Childhood Obesity Causes and Solutions

ByOnyx Coale

Most American children and teens are consuming fast food multiple times daily.

Working parents stock their pantries with pre-processed foods that are quick and easy enough for their kids to make.

Many of today's children are microwaving their own meals by age eight.

Several bags of microwave popcorn, with extra butter or seasoning, are perceived to be meals by many "latch key" kids.

To minimize toddlers whining in the stores, many parents succumb to buying "kid popular" products laden with sugar and fats.

Children will usually choose products that come with cool prizes or ones with their favorite characters on the packaging. Certainly, if they have eaten it at their friend's house, parents will hear very loud whines if that junk food is not put in the shopping cart. Nutritional value is not the top priority at that moment, getting the kids out of the store is.

Breakfast often consists of cookie-flavored cereals or pop tarts washed down with artificially flavored milk or food colored drink.

Hot breakfast may be three or four packets of artificially flavored, pre-sweetened oatmeal in a bowl. (Notice the lack of portion control).

Let's not mention the cold pizza and soda leftover from last night's dinner.

Parents provide their children snack money to buy treats at school in vending machines and after school on the way home with their friends.

Has your child ever asked for snack money to buy carrots to eat at the ballgame?

Many children come home from school to no adult supervision. Parents work later. Free, supervised after-school activities are not always available.

Even if Mom leaves a dinner plan, some children will only follow it if it's something they like, i.e., hot dogs, or if Mom is coming up the walkway.

What if the parent is a stay-at-home parent? Kids become beneficiaries of homemade treats and snacks in between meal times.

Lower income families tend to eat a lot of whatever they can afford. They eat a lot of heavy foods like potatoes, beans, breads, and pastas.

Portion control is usually based on the feast or famine scenario in these homes. Of course, if Grandma is visiting from the old world or if there is a family function, then massive overeating will likely take place.

Let's focus on some solutions.

Wisdom, moderation, and portion control are the keys to keeping the young ones from ingesting too much fatty foods.

Growing children requires daily vitamin supplements.

Most parents have no clue if their kids' bowels are regular, so this should be carefully watched. Bowel regularity will eliminate some of the other issues.

Exercise in the fresh air and sunshine is required to be physically healthy. Encourage walking with pets or friends and bicycling as older kids' main method of transportation whenever possible. Dancing, sports, or martial arts classes are great exercise, too.

Spend family fun time at the park, as well.

We can end the epidemic of childhood obesity by following all of the above.

Onyx Coale is a 7-figure top income earner who heads a large MonaVie organization with teams throughout North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand Southeast Asia and expanding in India. Onyx Coale is happy single mother, business owner, health-and-fitness nut and mentor to women all over the world. Onyx Coale regularly speaks to audiences of up to 10,000. You can learn more about Onyx Coale's business opportunities here http://www.onyx-coale.biz or more about MonaVie health and wellness products here http://www.onyx-coale-weight-loss.com.

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Eating Habits That May Cause Weight Gain

Child obesity can lead to worries about teen weight loss. As a teen, you may have habits that cause weight gain. We don't always recognize something we do over and over as a habit. That's because we do things on auto-pilot without thinking about it. Let's look at a few habit patterns that you may have without knowing it.

1. Your Divided Mind - Do you frequently eat while watching TV, surfing the net or talking on your cell phone? Here the mind is divided between doing something considered important and munching, until a bag of chips is history.

The mind is pretty remarkable. It signals your stomach when it's full. However, it's up to you to listen. Discipline your thoughts. The mind can only deal with one thought at a time.

2. Eating Late at Night - Do you often grab a burger and fries with friends, following a movie or sports event? When we eat too late, our body doesn't have enough awake time to take care of digestion duties. Guess what? All those late night calories and carbs are added to the body's reserve of fat!

If you find yourself in a situation where everybody else is eating fatty, sugary foods, try to make healthier choices. Most restaurants have slimmer menu options such as grilled chicken or veggie pizza. If you're not really hungry, take half of your meal home. Add a salad for a nutritious lunch the next day.

3. Nervous Eating - Were you a nervous child? Stress and anxiety are leading causes of child obesity. Child obesity makes it all the more difficult to accomplish teen weight loss. During teen years, your emotions are at an all-time high, due to peer pressure, self-image and/or stress at home and school.

Nervous eating acts like a medicine that takes your mind off of your problems. Talk to someone you trust; your school counselor or a relative and discuss ways to work-out your problems.

