FamilyAs we enter the holiday period, when food is a centerpiece, it seems an appropriate time to also address the increasing concerns about obesity in our children. Recent data points to a pattern similar to that of adults, namely a significant increase in children defined as being obese. What is of particular concern is that the pattern is becoming evident at earlier ages, with one of every five toddlers now considered to be obese. Obesity in childhood is a serious concern because of its potential impact on the physical and mental health of children as well as its potential to shorten adult lives. There are two critical factors contributing to this problem, cultural attitudes and parental eating and lifestyle issues. I will address both and then discuss some strategies for change.
Cultural Attitudes:
A healthy baby is a chubby baby with a round face and full cheeks. That is the prevailing myth. So parents have little concern if they are establishing unhealthy eating habits during the first two years of life. New research indicates toddlers are being fed 30% more calories than needed and much of it comes from allowing toddlers to eat the same unhealthy foods that older children and adults eat. French fries are becoming a staple item in the daily diets of very young children along with candy, hot dogs, desserts, soda and other foods that typically did not become a routine part of children’s diets until at least 4 or 5. While chubby babies may look healthy to parents, once these strong flavored but unhealthy foods become part of routine eating at an early age, it is very difficult to shift to healthier foods when your 5 or 8 or 12 year old child has a weight problem.
Parents are also buying into myths of the value of enrolling children in structured programs at earlier ages. Signing up children as young as three for soccer programs and 4 or 5 for many other sports serve no valuable purpose. I have written elsewhere about why these programs are not good for children and won’t pursue it further here. But it relates to the obesity issue because these programs actually reduce the amount of calories that children would normally be burning off. Between travel time and practices that often are relatively sedentary activities, there is a major reduction in the amount of energy expended if children were simply out in the neighborhood running around with their friends.
A related issue is that with so many children scheduled into these activities, for those children who lack the interest and want to just go out and play, there are fewer children around to play with. Encourage your neighbors to re-establish neighborhoods of mixed-age, active children playing together.
It’s the same with older children – signed up for all sorts of lessons and tutorials or allowed to spend too much time playing video games – resulting in a dearth of downtime when they can ride their bikes, shoot hoops in the driveway for an hour, or create other outdoor fun with friends.
A related myth that adds to this problem with older children is the fear of abduction. Parents won’t let children ride a bike across town to a friend’s house or to a park because they believe there is a significant risk someone will kidnap their child and harm them. Please realize your child is at greater risk of injury in your bathroom at home than of kidnapping. Not only is abduction rare, it has actually become less frequent and it is done mostly by angry parents involved in custody battles.
Another cultural phenomenon that adds to his problem is related to the increased reliance on food brought in for dinner. Portion control is a major culprit and recent data suggests it is an American phenomenon. For example, a large fries at an American McDonald’s contains at least 30% more fries than one purchased in a European McDonalds. This pattern goes across the board – larger pizzas, larger sodas, larger everything. Even at non-fast food restaurants, bigger is considered better and the usual pattern is to eat everything on the plate, especially the “good tasting” stuff which is always the higher calorie stuff. European restaurants serve smaller portions, one explanation for why Europeans can appear to be eating richer foods yet not have the national problem with obesity that is so prevalent in this country.
So we are feeding children unhealthy foods at even earlier ages and discouraging the physical activity needed to burn off even normal caloric intake. No wonder childhood obesity is a major problem.
Parental lifestyle and eating issues:
Given the higher percentage of American homes where there are either two employed parents or one single parent, there are now fewer home-cooked dinners. In fact, there is a significant reduction in family dinners, which has implications for family life and the psychological development of our children as well as for their eating patterns. This increased reliance on bringing in food or eating out at fast food or low-priced restaurants contributes significantly to eating more calories and very unbalanced diets.
In addition, many parents serve as poor models for healthy eating. Obesity is a significant issue in adults. Thus many parents are very overweight and are eating poorly. It’s very hard to try to encourage healthy eating in children when they have been shown unhealthy eating by their parents.
Suggested solutions:
Start when your children are young. Chubby babies are potentially fat children who are likely to become fat adults who are likely to have serious health problems and shortened lives. This is not a minor issue. So start early with giving careful thought to what you are feeding your toddlers and establish healthy eating patterns right away. Lose those chubby cheeks and recognize that is a good thing for your child.
Because take-out is now a predominant dinner, it has become a big business. Thus, there are many more options available. So do more planning about what you are going to buy for quick dinners. Don’t just get into a routine that requires no thought and is unhealthy for everyone. There really is no excuse for not being able to put a healthy meal on the table anymore, even if virtually every meal is brought in.
Portion control is a key. In many places you can buy half as many dinners as family members and there is enough to go around. It’s cheaper and healthier. Do the same when you eat out. Or take home enough for another dinner. Try bringing home just entrees and make salads. Not ordinary, boring salads that your children won’t eat. Fun salads. It only takes a few minutes to add to the usual vegetables a variety of fruits, cheeses, and/or nuts that everyone likes, to create something that is very tasty and very healthy. Cut back on the pasta (yes, everyone loves pizza and it’s so easy – just limit it). And ditch the bread and butter at dinner. Don’t need the filler – or the carbs. Hint: breadsticks are a great replacement.
Get rid of the soda. Flavored sparkling waters are tasty and much healthier. Water and juices should be encouraged.
Don’t stock unhealthy foods, i.e., candy, cookies, other desserts, that encourage you and your children to OD on all that sugar. If you want to keep some of these goodies around, which is reasonable, buy portion-controlled items. For example, there are now mini ice cream sandwiches, literally about two bites, so you can enjoy a dessert but not scoop out a bowlful of ice cream. Similarly, fudgsicles (for chocolate lovers) and frozen fruit bars offer healthy options for something sweet. If you start children on low-fat ice cream they won’t be expecting the high calorie, expensive brands. A little chocolate sauce and a cherry spices up that lower calorie ice cream or frozen yogurt.
The main points here are:
1. Recognize obesity is a problem.
2. Develop a plan to deal with it.
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