Growing a Green Family » Health & Wellness

Healthy & Green Lifestyle Series: Childhood Weight, Food and Activity

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 18:39:40 +0000

This year I’ve been working on a series about healthy food and other food issues, exercise and activity, the pressing childhood obesity epidemic and more.

Image by Flickr User Bruce Tuten

All of the posts in this series relate to healthy kids, with a focus on these main topics:

How to be more involved in what and how your kids are eating.
How to recognize and deal with food and activity problems in your home.
How to deal with any food and exercise issues that may be holding you back as a good parent.

The overall goal of this series is for parents to gain the tools to raise kids who are allowed to and able to make healthy and green choices for a lifetime. Following, I’ve broken this series down into more manageable chunks…

If you like, bookmark this page, as I’ll be updating it as the series continues.

Start Here

Image by Flickr User guy schmidt

Understanding Food & Activity Issues in America

Parents in Denial

Health Consequences of an Overweight or Obese Childhood

Healthy Meal Tools

Affordable Healthy Meals

Healthy Activity Tools

Get Over Your Fear of Kids Being Kids – so they can be more active

Parenting Food Fails + How to Solve Them

Image by Flickr User woodleywonderworks

Legal and Public Issues Surrounding Food and Activity

Extras

Quick Green Tip: Non-toxic Winter Sunscreen

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 19:06:31 +0000

I know, it’s cold and wet and the last thing you’re thinking about is sunshine and summer-minded stuff like sunscreen. Still, did you know that sunscreen is a year-round issue? It’s true.

During the winter you are far less likely to get an actual sunburn, because the sun sits at a different angle. That said, the sun is still present as are radiating ultraviolet light. Ultraviolet exposure does occur even during the winter months and even when it’s cloudy. When you cut your exposure to these rays you in turn cut your risks for developing skin cancer.

Be sure to apply a safe non-toxic sunscreen to the most exposed areas of your body and your child’s body each day. Usually in winter this means the neck, face and ears.

Image by shuallyo via sxc.

10 Basic Principles for Greener and Healthier Family Meals

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 00:50:21 +0000

We’ve been discussing healthy food and lifestyle choices this year and now it’s time to put some of this knowledge into action. If you need (or want) to make your meals greener and healthier for the long haul, here are some easy ways your entire family can make it happen.

Image by Flickr User eyeliam

1. Know your strengths and weaknesses

Sit down and make a list of your family’s general food and meal strengths, weaknesses and wishes. It doesn’t have to be a long list. Focus on the biggies. For example, my list would say “I have a picky eater in the house (my son), but he does eat veggies like a champ. I’m a good baker but not so great when it comes to cooking. Plus, I hate grocery shopping and want to cook stuff that’s fast, but still healthy.”

What I might gather from this list is that I need to plan fast meals, do all my shopping once a week, not every night and I should probably look into a good cookbook or two so I can become a better cook. Oh, and I need to consider meals that my overly picky son will like. This list isn’t meant to be major goals you have to work on. The list is just there to get you thinking about food and how it affects your household. For instance, if you tend to cook in the microwave only, and aren’t willing to budge, it’s fine to try and plan healthy meals that can go in the microwave.

In general, a basic list like this means you acknowledge and maybe even embrace your food strengths and weaknesses, so that your attempts to remake your meals is with you, not against you.

Basic healthy actions you should take as a parent

2. Get some quick portion-size education

If you suspect that portion sizes are out of control at your house, it’ll require a bit of education. See the following for some basic food portion primers:

Next, if you don’t have any, get some basic measuring cups and keep them handy. Until you can eyeball proper portions, measuring cups are some of the best friends you can have and may mean the difference between a proper 120 calorie bowl of cereal and a 300 calorie bowl. Use those measuring cups to measure out serving sizes that are recommended in the links above. One more tip – use smaller dishes, as it will help you naturally serve up smaller, more appropriate sizes.

Image by Dor Sela

3. Get lovable with veggies and fruits

In many households, families focus on the main dish the most, which, in America, tends to be some sort of meat or often pasta. Paying more attention to how you cook and serve vegetables and fruits, means your family is more likely to eat them up. If you’re not sure how much love to give veggies and fruits, consider that experts say at least half your plate at meals should be made up of veggies and fruits. I’d say that’s a decent amount of love required.

To improve veggies and fruits, serve the freshest produce you can or on busy days go with frozen, not canned (ick). Frozen are best after fresh and have just as many nutrients. Steam, don’t boil. You can even serve raw veggies, which is super fast – plain or with a low-fat dip. Lastly get a great veggie cookbook and see what looks awesome – in fact, put kids in charge of choosing the veggies and fruits and if necessary cooking them. My son always eats his own cooking more than mine. Oh, and don’t forget, you can serve fruit as dessert.

4. Go organic

You might think I’m nuts to say, “Hey remake your meals” AND “Go organic too!” Doesn’t that sound like a lot of work?

Here’s the catch, going organic can help you eat healthier naturally. Organic food tends to be more expensive, thus requiring you to think about each purchase. Really thinking about the food you buy is a key step to healthier eating. Plus, with organic food costing what it does, you’ll be more inclined to spend the money you have on whole, fresh foods rather than junk.

As you go organic, work on discussing organics with the kids too. This is a great way to work green eating conversations into your family’s life.

One healthy organic meal that’s under $2 per person

5. Eat less meat

Eating less meat lowers your carbon footprint and in many cases is healthier, allowing you to cut fat and calories easily. Going meatless more often isn’t as painful as you might think and bonus, you’ll save tons of money. Meat is expensive! Start with meatless Monday and work up to more meatless meals from there.