4. Sugar Overload - Too much sugar is a prime cause of child obesity and, later, this habit discourages teen weight loss. Maybe you think sugar gives you an energy boost in between classes or after school. In a small way, it will. But, soon your energy levels will drop like a rock. You'll feel tired and can't think clearly.

Consider carrying healthy snacks like walnuts or fruit in your backpack. It's actually good to "graze", which means eating several nutritious mini-meals during the day. Healthy snacks help cut down your sugar craving.

5. Doing Without Breakfast - At night, your body has been at rest and it needs fuel to get through the day. If you're short on time, fix grab-and-go breakfasts like fruit and cheese or peanut butter on whole wheat toast.

If you skip breakfast, you'll tend to eat junk during the day. If you're serious about teen weight loss, break the habit of doing without breakfast.

Habit patterns weren't made in a day. Be mindful of what you eat and when you eat it. Child obesity is epidemic in America. Teen weight loss contributes to healthier adults.

Theresa de Jesus is a health and wellness coach. She is passionate in helping kids challenged by overweight or obesity to create a healthy, active and fun lifestyle. Get your FREE weight loss booster newsletter and learn how you can lose weight the healthy way without feeling deprived. http://weightlossbooster.teenhealthfitnesscoach.com/

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How Parents Can Provide Motivation To Teen Weight Loss

Carrying around too much weight at any age can be troublesome, but it is particularly so for parents who have to deal with child obesity. Parents love their children and only want the best for them, but teen weight loss carries with it a two-edged sword. While wanting to help your child make better food choices and become more active to work off those calories, if you tell them that they need to lose a few pounds it could lead them to feeling even worse about themselves.

No parent wants to do that so it does take some real strategy in order to motivate your child to do what is best for them. This is particularly true because being overweight, even at a young age means that those same kids are at greater risk for developing some serious health issues such as heart disease, diabetes, and asthma. Child obesity can also lead to some emotional disorders that are often directly related to being excluded from activities and teased by peers. All of this can mean lower self-esteem, depression and negative body image.

Understanding some of the causes of child obesity is one of the best tools that parents can have in their arsenal of tools to help them to provide motivation for teen weight loss. It helps to understand that obesity, whether it is the child or adult, in most cases is caused by lack of exercise and eating too much and eating the wrong kinds of foods. Here are some factors that contribute to the phenomenon.

• Families are so busy that they eat out more often and cook at home less.

• Junk food and fast foods that are high in calories and low in nutritional value are cheap and easy to access.

• Kids today are spending more time in front of televisions, computers and playing video games and less time outdoors playing.

• Physical education programs and outdoors activities are being eliminated from many schools.

Healthy habits should begin at home because parents have the most influence on their children from an early age. Child obesity can be prevented or fought against best when the entire family gets involved in getting and maintaining a healthier lifestyle. Helping children to make better choices in the foods they eat must begin at the family table. As the whole family gets involved, the task of teen weight loss becomes easier and the changes that take place are more likely to be long-lasting.

Here is how you can motivate your child if she or he is obese and continue to fight child obesity. Remember, you are the best example your child has, so make the most of it.

• Watch what you are eating: Let your child know about the healthy food you like to eat at the time you are eating it. You could draw attention to the food on your plate by saying, "I love eating broccoli covered in garlic sauce, it tastes so good. Do you want a taste?"

• Watch what you cook: When you cook healthy meals for your family you are fighting child obesity. You can even give your child some cooking tasks that are age-appropriate to help them become more enthusiastic about eating more wisely.

• Get up and move: You should be demonstrating to your child the benefits of exercise by inviting them to exercise with you, even if it is a walk around the block or dancing at home.

• Free time activities: Teen weight loss can be encouraged by avoiding sedentary activities yourself. Spend less time in front of the TV and more time in activities that your kids can enjoy too.

Motivating your kids through your own example is the best way to combat child obesity.

Theresa de Jesus is a health and wellness coach. She is passionate in helping kids challenged by overweight or obesity to create a healthy, active and fun lifestyle. Get your FREE weight loss booster newsletter and learn how you can lose weight the healthy way without feeling deprived. http://weightlossbooster.teenhealthfitnesscoach.com/

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It's Everyone's Job to Prevent Childhood Obesity

When the facts show that teen weight loss is a big issue for one-third of the teens it becomes an issue that we are all forced to deal with. That is an overwhelming high number of children suffering from child obesity. The overweight issue puts these children at higher risk for severe health issues like asthma, diabetes and heart disease. Not only does childhood obesity cause physical health problems, it can also cause emotion issues because children tend to tease those who have weight problems. This results in a very negative body image, which can lead to mental issues like depression.

