Health Information Center

There are times when you really have to take a step back and ask what is going on here? We all want our children to grow up to be happy and healthy. So why do we do things that not only do not help them with this goal but may make it harder for them?

On the weekend my daughter brought in something she found in her cupboard. It was from a party she went to around November of last year. It was a bright orange sweet which looked a bit like a snowman in three layers with faces and decoration. Pretty as a picture.

The reverse side was not so pretty. The ingredient panel showed it to be sugar, glucose syrup and six “numbers”. These are artificial additives coloring and preservatives. Included in this were two coloring agents that are banned in the UK but not Australia. The use by date was May 2011!

This is basically chemically colored sugar in suspended animation. There is not only no goodness in it but chemicals that the livers of these young bodies will have to work to remove.

Now you are right in thinking that there is no use putting a stick of celery or carrot in a party bag for children. It is a treat and does not happen that often. However there are two issues to think about. Continue reading ‘Treats For Children – Think About What You Are Giving Your Child As a Treat’ »

When I was growing up, there was a kind of stigma to bringing a lunch to school. Most kids bought lunch, and there were many times I looked at the food they were eating…fried chicken, French fries and usually a dessert. It didn’t compare well to the bologna sandwich and apple in my lunch bag.

In elementary school it wasn’t quite as bad; my grandmother lived across the street and we often ate lunch there. The only problem came up when she wanted fried liver for lunch. That is one of the few foods I cannot tolerate.

However, the question is, which is better? In some school systems, a move is being made towards healthy lunches, though not all districts, nor even most districts are doing so. One reason is cost. Low fat products such as ninety-three percent fat free beef are not cheap. Lesser cuts, particularly hamburger are much more cost efficient. More meals for less money.

There is a second reason, and it’s one you may run into when deciding to pack a healthy lunch for your child. Kids don’t really want to eat fresh fruits and vegetables. When the healthy foods the schools buy at premium price are dumped in the trash, the schools get the picture.

Packing a lunch can be just as unhealthy, if the wrong foods are put in the bag. Potato chips and snack cakes are not necessarily going to help you in the fight against childhood obesity, even if it is what your child prefers. What’s the solution? Continue reading ‘To Buy Or to Bring – School Lunches?’ »

The adage about our children being our future remains true today. So that being the case what are we doing about the health of our children? Statistics show that 25% of Australian children are overweight or obese. Figures from the USA are comparable and many European countries like Greece Portugal and Spain are in the same boat.

The figures from Greece are the most interesting as they reveal one of the key reasons we have this problem. Between 1982 and 2002 there had been a trebling in the number of overweight Greek 12 year old children. During this time there had been a move away from the “traditional” Mediterranean diet and an embracing of processed high sugar foods. The traditional diet was based on vegetables fruit, unrefined grains olive oil for cooking with a bit of fish nuts poultry and eggs thrown in. There was not a lot of red meat consumed and virtually no refined sugars. This diet provides lots of nutrition and is not calorie dense.

Contrast this with a diet of hamburgers, soft drinks, biscuits and other processed foods, which make up, a “typical” western diet. This is the exact opposite – calorie dense with not much nutrition. If you then add into the mix that many children are not physically active, spending hours in front of screens, we can see why children like adults are getting heavier.

There is much hand wringing going on about childhood obesity. There is no shortage of opinions on how to “manage the crisis”. As is usually the case, calls are made to ban advertising of “junk foods” and for government to provide “funding” for various programs. Of course this funding goes mainly to program providers, often the same people who are arguing for funding for such programs. Continue reading ‘Childhood Obesity – Teach Children to Cook Real Food to Reduce Childhood Obesity’ »

Teaching kids about health and healthy living involves two key components. The first component is to teach kids about healthy lifestyles. The second component is to model a healthy lifestyle in your own choices and behaviors.

The Fun Way To Eating Healthy

It’s common knowledge that childhood obesity rates are among the highest they’ve ever been. That means that you, as the parent or caregiver, need to provide healthy food choices for your children to select from. You can teach kids to make wise choices at home and when they eat out at restaurants, including fast food places. Emphasize that protein is an essential part of a healthy diet and that poultry, meat, and fish all contain high levels of protein. Teach them that protein works similar to the way fuel works in a train or other vehicle-their bodies need it in order to function properly and keep them going.

Teach kids about healthy choices for side dishes, as well. Carbohydrates are another important part of a child’s diet, but there are both good carbohydrates and bad carbohydrates, so they should be taught which are the best carb choices when making their selections. Fruits and vegetables are the best sources. Pasta, rice, and potatoes are good choices, too, but whole grains are the best. A proper serving size for these items is approximately cup. You will need to show children how much that actually is, and the best way to do that is to demonstrate it by serving portions of that size.