6. Institute recipe hour

Once a week, sit down with the family and look through cookbooks, cooking magazines, the web, what have you, and make a semi-solid list of healthy meals and recipes you’d like to try during the week. Do this before you go grocery shopping. If you already have a stocked pantry, head to All Recipes and do an ingredient search, which can show you various ideas for what you have on hand.

Knowing ahead of time what you’ll be eating during the week can cut down on your mealtime stress level, save you money and stops you from eating fast food or junk just because it’s quicker.

Image by BlueOrange Studio

7. Shop less

Daily shopping for groceries encourages impulse buys, overspending and can make you so insane that you buy the first quick (and maybe not healthy) thing you see. I personally HATE shopping, even grocery shopping, so I make it a goal to go only on big shopping trips twice a month, where I stock up on dry goods and such, plus once a week to restock stuff like fresh veggies. Four shopping trips a month is a heck of a lot better than daily trips to the store.

Also this requires I plan healthy meals in advance, to a point. I’m not crazed about it, but we do plan a general menu for the week.

8. Cook together

Some kids really like to help out in the kitchen, and others don’t, but no matter what, your child should be involved, at least somewhat in meal planning, prep and cooking. Even little kids can shred spinach or lettuce, mix batter or scrub potatoes. With all kids, this gives you a chance to talk about why you cook how you do – i.e. why olive oil is a better choice than butter or how come you’re steaming, not boiling veggies.

Cooking is a skill your child will need as an adult, so it’s smart to start getting your child involved early. My own son isn’t that into cooking. I still keep him involved though. He helps to plan meals, sets the table or I’ll have him sit and talk to me while I cook. Once in a while he’ll even brave his way into the kitchen and cook something.

Image by Flickr User tiarescott

9. Eat together at the table

Research shows that eating together, as a family not only makes for more well adjusted kids but encourages healthy eating habits. Kids get enough screen time as it is, they don’t need to watch TV while eating. Plus screen time mixed with eating means you’re less likely to pay attention to normal hunger cues, meaning you may keep eating once you’re full.

Eating at the table helps you pay better attention to your child’s eating habits too. Such as you’ll notice if he’s loading up on unhealthy food toppings, taking three servings or skipping his veggies nightly. In turn, this gives you a chance to discuss healthy eating habits, along with the not so healthy ones. Eating at the table is also fun. If you’re not sure how to talk to your kids, start with high-low. We do it every night. Everyone says the best part and worst part of their day, which usually results in more conversation.

On top of eating together, ban phones, books, electronics and other distractions at mealtime.

10. Be honest about food issues

The biggest focus of my childhood obesity and healthy living series is that families need to talk. Without open and honest conversations about food, calories, weight and so on, kids will never learn to make healthy choices.

As noted before, talking about food is very hard for many parents, with most parents claiming it’s easier to discuss drugs and sex than food with a child. If you’ve got issues with food topics, get over it. You need to use mealtime to set a good example. If your child is loading up on 1,000 calories of tarter sauce, and you just ignore it, or sit and say, “That’s okay” you’re not helping your child. You need to speak up when you see unhealthy habits. Not in a mean way, but in a, “There’s a healthier way to eat” way.

Encourage even picky eaters to try a little of everything. Talk about foods your child likes and doesn’t. Mention why you made the healthier low-calorie fish over the fatty hamburger. These are issues kids can handle, and they should be allowed to handle them too, so they can grow up and make healthy choices for a lifetime.

Common pitfalls parents fall into with kids and food

New & Somewhat Healthier USDA School Lunch Guidelines

Jennifer Chait — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:50:33 +0000

Supposedly, school lunches are going to be getting a healthy makeover. At least, that’s the rumor circulating around first lady Michelle Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.

Also rumored is that the first lady is running into some problems because last year congress blocked the Agriculture Department from making healthy changes such as limiting french fries and pizzas. Also, the new rules will costs states some cash, when really states have little to spare. In fact, the new standards are expected to cost $3.2 billion over the next five years.

This is the very first time in 15 years that the USDA is making and major changes to school meals.In any case, a little change is better than no change at all, although I won’t believe it’s happening until I hear more and see better school lunches in action.

The new final rule standards were just released today. Key points include…

Offering both fruits and vegetables every day of the week
Increasing offerings of whole grain-rich foods.
Offering only fat-free or low-fat milk varieties.
Limiting calories based on the age of children being served to ensure proper portion size.
Increasing the focus on reducing the amounts of saturated fat, trans fats and sodium.

Check out a sample lunch menu (pdf) with a before and after comparison. In honor of the changes, let’s take a look back at some past Growing a Green Family school lunch posts:

What’s wrong with school lunches

Pack your own:

Image via USDAgov

Healthy Kid Meal Fail – Excess Toppings and Sauces

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:00:15 +0000

If you’re trying to cook healthier and serve your kids the correct food portions, something to watch out for are toppings, sauces and other add-ons.

Excessive toppings and sauces can turn an average healthy meal into a nightmare meal.

In many cases, parents allow their kids to dish up their own sauces and toppings, without discussing health cons, thus, kids are getting way more calories in a day then they should.

Cream cheese on a bagel can add up the calories quickly. Try a lighter spread then top it off with fruit.