What Can You Do?

As a teen, you do have some control over your own teen weight loss. You can be a leader by showing that you realize you have a problem, then be the example by doing something to solve the problem. Find someone who has a healthy weight and ask them how they do it. Choose to start living a healthier life. Ask your family and friends to support you in your goal to lose the weight. Think about your physical activities. If you are an avid gamer, instead of sitting and playing games all the time, take an hour a day and do some exercises, go for a walk or swim, or play a game that allows you to be physical (which can be a very fun way to lose weight.)

Eat Healthier

You do have a choice to make with the foods you eat. Teen weight loss will happen if you choose to eat healthier foods. Skip eating foods that are overly sweet or "junky". Instead of candy and cookies, choose fruit. Instead of drinking sodas, try tea sweetened with a sugar substitute, or just plain water. Know that these choices will help you to fight and win the battle against child obesity. Encourage those closest to you to help you make better choices.

More Eating Tips

Ask the person who is responsible for cooking the meals to cook foods that include vegetables and lean meats. Ask them to fix your plate by giving you smaller portions. If you know ahead of time that is all you will get, you may find you will be as satisfied with the meal as if you had packed your plate. Teen weight loss requires a lot of will power, and enlisting those who cook your meals to help you out will help you to beat child obesity.

Winning the battle with teen weight loss means changing your life style completely. Make better choices with meals and snacks. Talk your friends into participating in more physical activities with you instead of sitting in front of the TV all the time, make them your accountability buddies. You will find that friends and family can be very supportive and helpful if you just ask them. You can mention to them that these will be good habits to create and will be healthier for them too.

Theresa de Jesus is a health and wellness coach. She is passionate in helping kids challenged by overweight or obesity to create a healthy, active and fun lifestyle. Get your FREE weight loss booster newsletter and learn how you can lose weight the healthy way without feeling deprived. http://weightlossbooster.teenhealthfitnesscoach.com/

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Are Vegetarian Diets Optimal For Children's Health?

ByEric Nicholas Martinez

When someone says I am a Vegan or Vegetarian, what comes to mind first? Let me guess, a person that doesn't eat meat right? Well, part of that is true but there are different types of Vegetarians, such as Lacto-Ovo Vegetarians, Vegans, and Macrobiotic diets. A Lacto-Ovo Vegan doesn't eat meat or fish but eats dairy and eggs. A Vegan excludes all meats, fish, dairy, eggs, and no animal products, this is the type of Vegetarian most of us refer to. Macrobiotic diets are not necessarily vegetarian, but are largely based on grains, legumes, and vegetables. Although I am not a huge fan of vegan diets, I am not one to say they can't work. A well-balanced vegetarian diet should pay particular attention to the following sources: adequate protein intake, essential fatty acids, iron, zinc, calcium, and vitamins B and D.

Supplementation may be required in cases of strict vegetarian diets with no intake of animal products. If done right, then there are positive outcomes from vegan diets and at the end of the day if you are a vegan and live a healthy lifestyle, than more power to you. Now, the real question is, Before we begin with this topic, coming from my biased opinion, I do not agree with parents raising their young children on vegan diets for several reasons. A very important reason is the fact that parents lack giving their children a nutritious diet as it is, let alone a vegan diet which is supposed to be stricter and could lead to more health and deficiency problems down the road if done wrong.

Are Essential Fatty Acids and Amino Acids important for children's growth? Absolutely they are, our body does not naturally produce them and a child is not going to go and buy their selves some fish oil and BCAA's at a vitamin store to supplement with. Since vegan diets exclude animal proteins and fish, where do the fatty acids and Amino Acids come from? That is the biggest problem. They do not come from anywhere because most parents are not aware of how critical these nutrients are for optimal growth and overall health. If parents aren't aware of the importance of Omega-3 and Omega-6 and Amino Acids, than how is a child supposed to know that? The human brain needs the major essential long chain fatty acids known as "DHA" and "EPA," which are found in omega-3 for proper development. There is a handful of research to support that theory.

