Combat Childhood Obesity

A major health problem in the making. By working with your children and getting them involved in their own eating habits away from home, you can help set healthy habits for their lifetime.

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1. Combating Childhood Obesity Starts at Home
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The increasing rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes in children are astounding. The CDC and the Surgeon General have declared that the rising rates of obesity and diabetes in adults and children are epidemics that must be dealt with. Government officials are creating new policies to encourage healthy eating and exercise in the community. Unfortunately, these programs will have minimal impact if parents and families don't begin to make changes at home.

The importance of eating dinner at home with the family has largely gone unrecognized, but is crucial to ensuring that children eat healthy. A recent study in the Archives of Family Medicine (March 2000) examined the nutritional quality of the diets of 16,000 children aged 9-14 years. The study found that the children who ate dinner more often with their
families had better quality diets. They were more likely to eat the five or more recommended servings of fruits and vegetables, and were less likely to eat fried foods away from home or drink soda. Dinner with family also meant better intake of several vitamins and minerals, with less intake of saturated and trans fat.

It is believed by many nutrition researchers that early nutritional patterns set the tone for habits during adult life. As a parent, it is important to teach healthy eating habits and set an example for your children. But many parents don't know where to begin and a nutritious diet can be a tough sell to kids who are constantly bombarded with bright, colorful
advertisements for processed snacks and fast food. Kids have more opportunities than ever to indulge in unhealthy habits with foods that are high in sugar, salt, refined carbohydrates, and saturated fat. It is reported that more than 4,500 schools now serve Taco Bell products and an estimated 30 percent of schools offer other name-brand fast foods for lunch.

So what can a parent do in a world full of processed snacks, sugary breakfast cereals and fast food? We asked registered dietitian, Janice Davidson, to provide some suggestions on healthy snacks and creative ways to get your kids to eat healthy. Her suggestions are below.

Snacks for School
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1- Fruits and Veggies
If fruits and vegetables are not their first choice then you must become more creative. It is also important to have them be included in the shopping and preparation process. Then they become responsible for what is or isn't in their lunch box.

2- Yogurt Parfait
Layer yogurt with fresh berries or fruit and top with granola in plastic cups with lids. The plastic cups with lids can be found at Costco. These can be made days ahead of time and used for three to four days. Keep granola in a little baggie to prevent it from becoming soggy before their snack.

3- Breakfast Fruit Wraps
Take a whole grain tortilla. Place a layer of yogurt to cover the wrap. Place a selection of their favorite fruits and layer on top of the yogurt. You can add in dried raisins, cranberries or other dried fruits, seeds or nuts of their choice. Roll tightly and place in Saran wrap. Then cover the Saran wrap with aluminum foil to stay cold.

4- Fruit Kabobs
Have your child select their favorite fruits. Cut them into smaller chunks and then drizzle lemon juice over them to keep them fresh and bright. Place onto cocktail straws and wrap in plastic. (at home some fruits are great frozen like grapes or melons).

5- Fresh Fruit Smoothie
Start with a base of rice milk, almond milk, grain milk, soy milk or Vitamite (real dairy can create too much mucus for
many children). You can also start with fresh orange juice, which is a great source of vitamin C and folic acid. Start with 8 oz. of liquid, you can also add in a little yogurt, fresh or frozen fruits such as strawberries, raspberries, bananas. Add in a little ice and top off with a piece of fruit and straw. Serves two.
(If taking to school, freeze the night before in plastic container. Leave a little room for expanding when freezing. This will keep their lunch cold.

6- Veggie Kabobs
Select baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, peppers, or any veggies they will like. Place on a plastic cocktail straw. Wrap in Saran. Serve with a side dish of lower fat ranch dressing, French dressing, Caesar dressing. For added protein, add on little cubes of mozzarella cheese or yogurt cheese.

7- Trail Mix
Each child should have their own large plastic container at home that they refill their snack bags from. Allow them to experiment and try new items. Remember they get bored and their taste will continually change. Select from: dried apple rings, pineapple rings, cherries, strawberries, cranberries, bananas, papaya, mango, apricots. Add in golden or dark
raisins (good source of iron), and any seeds or nuts they will eat. Select raw or dried roasted almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin, sesame, pistachio seeds. A handful is a good snack to keep energy up and to stay focused. It is best not to have them eat the fruit alone which is too much sugar.

8- String Cheese Sticks (good source of protein and calcium)
An individually wrapped string cheese. Select healthy crackers or snacks from your list to go with it. Available by Horizon Organic in mozzarella or Colby cheese flavors.

9-Yogurt (good source of protein and calcium)
Select yogurts with no aspartame or high fructose corn syrup, such as those from Mountain High, Alta Dena, Horizon Organic, Stoneyfield YoSqueeze Organic Lowfat Yogurt. Place in freezer and it will be thawed by the time the children have a snack or lunch. (2 oz. Container)

10- Milk Boxes
There are several brands of 8 oz. milks available on the market today. Because milk is so congestive and also loaded with antibiotics I recommend to find brands your children will enjoy. Silk Soy available in chocolate, berry and vanilla, rice milk, almond milk, or when using cow Horizon Organic which contain no chemicals or hormones. They are usually sold in packages of three.

11- Nut Butters
Peanuts may create allergies so move towards almond, macadamia or cashew butters that have no preservatives added. These will serve as a side dish for dipping fruits or veggies and provide protein and also fats as oil, so use sparingly during school hours. Too much will create fatigue and lack of focus.

12- Multi-Grain Selection
Grains provide a great source of natural fiber, B complex and often iron. Look carefully at labels to begin to remove hydrogenated oils and trans-fatty oils from your shopping list. Children are often overloaded with wheat products, which create sensitivities, allergies and gluten intolerance.

Begin to integrate a wide selection of whole unprocessed grains such as buckwheat, oats, millet, bran, rye, flax, kamut,
kashi. Start to pack corn tortillas, pita pockets, and crunchy lavosh crackers rather than two pieces of white bread. Most children lack time to eat and a big sandwich usually gets overlooked and the children would often rather pick and choose from smaller side dishes. Stone ground corn chips, blue corn, rice crackers, sesame sticks, pretzels with peanut butter, rolled granola, provide more grains and add variety to snacks.

Grain bread or crackers can be added with a thermos of soup in cooler weather.

Desserts
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Look for individual serving size container of apple sauce or organic puddings. Santa Cruz Organic puts out combination sauces of apple-cinnamon, apple-apricot, apple-berry.

Infinity2 E.N.E.R.G.Y. and Fruit Fat Burner Bars, Nature Valley Oats and Honey Granola bars, cliff bars (many flavors), health valley (many flavors), are easy for after school snacks before practices.

Juice Boxes 8 oz. individuals Read the labels and look for those that include only 100% juice. Orange juice, pineapple, cherry, concord grape juices have a high percentage of vitamin C and minerals. But, many juices have very little nutritional value. Apple juice, often the most common, has little nutrition, high sugar and creates lots of gas. Cocktail juices are mainly sugars from high fructose corn syrup. These are empty calories, which create obesity in children.

Costco, Trader Joes, Jimbos and Henrys seem to provide the best selection and value.

For more information on nutrional supplements see our website at www.personalhealth.infinity2.com

Consult your health practitioner on all medications, herbs and supplements you are taking. Consult your health professional before beginning The Enzyme Diet(tm) or any other diet or exercise program. Some herbs can react with medications, both prescribed and over the counter, and some herbal combinations can cause serious side effects.
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