5 average kid meal ruined by toppings

MEAL 1: 2 average pieces of fish, scoop of long grain rice, steamed mixed veggies and apple and orange slices = 434 calories

+ A normal size serving of tarter sauce (which is considered 2 tablespoons) = 544 calories
+ 9 servings of tarter sauce = 1,424 calories

MEAL 2: 1 bean burrito (with beans, 1/3 cup of 2% cheese, tortilla), 1/2 cup of peas, fruit on the side = 482 calories

+ 1/4 cup sour cream = 601 calories
+ 1/2 cup of sour cream = 720 calories

MEAL 3: 2 slices of cheese pizza, big bowl of veggie salad plus ranch (1 tablespoon) and fruit 390 = 469 calories

+ 6 tablespoons of ranch = 907 calories

MEAL 4: 1/2 breast of baked chicken, 1/2 cup broccoli, normal sized cornmeal muffin and fruit = 465 calories

+ 1/2 cup of processed cheese sauce on the broccoli = 865 calories

MEAL 5: Small baked potato with tablespoon butter, 1 piece of white fish, cup of steamed veggies and fruit = 451 calories

+ 2 more servings of butter, 1/4 cup sour cream, 3 servings of tarter sauce = 1,104 calories

You may as well serve fast food

The average child or teen in the United States needs about 1,600 to 2,000 calories per day. None of the meals above that include massive additions of toppings, fits into a healthy kid calorie range, unless you’re seriously skimping on breakfast, lunch and snacks (which you shouldn’t).

In almost of these situations, you’d be better off calorie-wise, simply buying your kid a Happy Meal (860 calories). Plus, while it’s not more expensive to eat healthy in general, in the case of the meals above, fish and organic chicken can be expensive unless you find a killer sale. So money wise, you’d also be better off with the cheap Happy Meal.

Beyond calories, another problem with the toppings above – tarter sauce, sour cream, ranch, cheese sauce and so on, is that these toppings get almost 100% of their calories from fat. Basically, you’re just advocating for pure fat when you allow your kid to eat this way.

What to do?

You’ve got a few choices here. It’ll really depend on how you’ve raised your child thus far.

Use fruit, not sugar to top off cereal - Image by blackcat79 via sxc.

Situation one – you’re raising a healthy eater from birth

Role model healthy topping portion sizes for your child when he’s young. No one is saying that you should cut toppings entirely. However, there’s a healthy way to eat them and an unhealthy way to eat them. With young children, it’s best to place the toppings on their food for them, so they can get an idea of what’s healthy and what’s not.

Do not add needless toppings, such as sugar to cereal or fruit ever. Kids should be able to eat a basic food like cereal or fruit without an added sweetener.

Also, before you even add toppings, make sure it’s necessary. Not all foods need toppings. If you raise your child on burritos that are sour-cream-free, and potatoes with light butter or no butter at all, you may be surprised that he’ll simply eat his food without a topping. Kids develop tastes for fatty toppings, they’re not born with a taste for them.

Two – you’ve got an older child or teen who has been raised with toppings galore

Here you’ve got two choices. You can get rid of toppings entirely. I.e don’t keep tarter sauce in your house. I actually hate this plan because kids, once grown will run into toppings and they should know how to use them properly. It’s lame to pretend toppings don’t exist. Secondly it’s not fair to people in the household who use toppings correctly. Banning food, is not, in my opinion, ever a realistic or useful plan.

A better choice is to start changing everyone’s habits. When you serve foods that kids are used to eating with toppings, don’t add the topping right away, see if your child will eat the food without. If your child asks for a topping, say ranch, serve him up a proper amount and serve yourself one too, saying, “This is how much a real serving of salad dressing is.” It’s up to you if you discuss calories or not and fat or not – some kids can handle this conversation in little bits, some can’t. If your child gets defensive saying you didn’t give him enough, point out that the ENTIRE family is attempting to eat healthier and you’d like everyone involved.

Some research says you shouldn’t police food, especially if you’ve allowed your child to eat whatever he wants so far in life. However, I’m not sure what I think about this. Sure, it’s frustrating and hard to have to change habits now, but in my opinion, it’s better to change habits now than to have your child’s belly fat get out of control or have your kid develop diabetes. I guess it’s up to you.

Little things you can do

Buy alternative toppings. Salsa, for example, is a healthier topping than sour cream. Lemon plus a little sugar in ice tea is better than a ton of sugar alone. Italian dressing can be a better salad dressing choice than ranch. BBQ sauce is low fat, low calorie and works well with many foods.

Don’t dress up foods just because. Adding cheese to veggies or even butter should be considered a very once in a while event vs. an every evening sort of deal.

Spice and sweeten up foods with herbs, spices and fruit, not toppings.

Learn to be a better cook. Often I’ve seen people add toppings to make food taste better. If you cook well in the first place, toppings become less necessary.

Role model, role model, role model – there’s no way to emphasize this enough. If you load on toppings it’s totally unfair and confusing for a kid if you limit their toppings.

Don’t keep toppings on the table, such as butter, dressing or sugar.

Plan meals that don’t need toppings, or plan meals that need less calorie-dense toppings.

Use less toppings slowly. For example, if your child insists on 9 tablespoons of tarter sauce, suggest they add just six. The next time you serve fish, bring it down more, to maybe three tablespoons. Eventually, hopefully, they’ll develop a taste for the food you’re serving vs. the topping.

Lead image via Flickr User ozmafan

Encourage healthy lifestyle habits with the bare minimum

Jennifer Chait — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 20:00:04 +0000

As a parent, your child’s health is your responsibility. As such, it’s your job to encourage healthy eating and lifestyle habits. Of course, you can do a lot of good in this area, but at the very least try to make sure you do the following…

Know your child’s weight

If you can’t tell me your child’s weight or BMI right now, then you have no idea where your child stands health-wise. While food issues aren’t all about the scale, those numbers do matter. I’m not talking about making wild guesses in the ballpark either. And, yes, I mean you should know your kid’s weight from babyhood through the teens years.