Do children using vegan diets have Vitamin and mineral deficiencies that can lead to lack of growth? Energy Expenditure, also known as the "Metabolic Rate" can be at risk with restrictive vegan diets, due to the lack of vitamins, minerals, and nutrients being provided. Many vegan dieters become Copper toxic and Zinc deficient, do to not getting the right amounts of animal proteins the body needs. These deficiencies can cause what is known as "Brain Fog," which is a fuzzy feeling you get in your brain from time to time. Eventually this can potentially lead to chemical imbalances in the human body and digestion problems. (1)In a study conducted by Roberts et al. and Campbell et al. states that severe malnutrition has been reported in infants and toddlers fed inappropriate vegetarian diets as well as deficiencies of iron, vitamin B-12, and vitamin D. So, the greater the variety of foods that make up the diet, the better the chances that all the nutrients will be provided. (2) In another study found in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, Hebbelinck et al. concluded that a Lacto-Ovo vegetarian diet sustains adequate physical growth and maturation. Some of the vegetarian subjects, however, appear to have had difficulty meeting the energy requirements. Basically if the vegan diet is done the right way, then children can have optimal growth and not have any vitamin and mineral deficiencies, but they may lack energy.

What other deficiencies can potentially occur if a child is fed a vegan diet? Nutrition for kids is more vital than it is for adults, due to the fact they have to grow and mature into adults at some point in time. When children are growing up, they are in such a tender stage of development for their brain, muscles, and bones. Every bit of quality nutrition is critical for proper growth and parents need to understand that, bottom line! There has also been research that when mother's being pregnant and on a vegan diet, the baby can be born with undeveloped brains and their central nervous systems are starving due to not getting the proper vitamins, minerals, and nutrients through proper diet during the pregnancy term. An undeveloped brain can then lead to learning disabilities. Some symptoms to watch out for in the children, if fed a vegan diet are: Short term memory loss, cold hands and feet due to not getting the proper amounts of nutrients from animal fats to support the adrenalin and thyroid functions, and sleep disorders.

Can vegan diets lead to child obesity? Depending on what kind of vegan diet is being provided, sure a child can put on fat through a vegan diet. If the parent's are just feeding their children "High Glycemic Carbs" and no proteins or fats, than that can cause a huge insulin spike and most likely go to your fat cells rather than your muscle cells and then be stored and lead to fat gain. It all really depends on how educated the parents are, if they are keeping a good balance of macronutrients, especially rich proteins high in Leucine content and fibrous carbs than the child should be fine. Also I would hope the child is doing some sort of physical activity and not living a sedentary lifestyle sitting and playing video games all day. Sugar consumption, well we can't leave that out of the equation now can we. Most vegetarians don't even know they are pre-diabetic and continuously eat refined sugars and alternative sweeteners without even knowing it. Well, we should all know by now that sugar is the devil, and does lead to fat gain, and if you are pre-diabetic then you are only going to make matters worse. What do children love the most? Nine out of ten times it's good old sugar, and some more sugar. So, if parents are feeding their children adequate amounts of sugar daily, even through a vegan diet, then the children will gain fat and may lead to diabetes down the road.

With all this said, In my humble opinion I do not agree with them, but if done properly and the children are monitored for symptoms and are living a healthy active lifestyle, than it should be fine. Someone once told me that vegan diets will become more popular in the future, but I have to disagree respectively do to all the studies and research that show animal fats and animal proteins are the key to longevity and muscle growth. At the end of the day everyone is going to live their life the way they choose too, whether that's through a paleo diet, zone diet, vegan diet, or regular diets. Whatever makes that person happy is all that really matters, but for the sake of children not having control of what they eat is wrong. Parent's need to educate themselves regardless of the circumstances, it doesn't matter if you are a vegan or not, the bottom line is to feed your children the right nutrients their bodies need for proper brain development and overall growth.

References:

(1) Roberts IF, West RJ, Ogilvie D, Dillon MJ, Malnutrition in infants receiving cult diets: a form of child abuse. Br Med J 1979; 1: 296-8.

Campbell M, Lofters WS, Gibbs WN. Rastafarianism and the vegan syndrome. Br Med J 1982;285: 1617-8

(2) Hebbelinck M. et al. Growth, development, and physical fitness of flemish vegetarian children, adolescents, and young adults. American J of clinical Nutrition.

