Help Your Child

The American Heart Association estimates that the number of overweight children in the U.S. tripled between 1980 and 2000, and a national survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about one-third of U.S. children (about 25 million) are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

Statistics show that overweight children and adolescents tend to have many health problems as they grow up. These include type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, depression, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

Overweight children may also experience greater mental stress than children of normal weight as they tend to have fewer friends. This can cause them to feel isolation, leading to higher rates of suicidal thoughts and an increased risk for actual suicide.

As a doctor, I have observed that children are becoming not just more and more overweight, but less healthy overall. I see many children in my office who are chronically tired and struggling with recurrent infections, and I worry that we may be the first generation to see parents outliving their children on a regular basis.
Life has clearly changed in modern times and it seems our children are suffering for it. Help your child by keeping these three aspects of life in contemporary America that particularly affect children in mind:

1. Diet.
   Farming practices such as over fertilization have depleted key nutrients from our soils, so fresh fruits and vegetables contain fewer vitamins and minerals than they did years ago. What this means is that even our freshest foods may be nutritionally deprived!

   Perhaps even more problematic, though, is the fact so much of the food our children are eating is not even close to being natural or whole- it is convenience food featuring the 3 P’s: pre-made, prepackaged, and processed. Fast foods do not contain the nutrients children need for optimal growth and development. Instead, children often end up overfed but undernourished. Help your child and research a balanced diet for them. 

2. Low Activity.

   Most children spend many hours a day watching television, playing video games, and in front of computers. These activities take the place of being physically active outdoors and are correlated with an increased risk of becoming obese.

3. Chemicals.

   Children are particularly susceptible to the chemicals present in our environment: from food additives (artificial flavors, colors, and sweeteners) to lawn sprays to industrial pollutants. Exposure to these chemicals can weaken our children’s immunity and may contribute to their weight gain.

5 Tips On How To Keep A Child Healthy

The important thing to remember is that small changes can help to improve your kids’ health and their lives. Below are some simple things you can do to make a difference.

1. Limit Electronic Media and Encourage Other Activities
   Television, video games, and the computer are all fun activities for kids, but so are activities like reading, board games, catch, tag, and hide and seek. Playing outside is one of the healthiest behaviors you can encourage in your children.

   The more children play outside, the less likely they are to be overweight, and the more likely they are to be happier and healthier overall. Encourage your kids to be active now and they will be more active throughout their lives.

2. Boot the Junk and Focus on Healthy Meals and Snacks.
   Improving your children’s nutrition is incredibly important as it affects all aspects of their health including, but not limited to, their energy levels, immune function, growth, brain development, and weight.

   Find ways to improve on your kids’ favorite meals. Substitute health promoting ingredients for unhealthful ones. If you don’t think your kids will approve of your substitutions, go ahead and sneak them in: they may not even notice.

   If there’s junk food in the house, your children will eat it and so will you. Do your whole family a favor and toss the junk. Listed below are some healthy snacks that most children enjoy.

• Fresh fruit or veggies with nut butter or yoghurt
• Whole grain or rice crackers with nut butter or cheese
• Yogurt and berries
• A handful of raw nuts, seeds or dried fruit
• Hummus and carrot sticks or whole wheat pita
• A smoothie with yogurt, fruit, and whey powder
• CocoCassava bars
• Romaine lettuce leaves with turkey and avocado

1. Give your kids a great Multi-Vitamin.
   If your children aren’t getting the nutrients they need, they will always be hungry. Giving kids a multivitamin helps fill in nutritional gaps. Start them out with a high quality multiple like Vitakids
2. Be A Healthy Role Model.
   If you are living a healthy lifestyle and eating well, your kids will learn from you. Reading books together, playing outside together, and cooking wholesome meals together are examples of activities that help children develop good life-long health habits. Children will do what you do, not what you say. If you want them to be healthy, then make your own health a priority.
3. Talk to Your Kids.
   Many times children eat because they are unhappy, and if they’re already overweight, they could be suffering social consequences. Talk to your children – your support matters.

Highly Recommended Products for kids:

• VITAKIDS Multi-Vitamin
• CocoCassava bars

References:

1. Overweight in Children and Adolescents: Pathophysiology, Consequences, Prevention and Treatment. Circulation. 2005;
   111:1999-2012.
2. How Much TV Does Your Child Watch? Retrieved from Mercola.com
3. Weight Loss: Childhood Obesity. Retrieved from MayoClinic.com