Talk about food and related health issues

Food portions, healthy vs. less healthy choices, calories and all the other food issues you can imagine shouldn’t be taboo. Your child has a right to know about food issues and it’s your responsibility to discuss said issues with him, ongoing, the entire time he lives in your home.

As I’ve noted before, weight is one aspect of health, but issues related to excessive weight aren’t all you should be discussing with your child. Your child needs to understand that thin, of course, doesn’t mean healthy. Many people who are at a healthy weight still make poor food choices or don’t get enough exercise. Your child should know that it’s not healthy to sit inactive all day long. Your child also needs to realizes that exercise without portion control also isn’t as useful and no matter how healthy your food is, when it’s eaten in excess, that food becomes less healthy. Obviously, exercise and being active, hold many other benefits far beyond maintaining a healthy weight as well. You have to deliver the whole conversation package to your child. Not simply bits and pieces.

You need to let your child know that weight, calories, exercise, food choices and so on, all combine to create a healthy lifestyle. Don’t just assume your child knows about healthy food because she exercises or knows about exercise because she’s thin. No matter if your child is overweight, skinny or right on target – food and health issues need to be discussed.

Serve three meals a day and snacks

I know parents who leave kids to fend for themselves food-wise, but you shouldn’t. Even if you talk about food, young kids still need help figuring out meals. I know teens and even younger kids who skip both breakfast and lunch daily, making up the difference with chips and other less healthy food, simply because no one is there encouraging them to eat.

I get that not all parents can be around their child for all three meals. I’m not around my own child all day either – Cedar eats lunch at school and stays at his dad’s on some weekends. However, I do send Cedar to school with a healthy lunch I know he’ll eat and I make sure I know what he’s eating at his dad’s house. At times when everything is nuts, or I have an appointment, I make sure to leave a healthy meal ready for him.

Be your child’s food advocate

In a world of school lunches and separated or divorced families, it’s hard to always stay on top of what your child is eating. Guess what though, that’s your job as a parent. If your child splits his time between two households, and the other parent feeds him high calorie fast food, huge portions, or doesn’t encourage exercise, it’s your job to advocate for your child. Even if what you say doesn’t seem to affect the other parent’s choices at first, keep talking about it. Your child’s health, even when he’s not with you, is your concern.

With this in mind, you should also be aware of what your child is eating at school. Find out what schools are serving and if you don’t like it, send a packed lunch.

Address denial

One of the biggest hurdles parents have is denial about their child’s weight. If your child is overweight or too skinny or never exercises you do need to address it, not ignore it. I’ve met kids who are larger than their own parents are, kids with huge amounts of belly fat and even kids where someone else has said, “They weigh too much” such as a doctor, yet the parents just keep on saying, “My kids are just fine… they’re in no way overweight.” That’s denial.

Parents of underweight children or kids who never exercise may have some of the same denial issues. And while denial may be easier for everyone, it’s not healthy for your child.

Deal with your own food issues

Some parents allow their own food issues to affect their kids. If you have your own food issues, deal with them, or at the very least, don’t push them on your child. I was raised in a home where weight mattered more than food choices or exercise. I know it affected me and I had to work hard to deal with it so that I wouldn’t push my past problems onto my son.

I talk about food with my son, but I try to make it clear that food issues involve a wide range of topics, from food choices to activity to portions and so on. I don’t make it all about weight, how my mom did for me. If you’re upset by past food issues, it can affect your parenting, so addressing these issues is important.

Confessions of a chubster – a fresh first-hand take on weight issues in America

Jennifer Chait — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:44:20 +0000

In case you missed it, my big goal series this year is “A healthy 2012 means childhood obesity in America shouldn’t be taboo.” I’m serious about this issue. Weight, exercise, calories and getting healthy as it relates to kids shouldn’t be taboo. At all. Still, seeing as how all of these same issues are, as of yet, fairly taboo for adults, it’s no surprise that when you bring kids into it, well, you face some major opposition.

People are hyper sensitive about their kids. “Not my kid” is more popular and more PC than, “Yes, my kid is overweight, and at risk for some serious health issues. I should hop into action.” Consider though that kids won’t stay kids forever. Kids do become adults, and your influence on said kid, can be as healthy or as non-healthy as you choose to make it. Also consider that it’s MUCH easier to build healthy habits now, rather than later. Lastly consider that later on, any smart kid who becomes a smart adult will realize they could have had healthy habits earlier on, had someone (and by someone I mean their parent) seen fit to fill them in on the basics about calories, weight and exercise.

Martin Cizmar is a good example of one such adult. No clue if he was an overweight kid, but according to Cizmar, “Americans are disgustingly fat. I’m allowed to say so because not long ago, I was disgustingly fat.” Cizmar used to weigh around 300 pounds, but was fairly happy anyhow, noting, “I enjoyed massive portions of rich, delicious foods and took great pleasure in passively watching the shiny flat-screen TV in front of my leather couch. It was not such a terrible life.”

That all changed when Cizmar fell in love with a nurse who gave him the 411 about the health risks he was slowly accumulating due to his lifestyle choices. Long story short, Cizmar lost 110 or so pounds, then wrote a book about the experience, Chubster: A Hipster’s Guide to Losing Weight While Staying Cool. I haven’t read the book yet, but Cizmar’s piece in a recent Willamette Week, Confessions of a Chubster: The moral crusade against fatties, is an awesome read, especially if you’re a parent who may be in denial about your child’s weight.