"Live A Dynamic Lifestyle"

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Heart Disease Prevention Starts in Childhood: What You Can Do to Protect Your Child

On the front page of the December issue of the Pediatric News journal is the new recommendation to test all 9 to 11 year olds for cholesterol level. According to this article, "...heart attacks, strokes, and other cardiovascular problems in adulthood are often the end result of cardiovascular risk factors that went unrecognized throughout childhood..." (Splete)

I'm glad to see that we, as pediatricians, are acknowledging the fact that heart disease, like many other diseases, really starts in childhood. And while I fully support the screening process, I'm much more interested in prevention. What should we do during that first decade of our children's lives to make the screening unnecessary? It's all about diet and lifestyle.

For the past thirty years, child health has been going in the wrong direction. Childhood overweight and obesity has skyrocketed during the past 3 decades. And that trend is directly linked to the increased incidence of a variety of heart related disorders in children, most notably high blood pressure, metabolic syndrome, and high cholesterol levels. This is a very serious problem, given that epidemiologists are proposing that life expectancy for this rising generation of children could be shortened by as much as eight years. So, what are the primary factors leading to these disturbing trends?

Our reliance on convenient foods that are full of additives and sugar while deficient in nutrients. Our fast paced lifestyle has us purchasing more fast food, and more prepackaged foods to feed our families compared to previous generations.
our schools are largely feeding our children prepared, and often fried foods, offering minimal fruits and vegetables. Schools also rely heavily on snack and soda vending machines for revenue, at the expense of children's health.
our children are leading sedentary, technology saturated lifestyles. With the average child spending about 7 hours using media daily (yikes!), our children are being deprived of needed physical activity. And schools have severely reduced or eliminated physical education in the curriculum.

We need to make some fundamental changes in the way we feed our children. Don't believe the myth that children don't need to worry about what they eat until they grow older. We have known for years that the roots of heart disease begin in childhood. And remember, the habits they develop in childhood will persist into adulthood, so we want to instill the right habits now. Here's what we can do:

Provide our children with a diet high in fruits and vegetables. Studies have shown that even as early as toddler age, our children's diets are severely deficient in fruits and vegetables. It will take creativity given their finicky appetites, but there are numerous resources available. Check out "The Sneaky Chef" by Missy Chase Lapine or the website http://www.cancerproject.org for menu ideas.
Provide more home cooked meals for our children, so that we can ensure that they are receiving freshly prepared and healthy ingredients in their meals. Studies have shown that children who eat more meals at home have lower rates of obesity and other health problems.
Get our children exercising more. The recommended level of activity is 60 minutes of vigorous activity every day. I know it sounds daunting, but just getting them outside for free play will peak their natural tendency to exercise. And we can exercise with them. Remember to make it fun. Playing ball together, family walks, or even family P90X.

We often say that we want our children to have a better life than we have; so let's give them a better legacy of health and longevity!

Reference:

Splete, H. Test Cholesterol in all 9- to 11-year olds. Pediatric News. December 2011, Vol 45, No. 12.

Dr. Teresa Fuller is double board certified in pediatrics and integrative holistic medicine. She also has a doctorate in physiology. She if founder of A Healthy Tomorrow, whose mission is to restore America's children to the legacy of health that they deserve. Her goal is to equip families with information and resources to improve children's health. Check out her website, http://www.ahealthytomorrow.org, to learn about more ways to prevent and reverse disease, and to subscribe to our e-newsletter.

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3 Benefits of Keeping Kids Active and Avoid Childhood Obesity

because the rates of childhood obesity has increased in this age of convenience. Everyday my life requires me to interact with children, whether they are mine or others. Most people in my community and my friends for that matter all call me Coach. That's because I coach baseball, basketball, flag, football, tackle football and any other sport if there aren't enough volunteers.

Besides coaching sports, I am a substitute teacher. When substituting, I try to keep the kids active even if it's not a physical education class. Literally, my goal is to keep their heart rate up because they risk obesity due to inactivity. I do this through stretching and chair exercise if we are in a class room. Some don't like it, but most do because it's different.

If you have kids, many times you'll see them bouncing around like a new born deer, because they are so full of energy. On the other hand, we as adults get lazy and start thinking about how soon we can sit down in front of the TV and become mesmerized. This is a contributing factor to the rise in adult obesity.

How many times have you had a kid come up to you and ask "will you play with me?" Don't pass up these opportunities.