Please not that some fats should be included in our diet. Do not get rid of them as a whole. I am not a big fan of sugars, but some sugar is ok just don’t let your children over indulge.

Exercise And Health

In past decades, kids used to play outside until the moon appeared. These days are quite different. More and more parents are looking at the safety concerns when leaving children outside with no supervision. Work days are even more hectic which means that any kids activities need to be scheduled in order for our kids to play. Continue reading ‘Kids and Health – We Have to Teach Them’ »

Some things just flat make sense. One of those is that if you want your young ones to lead a healthy life style, you introduce that lifestyle to them early. A great way to do that is take the young ones with you when you go biking or jogging. That’s where InSTEP and several other companies fit into the picture. They manufacture and distribute the bicycle trailers and jogger strollers that allow you to do that.

The trailers are a stroller on bicycle wheels that hold one or two children and connects via a safety hitch to your bicycle. The strollers are much the same with the exception it has a third wheel where the bicycle hitch would be. With the trailer, you pull it as you ride your bicycle. With the stroller, you push as you jog. Most manufacturers now have conversion kits that allow you to take the same carrier and convert it from a trailer to a jogger or vice versa.

There are several manufacturers offering Bicycle Trailers and Jogger Strollers in today’s health conscious international market place. This article will focus on InSTEP and its sister company Schwinn, both owned by Pacific Cycle Inc. InSTEP, particularly, has been one of the leaders in this market for years. It is common for InSTEP and Schwinn to co-market their products, being under the same ownership. They currently offer: Continue reading ‘InSTEP Bicycle Trailer – Just Makes Sense to Introduce Your Children to a Healthy Life Style Young’ »

My 11 year old son, John, since he was tiny has followed in the footsteps of his dad and adored TV and his games consoles, he has an Xbox, a DS and a PlayStation – he was a gripped by technology. This was OK. At first I didn’t mind his passion for gaming and TV and we do live in an age where this technology is prevalent but it did start to become everything that was important in his life – he didn’t want to do anything other than sit and game. I love my son and I thought that allowing him to have his own way, letting him do exactly, everything he wanted was showing him how much I love him. How wrong can one be…

Recently I really started to regret giving into John and letting him have the consoles in the first instance and then letting play so much on them when he got them – I always remember hearing Sharon Osbourne’s kids saying “Why didn’t you ever say NO to us? Why did you let us have and do everything we want?” Those kids were questioning their parent’s methods of discipline; to me this says it all. I had realised that I had done much the same as Sharon Osbourne (but on a budget). Kids need discipline and routine and I had been an irresponsible parent and let John have and do what he wanted. In the last year he hasn’t wanted to do much other than play with this technology. But it wasn’t his fault – we learn from our parents don’t we. It was definitely all my doing.

For me guilt didn’t help, I felt guilty for having to go to work and for not being there to drop him off to school and pick him up. I think a lot of mums experience these emotions. And do you know I think my son knew it, he isn’t a vindictive or nasty child but like all children he would play on my emotions and try to use this to his advantage especially when it came to getting his way and doing what he wanted to do.

As a result of technology – consoles, internet and TV and with me letting him become this way he was obsessed, gripped, by gadgets and he had become 3 stone overweight. I was so devastated, how could I let this happen. I was messing up my son’s future and health by giving in to his wants. At first I didn’t know how to put it right but I realised that I had to discover a way.

I tried everything and with some tough love things did start to get a little better but the entire house was miserable for weeks. John kept to my new house rules and we would spend more time together doing school work and what a chore he made it – he had a long face and constantly moaned. He did also only spend an hour a day on the consoles and did watch less TV. Instead we got out board games but all I ever heard was “I am fed up”. I felt like I was trying to wean him off a drug. We would go swimming once a week and walks at a weekend which we enjoyed but that really wasn’t enough exercise and it was still apparent that when we were at home we were doing way too much sitting down. I realised that I wasn’t getting it quite right. How could I stimulate and inspire him? How could I motivate & encourage him and reawaken his enthusiasm for other activities? How could I get him moving around at home instead of slouching around the house?

I got onto the internet and I searched long and hard. I puzzled over it for hours, the PC screen began to blur and my eyes ached. I really started to detest technology; it made me feel lethargic and drained. I began to reminisce about my little boy that loved digging in the garden, playing with his cars. Zooming in and out the house he was full of life and energy, his eagerness was such a contrast to now. I walked over to the games console and picked up the wireless control – what could I get that was similar to this that didn’t mean he was sat in front of a screen, what could I get that would get him of his chair and get him jumping around full of life? Then it dawned on me… Continue reading ‘Fat & Obsessed With Technology – How Could I Find a Way to Get My Child's Weight in Check?’ »