Cizmar’s writing is remarkably straightforward in a world that refuses to discuss weight (beyond magical diet plans). He notes:

“Being fat is a choice. Genetics plays a role, sure. So does your upbringing. But you do not get fat unless you’re eating more than you need to nourish your body. That’s basic science. There are no excuses, no matter what someone from the so-called Fat Acceptance Movement wants to claim.”

Although worth a full read, the best part of the article is his ending:

“For the fat, that starts by admitting your weight is a byproduct of your choices. Then it’s a matter of recognizing those choices are unsustainable. I realized if I didn’t change my life, I was going to die—but not before burdening the people I loved and our hospitals, and not before missing out on the life I could have been living.

Too many diet pitches start with the premise that being fat is terrible. It isn’t, really. In contemporary American society, it’s perfectly possible to live a happy life as a big, fat slob. It’s also disgusting—not aesthetically, but morally—and don’t blame anyone for saying so. There is life behind the flatscreen. Get off the couch and start living it.”

I like that Cizmar doesn’t candy coat the issue. He was fat. He ate too much and sat around. He changed his habits. Now he weighs less, he’s active and, from how it sounds, he’s still perfectly happy.

Cizmar changed his habits as an adult though, something that many adults can’t manage or aren’t comfortable managing. He also seemed to have help. It was just his good luck that he fell for a nurse. What if you raise your child to think that massive portions are okay? That excess screen time is healthier than moving? That weight, calories and healthy choices aren’t something kids need to be bothered with?

Then, what if, later on, your child doesn’t fall for someone who can change their mind? What if your child can’t turn their health and lifestyle choices around? Then weight becomes their problem for sure. As an adult, your kid can’t blame others for their choices anymore, so as the parent, you’re off the hook. In theory anyhow.

Yet, wouldn’t you feel better as a parent, if you took the risk and said something now. What if you discussed weight and calories and exercise with your child? Would the world end? Would all the PC people rain down fire on you? Would offering your child the tools he needs to live a healthy life really hurt you so much?

If you’re pondering the above issues, I highly suggest you read Confessions of a Chubster: The moral crusade against fatties. It’s great to read the words of someone who has been there as an adult, yet did change his habits, all while being smart enough to not blame Happy Meals for his choices. He took responsibility and is speaking out against those who do make weight and calories a taboo topic, something we all need to do for our kids.

Fail tactics when trying to raise healthy kids

Jennifer Chait — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 18:42:06 +0000

When it comes to planning healthy meals, exercise and an overall healthy life for your child, there are many pitfalls you may fall into. I’m pretty sure all parents are guilty of one pitfall or another (even me) but it’s best to try and limit said pitfalls if you want to raise a healthy kid.

Below are some common pitfalls parents may fall into.

You have no clue how much your child weighs.
You’re not sure what constitutes a healthy meal and exercise plan.
You avoid food and exercise discussions because it’s, “Too late.” I.e your child is older.
Your child is allowed to eat excessive portions.
You reward or punish your child for food and exercise behaviors.
Your child is allowed to load up on food toppings.
Your child is allowed to skip meals - especially breakfast.
You’re confusing food groups with portion sizes.
You buy your child healthy, but calorie loaded foods.
Your child is exercising so you think high calories are a-okay.
You ban your child from eating certain foods.
You take weight and health topics too personally. For example, getting mad at a doctor who brings up weight.
You believe your child won’t eat healthy foods.
You serve high calorie drinks.
You think your child deserves a break on weekends.
You never discuss food, weight or exercise issues.
Your family eats in front of the T.V.
You fail to role model good exercise and food habits.
You blame external sources for your child’s poor eating and exercise habits.
You give into treats because you feel guilty about stuff that has nothing to do with food.
You want to be the best pal, not the parent.

I’ll discuss the above issues in more details as the year goes on. For now, if you want to see what I’ve posted so far about healthy and not so healthy kid meal and activity habits, see my post, “A healthy 2012 means childhood obesity in America shouldn’t be taboo.”

What pitfalls do you or other parents you know fall into?

Image © Arcady

How weight problems affect teens differently than younger kids

Jennifer Chait — Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:05:25 +0000

+ See the rest of the childhood obesity and healthy family lifestyles series.

18% of teens (kids ages 12-18) in the United States are obese. Many more (another 15%+) are overweight or on their way to becoming overweight. U.S. teens are more likely to be overweight than teens in 14 other industrialized countries.

Teens with unhealthy eating habits along with teens who are already overweight pose a unique challenge for parents.

The biggest issue – ignoring the situation and total denial

Both overweight teens and their parents tend to avoid or ignore weight issues and there is substantial denial and misconceptions in play as well. As a parent, you can ignore your child’s weight issues if you like, but it’ll be at the cost of his or her health.

Parents who wait until their child is a teen to discuss food issues with them have a much harder time than parents who make it a point to discuss healthy eating, weight and exercise when their kids are young. Bad habits are harder to change and harder to discuss the longer they go on. Teens are more sensitive than toddlers, so parents may find it increasingly hard to start the healthy lifestyle conversation at this point.

By the time kids are teens, they’re less willing to discuss weight, calories and other lifestyle choices. In fact, one teen survey showed that teens who had never been talked to about their weight or food choices said that it would be terrible and embarrassing to have to discuss weight issues with a parent. Early childhood, not the teen years is the best time to discuss food and health issues, but too many parents skip these conversations until it’s too late, which spirals back to, “Now it’s too hard to do it.”

Study after study shows that overweight teens seriously underestimate their weight problem. Most teens who have a BMI placing them in the overweight or obese category feel that they are actual at an ideal or decent weight. Researchers estimate that in total, more than half of teens who are overweight don’t think they are. CDC research attributes this to the fact that so many teens are now overweight, that heavy teens no longer stick out – i.e. when you look like all your overweight peers, you start thinking that overweight is the norm. What’s worse is that parents of teens are also in serious denial about their teen’s weight, most avoiding the issue at any cost.