There is a threefold benefit here:

You are keeping them active, therefore they are getting essential exercise for both physical and mental well being.You as the adult are being active and getting much needed exerciseYou are building a lifelong memory by being active with the child and he or she will love you for it. Many times when older kids are asked what cheers them up, then answer my be surprising but it's typically when they were doing something with a parent or adult they look up to.

Even if it isn't your child, that's okay; because, you are being a role model. Have your child bring a friend, chances are they may have a parent that should get active as well. This will help bring them into the fold. Living in an age of electronics, it's too easy to become physically inactive.

Currently, Doctors are recommending that kids as well as adults get 30 minutes of exercise per day. This doesn't have to be 30 minutes all in one setting. I can be broken up into two 15 minute segments or three 10 minutes segments. As your activity level increases this won't seem like much time at all. It will be over before you know it and you'll be yearning for more.

So my dear friend, If you are asking yourself are there more than 3 benefits of keeping kids active to avoid childhood obesity? I would urge you to consider the three benefits above and for more visit my website http://squidoo.com/7-steps-to-stop-obesity-overweight-problems-for-fat-kids there you will find 7 elements that are crucial, so I urge you to click to my site right now.

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Childhood Obesity Part 2

This is part 2 of the 2 part article discussing childhood obesity. In this part I will discuss how children are the victims of marketing and how parents can become their children's role model.

The next time you find your son or daughter parked in front of the TV watching the same cartoon you've heard a thousand times but have never seen, stop and watch. Sit down with your kid and pay close attention to the commercials. They are designed to instruct your child to bug you for the newest toy or snack. There is actually a snack that you can temporarily tattoo your tongue with!

The marketing of processed fatty fast food is hard to resist. With the huge portion sizes and the toys and cartoon character that are in a kids face 8 hours a day on 10 different cartoon channels. Who can expect a child to resist. And the convenience, that is what sells the parents. After being at work for the last 8-10 hours, the last thing Mom or Dad want to do is cook dinner. So on the way home we pick up some burgers and fries for dinner. The kids, again, have no choice. The parents are the direct line to the fatty, sugary, salty mess that is fast food.

As much as I would like to blame "Big Business" for our children's weight problem, the truth is parents are to blame. We have the power to say NO to bad food and YES to walking and jumping and playing. I realize there may be some genetic issues which may lead to obesity like slow metabolism or a thyroid problem but for the most part diet and lack of exercise is to blame I have read a lot of articles on childhood obesity and few of them spent more than a sentence talking about genetics. Mostly it's the example set forth by the parents that causes childhood obesity. If parents are not home when the child comes home from school, children tend to over consume fatty, sweet and salty snacks. If the parents do not exercise than the child probably won't exercise either.

Parental influence, I believe, is the top reason children become fat or obese. The influence a parent has on a child can not be understated. Even from birth the choices made by parents may influence if a child becomes fat or not. Some studies have shown that breast feeding is better for a child than bottle feeding. The thought being that a breast fed baby stops eating when they are satisfied whereas a bottle fed baby is encouraged to drink the whole bottle. Other studies have indicated that breast fed babies are introduced to multiple flavors influenced by the mother's diet. Bottle fed babies are exposed only to the flavor of the formula. Also the availability of fruits and vegetables early in their life predisposes them to acceptance of fruits and vegetables as school children.

Children do not shop, parents do. The parents decide what types of food will be in the house and available for the child to eat. If the child is home unsupervised, what choice does the child have but to snack on chips and cookies found in the pantry.

There are new programs and ad campaigns directed at the childhood obesity epidemic. The First Lady, Michelle Obama, has begun the "Let's Move" campaign aimed at helping kids make healthy choices. Due to all the reasons specified in this article, The First Lady recommends giving parents the knowledge to make healthy food choices for their family, provide healthy foods in schools and helping kids become more active. But like all programs aimed at helping, there is a group which does not approve of The First Lady's "Let's Move" campaign. Those against Mrs. Obama's campaign is the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA). This group believes the "Let's Move" campaign singles out fat and obese kids as unhealthy and will bring undo ridicule on them. Therefore the "Let's Move" campaign should educate everyone, of all sizes, to lead a healthy life style. NAAFA believes you can be heavy and be healthy. NAAFA is a civil rights organization not a health organization. You can visit their web site at http://www.naafaonline.com/dev2/.

