On July 12th the University of West Virginia announced a new study of over 20,000 fifth graders that showed that 30% of them had high cholesterol http://http://www.health.wvu.edu/newsreleases/news-details.aspx?ID=1524. Under present guidelines, only 70% of these children would have been tested and thus many with high cholesterol would have been missed. The doctors who did the study, and others, are now calling for universal cholesterol testing for children. Currently it is only done on kids considered at risk for high cholesterol. Untreated high cholesterol can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and diabetes. The question is: what will be done with the information the test provides?
Parents of children with elevated cholesterol levels will be told to put them on a low fat diet and to have their kids exercise for 30 – 60 minutes a day. But, parents have been hearing this message for the past 10 years. If that advice was taken, America would not be in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic. Our experience at That-a-Weigh Kids tells us that many parents know that being overweight is unhealthy for their kids. Many of the parents that call us already know that their kids have high cholesterol. They still buy the chips, soda, and cookies, however, and feed their children foods that are high in fat. They know their kids are at risk for a shortened life span. Dr. David S. Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in a report in 2005 that, "Obesity is such that this generation of children could be the first basically in the history of the United States to live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents."
Parents must be ready to choose a healthy lifestyle for their children, or else giving them their children’s cholesterol numbers is a waste of time and money.
Parents know if their children need a healthier lifestyle. They and their kids must accept the challenge to eat healthier. That-a-Weigh Kids is ready to help all along the way. Call us at (904)887-0393 or visit our website at www.thataweighkids.com.
Summertime comes and schedules changes. For many kids and teens that means lots of time to play, cook and eat healthy. For others it means more time in front of the TV, computer, snacking and not being very active. For almost all kids now is a time to make some healthy choices. For parents, it is an opportunity to help your kids and teens see the options available to them.
For the kids and teens that are fortunate enough to go to camps during the day, they will have many opportunities to exercise and eat right. It is up to the parents to check with the camp counselors to make certain that the kids are engaged in the activities at camp. Playing video games and just hanging out is not why you send them there.
During the summer there are some basics to remember. In addition to drinking 6-8 glasses of water every day, you need extra water if you are going to be outside playing in the heat. Drink a glass of water for every 15 minutes you are outside in the summer running around. This is the time to double up on activity. Kids don’t have homework and they have the time to ride their bikes, take a walk, run around the block, play in the hose and sprinklers, or navigate the obstacle course you made in your house or the backyard. They have time to jump rope for 20 minutes outside or inside depending on the weather. This is also a good time to teach them to make low calorie snacks like Yogurt Pops,™ or Fruit Smoothies™.
Hope you got it! To have a successful summer with your kids and teens you need to make sure they, “Eat Right, Play Hard, and Are Happy.”
We wish you a very Happy Summer.
The calendar says it is spring although in some parts of the country it still feels pretty cold. Regardless of the temperature however, at this time of the year we usually think about spring cleaning. Let me suggest that this year’s spring cleaning include eliminating any unhealthy foods in your homes. It is also a good time to try and change unhealthy family food behaviors. Send the food toxins in your environment running for cover!
If there are foods and snacks hidden in drawers and under beds, emancipate them. Give them to the food bank if they are unopened. If there are overweight kids or adults in your family who are limiting their food intake, help them by not having hidden foods for certain family members. Everyone in the family should be eating the same healthy food (except infants and toddlers). Prepackage healthy snacks in individual portions in your pantry or your refrigerator that everyone can eat.
Eat together when possible. Do not allow eating or snacking in your childrens’ rooms. Healthy eating is a family affair. Talk about it and do something about it. Spring into action today. You can help your overweight kids lose weight and learn a healthy lifestyle – now.
When you shop for your children’s clothes, you go to
the children’s department. When your child is sick, you
take them to a pediatrician, and if they need a plan to
lose weight, it needs to be one specifically for children.
Recently, I received a call from a Mom who told me how
great our program (That-a-Weigh Kids®) was. Her
teenager had been losing weight steadily and was learning
to make good choices for a healthy lifestyle now and in the
future. The Mom then went on to apologize that her
daughter wouldn’t be returning to That-a-Weigh Kids®
because she took her to another program that was geared
for adults but accepted kids. After all, school was starting
and Mom really wanted her daughter to lose 10 pounds in
4 weeks. The goal was pure weight loss, not having her child
learn how to make good food choices and how to lose
weight properly.
The truth is, what this child learned is that in the end
you do whatever you have to do to lose weight. How sad,
because she had lost weight by eating right, playing
hard (exercising) and was well on her way to being very
happy with herself without having to resort to shakes
and supplement bars.
You can give your child a wonderful gift by teaching
them the right way to manage their weight when they
are young. Supplements, shakes, vitamin shots and
fad diets send them the wrong message.
February 9, 2010 – 8:54 am
Michelle Obama was on Good Morning America today talking about the
importance of combating childhood obesity. For more than five years
this has been our mission at That-a-Weigh Kids®. Mrs. Obama talked
about the importance of parents having a conversation with their kids
about healthy eating and making small changes in their eating habits.
With a proven kid friendly meal plan, personalized goal weight plans,
and ongoing phone and email support, That-a-Weigh Kids®Kids Online
is a weight management program that provides parents with the tools
they need to have that conversation. As Mrs. Obama said, “Kids like
ice cream cake, burgers and fries.” However, they can be taught to
make healthy choices and to eat healthy snacks too. Mrs. Obama has
joined the fight on childhood obesity. Now is the time for all of
us to spread the word that there are resources to turn to such as
That-a-Weigh Kids®to help kids become healthy adults.
January 12, 2010 – 10:01 am
Recently I spoke to two Moms who were very concerned about their overweight girls. The first girl, who we will call Marcy*, was 14 and weighed 223 pounds and the second girl, Tanya*, was 12 and weighed 160 pounds. (Both parents had been referred to That-a-Weigh Kids® by their doctors). We talked about what the girls ate and drank on an average each day. Marcy was drinking at least two 20 oz. cups of orange juice with dinner every night, plus sodas throughout the day. Tanya was drinking at least 32 oz. of sweetened tea, sprite and juice every day. Both girls were drinking more than 500 calories a day. That means they are drinking at least 3500 calories a week. That’s equal to one pound of weight loss a week if they would eliminate it from their diet. Tanya’s mom felt that drinking juice was healthy for Tanya. Yes, drinking one 4 oz. glass of juice a day could be part of a healthy diet –but no more than that!, It is far healthier, however, to eat fruit as a snack or as dessert. If your child is thirsty, drinking as much as 6-8 glasses of water each day is a much better alternative than sweet juices. Don’t let your kids drink themselves into becoming overweight adults.
According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, “Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese.”
And
Overweight kids become kids with medical problems. According to the Center for Disease Control overweight kids have a far greater chance of developing:
- Early onset Type II diabetes
- Early onset High Blood Pressure
- High Cholesterol
- Menstrual Disorders
- Sleep Apnea
- Non-alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease
- Increase in Psychiatric Diseases
- Increased risk of some adult cancers
The bottom line is if you want healthy kids, teach them to make healthy food and lifestyle choices. Click here for help doing that.
* Not their actual names