Other weight and health issues related specifically to teens

Teens, on average, get less sleep than younger kids. A lack of regular sleep has been directly linked to weight problems in teens.

Belly fat is the new black among teens. A major study shows that shows that abdominal obesity, or belly fat, in adolescent boys is up 65% from 1998, while adolescent girls have increased their belly fat by 70%. This issue is of extreme concern to researchers who note that your belly is one of the most dangerous places to gain weight. Studies note that teens with belly fat are more prone to develop type II diabetes and some are even being reported to have early onset cardiovascular disease. Researchers also point out that belly fat in teens is especially grim, since historically it’s very unusual for a healthy teen to have belly fat. There’s been a sharp increase in cases just recently. Other research shows that one of the best ways to fight of belly fat in adulthood is to nip weight problems in the bud while kids are younger.

Overweight teens are more likely to be bullied than other teens. Honestly, I’m surprised at this still being a relevant statistic, seeing as how so many teens are overweight nowadays, but research says that 84% of all teens report seeing other kids teased about their weight, so it’s still an issue to consider.

A huge study published in The Journal of the American Medical Association, completed in 2010 shows that obese or overweight teens are at a much bigger risk of becoming severely obese as adults than their non-overweight peers. After following a group of teens for 13 years, researchers found that 50% of the obese female teens developed severe obesity by their 30s, while 37% of the obese male teens developed severe obesity. Overall, obese teens were 16 times more likely to develop severe obesity as adults. Only a very small amount of non-overweight teens ended up overweight in adulthood.

The CDC says that one in five U.S. teens has an unhealthy cholesterol level. Just 14% of these cases are due to other issues. In almost all cases, teens have high cholesterol because they’re overweight.

Overweight teens are being ignored by health care professionals. Research shows that while seriously obese teens do get more preventive screening versus their normal-weight peers, teens who are overweight, not obese yet, do not get screened enough for related health issues. This is a big problem, considering that experts note that all kids, regardless of weight should be screened for health issues and have their BMI measured.

In the U.S. today approximately 150,000 school-aged children and teens are diabetic. An increasing amount of these cases are the Type 2 form that is associated with inactivity, poor nutrition and obesity. In total, adolescents account for 33% to 45% of new Type 2 cases today. Fatigue and constant hunger are two key signs that an overweight teen should be tested for diabetes. That said, experts note that this is a preventable disease in teens and kids, if they’re simply encouraged by parents and health care providers to have healthy habits.

Overweight teens are becoming increasingly prone to nonalcoholic fatty liver disease according to The American Liver Foundation and other experts, a problem that used to be almost unheard of. Now, around 2-10% of American children over the age of 5, most who are obese or overweight are developing this problem. Experts say that some people in their 30s or early 40s will require a liver transplant due to this condition and by 2020, researchers estimate that obesity will be the top cause of liver transplants.

Overweight teen girls are more likely to engage in risky sexual behavior than healthy-weight teens. Plus, research in Diabetic Care shows that the amount of diabetic teens who get pregnant has increased 500% (you read that right) in the past decade, due to the fact that too many girls are overweight or obese so they then develop Type 2 diabetes, which can cause severe complications in pregnancy.

Overweight or obese teen girls are more prone to depression than other girls.

A major Columbia University study showed that teen girls who are overweight or obese are less healthy than overweight or obese males – girls had a 6.6 times higher risk of disease than males.

Research published in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine notes that overweight teenagers are more socially isolated and have fewer friends than healthy-weight teens.

Teens who attack weight-loss alone, have no clue what they’re doing. Some teens do realize they’re overweight, yet, because they haven’t been given healthy lifestyle tips by parents, they go about weight loss in an incorrect manner. For example, overweight teen girls are more likely to smoke and exercise 60 minutes a day, but still drink a lot of non-diet soda and eat overly large of food portions. Overweight male teens who reported wanting to lose weight also said they got zero physical activity per day and fit in three hours a day on average of video game play. Researchers on this study were happy to hear that 3/4 of teens wanted to lose weight, but puzzled at how they went about it. The researchers also noted that they were not sure if the teens realized their weight loss behavior were counterproductive or not. Lastly, researchers said that better role models and talking to health care providers might help.

Teens can’t learn how to manage portion control if they haven’t been taught about it and parents avoid it. As noted above, parents are often in denial about their teen’s weight. Portion control is a big part of this. Parents more and more allow their child to eat huge food portions without ever discussing the cons. Kids left to their own devices, with no parent input will eat a 2000+ calorie restaurant meal, pour 900 calories worth of sauces (like salad dressing or sour cream) on their food and eat king sized candy bars vs. a smaller bar. What’s unique about teens who overeat though, is many know it. If you start visiting teen weight sites and read the teen comments you’ll note that teens have a basic idea that eating an entire bag of chips or a quart of ice cream is unhealthy, but they say their parents let them do so, by purchasing the food and keeping it in the house and by not saying anything about it. Teens do need a parent who is willing to step up and say, “That’s too much sour cream.” Parents don’t want to shame teens, but there is a huge difference between saying something rude, like, “You’re so fat, quit eating” and simply teaching about proper portion sizes.

Studies show that teen obesity is expensive. An obese 18-year-old racks up about $549,907 in health care costs if they remain obese throughout adulthood.

What’s next?

