- from Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss

For Parents & Teachers

Health Crisis in The United States Healthy Habits for Everybody Positive Approaches Are Best Family Table Time is Important! Go to 'The Collection'

Health Crisis in The United States

The United States is currently facing a health crisis of unprecedented proportions. Over the last 30 years, unhealthy dietary practices and decreasing rates of physical activity have resulted in dramatic increases in the incidence of obesity and related chronic diseases such as Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke and cancer. Currently 75% of U.S. health care dollars are spent managing these chronic diseases.

The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) has been tracking obesity rates in the U.S. since 1985 as an indicator of diet and lifestyle related risk for chronic disease. The CDC’s data shows that obesity rates have risen steadily over the last 30 years in parallel with rates of chronic disease:

• Currently more than 2/3 of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.
• The number of overweight children has more than tripled. Currently one in five children is overweight.

Good nutrition and physical activity are vital for good health and preventing disease, and are essential for healthy growth and development in children and adolescents. Statistics on the consumption and activity habits of California’s youth are staggering.

• Only 2 % of teenagers met 5 key dietary and activity recommendations for health
• American children consume 50% of their calories from added fat and sugar
• Vegetable consumption: < 20% of school children meet recommendations
• Fruit intake: < 15% of school children meet recommendations
• Calcium intake: < 20% females ages 9-19 meet recommendations
• Daily physical activity: 50% do not meet the recommended 60 minutes/day

In addition, studies show that 70 – 80 % of overweight youth will become obese adults, dramatically increasing their risk of chronic disease as they age. The increasing obesity rates among youth have also increased chronic disease rates in childhood. Children as young as 7 years old are now developing heart disease and type 2 diabetes, diseases formerly associated with adulthood and advanced age. If the current trend continues, it is projected:

• One in three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime.
• The increased incidence of disease coupled with younger age associations will carry an untold financial burden and result in an overall loss of years, and quality of life.
• This will be the first generation in history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents (New England Journal of Medicine, 3/17/05).

Healthy Habits for Everybody

A well-balanced diet and regular physical activity are important components of a healthy way of life. Developing healthy dietary and activity habits early in life set the stage for lifetime healthy habits and prevention of the development of chronic disease.

The 2005 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans outline simple dietary and activity recommendations for achieving good health. Unfortunately, a significant gap exists between these diet and exercise recommendations and what American’s are actually doing. Government health organizations have launched extensive educational campaigns urging Americans to adopt the strategies in the Dietary Guidelines to improve health and decrease the incidence of chronic disease. The key recommendations are outlined as healthy habits below:

Healthy Habits for Everybody

Make half your grains whole

Vary your veggies: eat more colors

Focus on fruits: eat a variety every day

Go lean with protein: choose low-fat and lean

Get your calcium-rich foods: go low-fat or fat-free

Fats and sugars – know your limits:

Limit solid fats as well as foods that contain them

Choose foods & beverages low in added sugars

Find your balance between food and fun: move more

Aim for at least 60 minutes every day or most days

For more information visit: www.mypyramid.gov

Educational resources provided in the Children’s Nutrition Collection (CNC) support the development of these Healthy Habits.

Positive Approaches Are Best

While childhood obesity is serious and alarmingly becoming more common, it is important to recognize that children are still growing and require adequate nutrients from a wide variety of foods to support healthy growth and development. Practices that promote: healthful choices; portion moderation; awareness of hunger and satiety cues; and regular physical activity show the most positive and lasting outcomes. Overly-restrictive dietary practices or an emphasis on the achievement of significant weight loss can negatively affect a child’s health and self-esteem, and may set the stage for the development of eating disorders.

If your child is significantly overweight, it is best to seek help from a qualified medical professional for the most positive outcome. If your child is normal weight or mildly overweight, simply providing regular balanced meals and snacks and adequate opportunities for physical activity will promote healthy growth and development, and allow an overweight child’s growth to catch up with his or her weight. Using a positive approach toward nutrition and physical activity by incorporating gradual healthful changes that involve the whole family will improve a child's self-esteem and be less likely to lead to negative eating issues. CNC materials support positive approaches to child nutrition.

Developing healthy eating and physical activity habits takes time and persistent efforts to become part of a daily routine. Children often need multiple exposures to unfamiliar foods in a positive environment to change their attitude and behavior toward the new food. The following positive approaches use CNC materials to help build Healthy Habits into daily routines.

Positive Approaches:

• Use CNC materials to learn what healthy food choices are and be sure to make healthy food easily accessible for children to practice making healthy food choices.
• A parent’s food and activity choices have been shown to have a greater influence on a child’s food and activity choices than if a parent simply tells their child what to do. Consider reading and discussing CNC stories about making healthy choices with your children, and becoming a positive role model for healthy food and activity choices.
• CNC stories and cookbooks can be used to spark a child’s interest in growing, shopping, cooking and tasting new and healthy foods. Getting children actively involved in the preparation of healthy foods has been shown to significantly increase their acceptance of these foods.
• Create healthy family meals and traditions using CNC cookbooks and Family Food Stories.
• Use CNC materials to discover ways to build family outings that include physical activity.

Family Table Time is Important!

Families who sit down together to eat for at least one meal a day eat more nutritiously than families who don’t. Family table time provides an opportunity to build strong parent-child connectedness, establish regular meal schedules, serve and introduce new nutritious foods, and serve as a positive role model for healthy eating habits.

A growing body of research about family meals shows that parental engagement at family meals results in higher intake of fruits, vegetables, and dairy products, and may influence whether an adolescent develops disordered eating. More frequent family meals are also linked with better grades in school, fewer symptoms of depression, a lower incidence of suicide, and a lower likelihood of smoking, drinking alcohol or using drugs. Recognizing the important relationship of family meals and healthy children, last year President Bush proclaimed the fourth Monday in September as Family Day – A day to eat dinner with your children. For more information about the importance of family meals visit: www.casafamilyday.org/