Family Health
1) Reducing TV time will automatically reduce body fat.
a) A 2002 study showing pre-schoolers with a TV in their room were 31% more likely to be obese.
b) Food and drink intake while watching TV contributed to 18% of daily caloric intake weekdays and 26% on weekends.
c) Resting BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate – number of calories burned per 24 hours) in children was less while the TV is on than when it is off. Research found there was less fidgeting with the TV on.
2) Parents need to be in charge of TV. It’s not a harmless machine in their house. If you had a guest for dinner that would make your children fat or teach them about alcohol, sex and violence, would you invite them in?
a) The family rule should be no eating in front of the TV.
3) Boost the daily step count.
a) Get off the bus early and walk.
b) Park as far from the grocery, department store or mall then return the shopping cart to the storage area.
c) Take the stairs instead of the elevator.
d) Walk after dinner.
4) Satiety (fullness) occurs when you have consumed a certain amount of weight of food not calories.
a) So stock up on lots of fresh fruits and vegetables that are dense and filling.
b) Drink plenty of water and avoid high calorie foods like Ben and Jerry’s, Oreos, Twinkies, potato chips, etc.
5) Too early exposure of formulas and solid foods can make your baby produce antibodies to the beta cells of the pancreas and thus produce susceptibilities to developing food allergies.
a) Fruit juice is not recommended till the child is at least 6 months old. Many of these drinks are high in sugars and preservatives.
6) Don’t try to lose weight.
a) Changing unhealthy eating habits is more important than losing weight. Eating healthy makes you feel and look better.
b) Of obese adults that lose weight, 90-95% of them gain the weight that they loss within 5 years.
c) Most effective strategies for children is to change their eating habits, reduce caloric intake and become more active.
d) The pitfalls of weight loss programs are that they are viewed as a short-term fix and then can just revert back to their old habits and still be fine. It simply doesn’t work that way. Good choices yield good results. Poor choices yield poor results.
7) Don’t believe all they hype about milk.
a) Studies showing dairy intake reduces fat storage are questionable as many of those studies were paid for by the dairy industry.
b) Go to www.NotMilk.com to see all of the benefits.
c) Dairy may be responsible for a majority of childhood allergies. Many of these will carry on to adulthood.
8) Take steps to decrease high caloric food and drinks.
a) Cut back to 1 soda or less per day and replenish yourself with water.
b) Cut back to 1 glass of fruit juice per day. High in glucose, tends to make the liver sluggish.
c) Decrease all white food (pasta, potatoes, white rice) and eat more colorful food like orange, yellow, green, red and pink.
d) Read food labels. I.e. A serving of Ben and Jerry’s may only be 300 calories, but there are 4 servings in their popular 1-pint containers. Do the math – do you really need 1200 calories before you go to bed?
9) Eat high quality foods in lower volume.
a) With low quality foods it takes a higher quantity to satisfy your desires.
b) Eating healthy doesn’t need to be more expensive. You’ll want to eat less, because it fills you up more.
10) Behavioral changes for parents.
a) Praise your kids every day.
b) Avoid critical and negative comments
c) Rewards should be what a parent and child do together – not an ice cream or time at Chuck E. Cheese.
d) Restructure the home environment to have fewer temptations and more healthy options.
e) Help your child figure out strategies in advance for dealing with difficult situations like parties or restaurants.