If you have a young child, you can avoid many of the issue above by simply discussing weight and health issues with your child early on, before the teen years come into play. Still, many parents are already experiencing the problems that come along with avoiding the issue. So, coming up soon, we’ll look at ways to raise a healthy eater from birth but we’ll also look at the much trickier situation of how to discuss weight loss and healthy habits with a teen – it’s harder, but not impossible.

Child portions are excessive in the United States

Jennifer Chait — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 16:44:36 +0000

This year, instead of green goals, I’m looking at the more pressing child obesity epidemic. Before we look into how to raise an active, healthy eater for life, we really need to discuss portion sizes. Your child may eat really well – whole grains, fish and veggies but if portion sizes are too large, it may become a moot point. Healthy eating isn’t just about the type of food but the amount of food as well. It’s also about being active which we’ll look at later.

Need a quick primer about how body weight and calories work?

Excessive portion sizes are a big deal in the U.S.

Consider that The Nemours Foundation says that most school-age kids need 1,600 to 2,500 calories per day. At puberty, girls and boys need a few more calories a day, unless they’re not active. The USDA notes that a teen who gets less than 30 minutes of exercise a day needs just 2000 calories to maintain a healthy weight.

Research shows that if your child consumes just 100 calories (the equivalent of 8 ounces of a soft drink) above daily requirements it will typically result in a 10-pound weight gain over one year.

Most kids in America are way overdoing it on portion sizes, which leads to excess calories and in turn, excess weight.

Calories that are in some typical kid meals and food items – note that all the foods or meals below are either items I’ve seen kids eat or stuff that kids themselves have told me they’ve eaten in one sitting:

A whole bagel with cream cheese + large bowl of cereal and milk + fruit + juice = 975 calories (if you add 3 teaspoons of sugar to the cereal this breakfast is a total of 1,020 calories)
10 oreo-like cookies = 530 calories
2 slices of pizza and large soda = 906 calories
2 cups spaghetti with white sauce and a salad with 3 tablespoons of ranch = 1047 calories
1/2 bag of potato chips = 486 calories
6 fish sticks, 2 tablespoons tarter sauce and vegetables topped with Velveeta cheese = 852 calories
6 chicken nuggets, 1/2 cup of peas, 15 tator tots = 584 calories
2 pancakes with butter and syrup, two pieces of real pork bacon, apple slices, glass of milk = 732 calories
Lunchables = 340-400+ calories (depending on type)
2 cups of grape juice = 308 calories
An entire quart of chocolate ice cream = 1,144 calories
Two maple bars = 920 calories
Package of top ramen + handful of goldfish crackers = 520 calories
1 small movie popcorn + medium soda = 1014+ calories
Croissant (whole, large), 2 scrambled eggs (cooked in butter), whole orange = 452 calories
1/2 box of mac n cheese = 615 calories
PB&J, can of chicken noodle soup, pear slices plus sweetened fruit drink or tea = 757 calories
Spaghettios type products = 340 calories per can
2 bean burritos dipped in 1/2 cup sour cream = 986 calories

What about meals out and about?

Panda Express kids meal with orange chicken, chow mein, cookie and soda = 840 calories
Restaurant bacon cheeseburger, fries and soda = 1,600 calories (+ fries dipped in ranch = 1,810)
Red Robin kids meal pizza with pepperoni, fries on the side and a soda = 981 calories
Subway kids meal ham sandwich, snack sized bag of chips and a soda = 730 calories (880 with cookie)
A typical fast food kids meal with a small cheeseburger, small fries and small soda = 860 calories

What about hot school lunches?

Research shows that many school lunches are high in calories, some in the 800 calorie+ category. Beyond that, many hot school lunches are too high in saturated fat and sodium, not to mention the fact that some schools (about 20%+) have brought fast food companies in at lunch time, meaning your child can get an assortment of crap to eat midday if he so chooses. School lunches have many problems beyond calories of course, but that’s a bigger issue.

It’s not all about the type of food

Now, be aware that I’m not saying ANY of the foods above are evil – okay, I’m not a fan of ramen and no one should ever eat an entire quart of ice cream or half a box of mac n cheese in one sitting. However, what is more important than the type of food your child eats, is that you’re aware of how calories in foods add up due to extreme portion sizes.

There is nothing wrong with eating ice cream, candy or cake or eating out once in a while. However, obviously if you eat massive quantities of treats or eat out every night, those calories start to really add up.

An unhealthy week: If your child needs about 1,600 calories a day (11,200 per week) and eats 5 small fast food happy meals a week (yes, I’ve met kids who do this) that means your kid is already at 4,300 calories for the week. Add in seven unhealthy sweet and salty snacks (3,534 calories) and just four cans of sodas (582 calories) that leaves only about 397 calories per day allocated to healthy, less calorie dense foods for your child. And keep in mind that most kids eat more than 7 unhealthy snacks and drink way more than four sodas a week.

Even if your child does eat healthy food items, it’s easy to go calorie crazy due to portion sizes. For example, if your child eats that first breakfast on the list (the bagel, cereal, juice and fruit) he’s already near the top of his calorie requirements for the whole day, leaving just 625 calories to divide up between lunch, dinner, snacks and drinks for the rest of the day.

This is why portion sizes are so important.

Why are kid portions out of control?

The Nemours Foundation points out that portion sizes began to increase in the 1980s and have gotten bigger and bigger ever since. For example bagels 20 years ago were about 3-inches in diameter and 140 calories. But bagels today are huge, often weighing in at a 6-inch diameter and 350 calories. Oddly, not even religion is excluded – check out how The Last Supper has grown.

