Children Beware: Cultural Landmines Abound 
By Merilee A. Kern 

We live in a time when childhood obesity is reaching epic proportions, as are the typical food servings dished up to our nation's youth - much to their naive delight. The old adage remains true: ignorance is bliss, but its time for our children to get educated on the relationship of lifestyle and health!

Rather than hemming and hawing about the gravity of the problem, practical methods of teaching children how to recognize and, in turn, circumvent negative societal influences while also imparting how and why to make better lifestyle choices is long overdue. Given all of the negative stimuli our kids encounter each and every day - sometimes hour by hour - of course they are going to make poor choices. Simply put, they are easy prey, and society is setting them up for failure.

With the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reporting that over 20 percent of American children are either overweight or obese, now more than ever we must help our kids recognize the overwhelming number of cultural influences outside their span of control that impact their decision making, and lessen the emotional burden carried by children who have internalized the responsibility for their weight problem. Rather than harboring displaced blame or guilt, our nation's children would greatly benefit from re-focusing their emotional and physical energy on effecting positive, healthful changes in their life.

This all sounds good in theory but, rather than conjecture, we need action...primarily by parents who are the true foot soldiers in our kids' battle of the bulge. And, it's NOT rocket science. For starters, parents must teach their children the vernacular of healthy living, so they understand exactly why they are being asked to do things as it relates to their health so they make the proper connections. Children should know that it's important to drink milk because it contains calcium that will make their bones strong, or to eat protein because it will help them develop muscle strength. They should know that their parents go to the gym to work out or walk outside because exercising helps keep their heart healthy.

Parents, teachers and other adolescent caregivers should TALK about the health risks of a chronically overweight and obese condition, including age-appropriate concepts related to high blood pressure, high cholesterol and type 2 diabetes. Parents should point out those television commercials, billboards and other commercial advertising that attempts to influence their child(ren) to make a poor choice, and talk about what a healthy alternative would be. While out and about, parents should show the child exactly how temptations are strategically placed practically everywhere they go, and how to read the Nutrition Facts on food labels so they don't fall victim to false or misleading health claims.

Parents should teach children how to eat "appropriate" portions of food - even when the restaurant serves entrees that could feed a family of four, should stock their home with nutritious snack and other foods so that their children are enabled to make proper choices, and should limit the amount of time their child is allowed to spend in front of the TV, computer and/or video game system. Parents should teach their child to take the stairs even if an elevator is right nearby. This is the tip of the iceberg...there are so many practical ways we can teach our kids to make the right choices in life.

The bottom line is simple: childhood obesity not only spells danger for the future health of our children, but for our nation at large. As such, it's our collective responsibility to help kids navigate the omnipresent cultural landmines.
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Child health advocate, weight-loss industry veteran and former bodybuilding champion Merilee A. Kern is co-founder and CEO of Healthy Kids' Catalog® - an online resource offering Solutions That Foster Healthy Children™.  She is also author of the fictional children’s book, "It's Not Your Fault That You’re Overweight - A Story of Enlightenment, Empowerment and Accomplishment for Overweight and Obese Kids". She can be reached through the Healthy Kids' Catalog Web site at www.HealthyKidsCatalog.com.

Getting our kids off to school in the morning with a tummy full of healthy food will do wonders for their well-being - and can even help them achieve good grades due to more stable blood sugar levels, which increases brain function including the classroom-critical attention span. Here are a few easy ways to give your child(ren) a healthy head start each day:
 

• Unplug!  Turn off the TV while eating breakfast, as studies show that those who watch TV while eating consume higher amounts of fat - and also are more inclined to eat
  "mindlessly."
• Small changes at breakfast = big results.  Skim milk instead of whole, wheat toast vs. white, sugar-free all-fruit jam vs. butter, egg whites or egg substitute vs. whole eggs, lean ham vs. bacon, sliced tomatoes vs. hash browns...you get the idea
• Parents can make healthier cereals just as exciting to children by putting their own toy of choice into the box, which the sugary cereals do to increase demand
• Inspire!  Especially for the younger children, commend them for their healthy food choice(s) by proclaiming how strong, fast, smart, etc. you bet (s)he will be that day for eating such a healthy breakfast.  It's also fun to tell children to you "just saw them grow an inch" upon their completing notably healthy breakfast fare.  Measure the top of their head to your body to "prove" it.

How do you know if your child is underweight, at a normal weight, or is at risk of being, or is, overweight?  No need to guess...in fact, don't!  Instead, use the CDC's Body Mass Index calculator and reference the related BMI information *specific* to children and teens at http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/bmi/bmi-for-age.htm

Get Inspired! Take a brief moment to glance at the adorable and insightful artwork submitted by the 4 elementary and middle school-age children who won the 2006 Children's "Heart-Smart Art
Contest" - an initiative that inspired scores of kids throughout America to "think health" at onset of the New Year by artistically depicting good lifestyle choices. To view the winning entries, visit http://www.notfault.com/artcontestwinners.html