a
mental health professional.
toward healthier meals, many still lack
adequate funding for healthier foods,
especially fresh fruits and vegetables.
ÒParents canÕt assume that schools
will promote healthy lifestyle behaviors
in their childÕs education,Ó said Dr.
Hanks. ÒThey need to advocate for
health promotion, whether it be
increased physical activity, healthy
interactions between students or
healthy dietary habits.Ó
Stay on top of things by attending
school administrative meetings and
voicing the need for healthy lifestyle
behaviors to be incorporated into your
childÕs education, he suggested.
Once youÕve begun taking some steps
toward a healthier family lifestyle, youÕll
likely start to see the positive benefts
for both your child Ð and you. And you
can rest assured that youÕve done your
best to give your child the best chance
for a healthy future. MS&F
Don’t underestimate your power
as a role model, said Ritchie. ÒAs
a mother and a health practitioner,
I believe that a healthy lifestyle for
our children comes directly from the
example we set by the lifestyle we lead.
Balance in what we eat, in how much
we exercise, how much we work, and
in our emotional lives translates into
the same for our children.Ó
Not only can you be a role model
at home with your child, you can be a
role model and leader for your entire
community by getting involved in
health promotion at your childÕs school.
The Physical Activity Council reports
that a full 48 percent of high schools
have no PE classes, and recess time for
elementary kids is being cut short in
favor of increased learning time. And
while federal programs and funding
have helped many schools move
By The Numbers
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the American Diabetic Association,
and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute provide the following statistics about
chronic disease in the United States:
• Chronic diseases are the leading cause of death in the country, with 7 out of every
10 deaths due to these conditions.
• Chronic health conditions account for $3 of every $4 spent on healthcare.
• The average health care costs for a person with 1 or more chronic health conditions
is 5 times greater than for those without a chronic disease.
• The rate of obesity, which leads to many chronic health conditions, has tripled in
kids aged 2-11 and more than tripled in kids aged 12-19 over the past 20 years.
• Without big changes, 1 in 3 babies born today will develop type 2 diabetes.
ı SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2015