Theories abound as to why kid-sized meals and portions are so out of control. Some guesses include:

Restaurant portions have confused people (often restaurants serve double+ portion sizes).
Ads showing larger portions confuse people.
Dishes have grown in size. Many studies show that the bigger the plate, the more people eat, thinking that the entire plate must be covered in food.
Companies know that people are more money conscious then they used to be. Many food companies and restaurants serve up much larger portions than necessary so that customers feel like they’re getting more value for their money.
Food comes in larger packages now, but serving sizes haven’t changed. For example, if you used to get 20 cookies in a package and one portion was 1/8 of that package, you may still eat 1/8 of the package even if the cookie company ups the cookie count to 30 cookies per package.
People keep dishes of food on the table, allowing easy access to second and third helpings.
People confuse serving recommendations with portions.

Don’t confuse servings with portions

In many cases families may confuse servings with portions. It’s no surprise, because healthy eating is very confusing, but this is an area you can work on.

For example, a 12 year old boy who exercise 30 minutes a day needs six servings of grains per day. That doesn’t translate to 6 large bagels though. One mini bagel, 14 whole grain crackers, 1/2 cup of cooked pasta, 3/4 cup cream of wheat and 1 slice of wheat bread equals six grain serving and 534 calories. 6 large bagels actually equals 24 servings of grains and as many as 2,124 calories. See the difference?

Portions vs. serving recommendations matters a lot when planning healthy meals for your child. To see both serving size recommendations and portion size examples, visit ChooseMyPlate. To see other portion and serving size ideas, visit Kaboose, and take a look at their handy, free and printable guides below:

Portion control tips at home

Talk about portion sizes with kids! Kids aren’t dumb. They’ll totally get portions if you talk about it. My own son likes a certain organic chocolate bar that only comes in an insane giant size. I let him get one, but I also say, “Here’s how much a suitable portion is.” He’s learned to grab a square or two and leave the rest for other days. If Cedar wants ice cream, fine, but he gets an appropriate sized scoop. We’ve always discussed portions and it doesn’t upset him or confuse him, it’s just a part of eating in my son’s life.

Use smaller plates. Studies show that people are just as satisfied when you fill a small plate with food as they are when they get a larger plate full of food. For whatever reason, covering a plate is more important to people than the size of said plate.

Eat together. Eating together is not only healthier for kids’ emotional health, but it’s the perfect time to discuss portions, food issues, and eyeball what your kid is really eating. Plus, research shows that people are more likely to eat proper portions when they eat together vs. alone.

Don’t leave food on the table. In most cases, serve up proper portions in the kitchen, then eat in the dining room.

Encourage slow eating. It takes a while for he feeling of fullness to hit you. Eating fast, then going for seconds right away often results in over-fullness and too many calories. If your child is a fast eater, make him wait for a bit to see if he’s really hungry enough for seconds.

Don’t let kids serve themselves unless you’ve talked to them about portion size. I’ve met kids who have no clue about portion size and if you say, “grab a snack” the kid will grab 10 cookies or a huge bowl of nuts.

Watch out for toppings and spreads. Sauces and toppings on foods like mayo, tarter sauce, butter, syrup, cream cheese, ranch, sour cream and sugar can add dozens to hundreds of calories to an otherwise healthy, low-calorie meal. Have your child try foods before adding extras and when he does add extras, discuss topping portion control. There’s no need to eat half a container of sour cream.

Don’t skip meals. Kids who skip one or more meals tend to make up the difference with huge portion sizes at their one meal of the day.

Ban eating out of packages. At our house, we do buy large packages of food, like crackers or sometimes cookies, but if you want some, you take some from the package and put them in a small bowl. Don’t allow kids to sit on the couch with a bag of chips, nuts or carrots. Eating from packages is a bad habit to get into and doesn’t teach portion control.

READ LABELS: food labels are there for a reason, but many people don’t read them. A typical appropriate pasta serving for young kids is 1/2 cup. However, I’ve seen kids served half a box of mac n cheese, which is 3 servings not one and 600+ calories. Too many calories for a kid in one sitting, especially when you consider that mac n cheese is usually served with other foods. Reading food labels can give you a better idea about appropriate serving sizes.

If portions is something you and your child have never discussed, you may need to break out the big guns – measuring cups. It’s hard to eyeball correct portions, say one cup of pasta, cereal or 3/4 cup of ice cream, but it’s easy after a while if you measure food for a week and see how real portions look.

Portion control tips at for meals out

Kids should order off the kid menu. Adult sized restaurant meal portions are usually too big for adults, so they’re extremely large for a child.

Split meals. A family of four can order a salad for everyone, then split two entrees.

Once meals arrive, look the meal over and decide how much an appropriate portion is. Put the rest in a doggy bag for lunch the next day.

Switch out sides like fries or mac n cheese for fruit or veggies.

Get starters very rarely, as a treat, not each time you go out.

Don’t eat at buffet type places, they just encourage a more, more, more is better mentality.

Look up meals online before you go out. It’s hard to find calorie leaflets at restaurants, but most have calorie meal planners online. Know what you’re getting before you go to help cut back on portions and calories.

Overall:

Just because your child likes treats or eats out once in a while doesn’t mean he’ll be overweight or obese. If your child eats huge portions but exercises more than an hour a day, he may still be at a healthy weight. Also, some kids simply burn more calories than others.

However, the portions mentioned above is something to be aware of, especially if you’re already concerned that your child may be at an unhealthy weight. Also, be aware that too large portions aren’t simply unhealthy because they may cause excess weight gain, they’re also unhealthy because they don’t build healthy habits for life. Your child has the right to know what a healthy plate of food looks like. Aiming for healthy lifestyle choices overall should be the main goal in your family.