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Keeping Your Kids Healthy And Diabetes-free
By Christine Steendahl
The rate of childhood obesity is on the rise. Unhealthy habits have led to obese kids having obesity-related health conditions, such as type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. These diseases were previously found only in adults.

Obesity is a threat to the health of kids in several ways. Obesity impacts several systems of the body including:

*Cardiovascular system
*Pulmonary system
*Gastrointestinal system
*Orthopedic system

Over 12 million kids in the U.S. are inflicted with childhood obesity. This is an alarming number and a scary one for parents. The prevalence of childhood obesity increased 100 percent over the last ten years.

The reasons for obesity are a societal as well as physical. There are two major issues that have created this phenomenon of obese kids in our community.

The first major forces on the weight of our kids is the amount of fast food that is consumed on a daily basis. The fast food industry has transformed the American diet into a junk food melee that lacks good nutrients. Fast food consumption combined with a less active lifestyles of children who play expensive video games rather than
playing outside contributes to the high rate of childhood obesity.

These activities contribute directly to the causes of obesity in kids and to unhealthy parents. Kids need at least 90 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity each day to decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease. Parents need at least 30-45 minutes of exercise.

Kids need a nutritious diet for adequate growth and development. Unfortunately, fast food doesn' contain the nutrients that kids need. Nutritious eating is virtually a lost art for the standard family. Take out menus and fast food has become the standard way to get the family fed. These lifestyle options lead to overweight, high blood pressure and a myriad of other health issues for not only

adults but for our kids.

An overview of the basic problems with the eating habits of a nation
are summed up by Eric Schlosser in his book "Fast Food Nation"

"A generation ago, three-quarters of the money used to buy food in the United States was spent to prepare meals at home. Today half of the money used to buy food is spent at restaurants -- mainly at fast food restaurants". A hamburger and french fries is the quintessential American meal ... thanks to the promotional efforts of the fast food chains. The typical American now consumes approximately three hamburgers and four orders of french fries every week."

These facts reveal the problem. Some steps to correct this problem are in the hands of adults. Some short-terminterim solutions are offered below:

*Focus the family's diet on healthy foods.
*Encourage an increase in physical activity.
*Have a wide variety of healthy snacks on hand for snacking.
*Cook a nutritious meal plan for the family.

Parents can take more positive actions to prevent childhood obesity by making and serving nutritious meals at home. Taking the family on a hike or a bike ride after supper is a great activity for the whole family. Let kids decide on some events. Kids can participate in their own health improvement by making physical activity an after school priority.

The goal is to follow healthy lifestyle guidelines as close as possible. Make baby steps until you can reach the goal of good eating habits for the whole family.

It is hard to change entrenched bad eating habits. The rules will always get broken some of the time - allow for flexibility. The things that keep us from doing all the right things is usually lack of time. We always need more of it.

For nutritious recipes for children visit www.kidapprovedmeals.com