Another campaign that NAAFA is against is a public service campaign is Georgia. This new campaign is drawing controversy for how it depicts fat children. The first phase of the campaign can viewed here http://www.healthhabits.ca/2012/01/03/stop-sugarcoating-childhood-obesity/. The campaign is meant to be a three phase public service announcement. Phase 1 is meant to attract attention, which it is doing. Phase 2 will educate parents that there are ways to prevent and reverse childhood obesity. Phase 3 will offer support and tools to battle obesity.

Ray Antonacci, http://www.oururgentcare.com,
Make Our Urgent Care, Your Urgent Care.
Visit us at the above link or if your in our area visit us for your urgent care needs.

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Easy Tricks to Get Kids Exercising and Loving It!

Physical activity is equally important for both kids and adults if they want to lose weight or maintain it. A majority of kids spend more than 20 hours per week watching TV, surfing internet or playing video games which leaves no room for physical activity. And even though you give them a chance to do some physical activity, they often avoid it because it does not trigger their interest. So the best thing to do is include some of their favorite things in simple activities and it will sooner rather than later get your kids off the couch. For example, your kids will be exercising as well as loving the activity by just following some of these tips!

Taking the Dog for a walk: Kids love pets! A good way to turn this love for pets into a physical activity is to get them a dog. Prior to getting them the dog, make a deal with them that it's their responsibility to take it on walks. You can add more fun to this activity by getting them a Frisbee, which will keep them involved in training the dog and meanwhile they're burning calories.
Add Allowance: If your kids are into earning their allowance. Then it's your best bet to convert this allowance earning into a physical activity. Give them allowance for performing chores that require physical work, such as mowing the lawn, raking leaves, or even a car wash! What persuades kids is the outcome of the activity, and when the outcome is monetary or something tangible, then they are sure to love the activity and perform it every now and then.
Lead by Example: Kids usually learn from their elders, and try to relate to their older family members. So if you are a parent and are into fitness chances are that your kid will also turn out to be a fitness conscious person. What you could do is to indulge them in your activities. Like when you go for a walk in the evening take your kid with you, and on the way you can both chat about school stories or what happened in the day. It will make your parent-child bond grow, and the kids will enjoy the walk.
Amusement Parks and Zoo: If you have an amusement park or even regular parks in your neighborhood then take your kids daily in the evening to play and mingle with kids of their own age. This will give them a chance to be both socially and physically active. Also, frequent trips to the zoo will definitely keep the kids moving!
Just Dance: Turn on the music and shake your body! Dancing is one of the most enjoyable and fascinating ways to burn calories. Get your kids to join you and make it a family dance, it does not need to be any specific kind of dance. Just let the kids enjoy it! As long as they keep moving your mission is being accomplished.

Children have very active minds, and this is the phase of life where you can turn them into a couch potato or a fitness fanatic. Parents can make all the difference in how they can be. Remember there are tons of other ways to get your child active that ride the line of fitness and leisure. So be creative, and most of all, have fun!

Wendy Ida, 59 years young, Fitness Coach & Best-Selling Author of Take Back Your Life! My No Non Sense Approach to Health, Fitness & Looking Good Naked!

No matter what your age, it's not too late to take charge. Wendy Ida provides the motivation and education to make health and fitness a priority - and enables you to put this life-changing decision into practice.

Tap into Wendy's wealth of knowledge and inspiration through her Personal Fitness Training, Media Events, Health Seminars, Guest Speaking and Topical Articles at http://wendyidafitness.com

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Teaching Fitness to Kids

ByZero Carter

Obesity is a problem not only for adults but for kids as well. Today more and more kids are becoming overweight and one major reason is because of technology.

Technology played a key role in making things simpler and more convenient for everyone, yet they also played a major role in reducing physical activities of children. Kids today would rather play video games, watch TV or DVDs, or surf the internet rather than play tag, go biking, play sports and so on. Without these physical activities, kids are at risk to become obese, even before they reach their puberty.

So what must be done?

The major responsibility of course would fall on the parents. It is their duty to encourage their kids to engage in physical activities instead of playing video games all day. One thing parents can do is to initiate the activity. There are a lot of activities that you can do with your kids that doesn't require any electronics or gadgets. Go to the park, teach them how to ride a bike, teach them sports, go swimming and so on.

If they're really persistent on playing video games, encourage them to play games that require physical movement. There are a lot of games that require physical movement, Wii for starters offer a variety of games that is physical but fun. You can also use TV and DVD to get them interested in sports or other physical activity by letting them watch how fun it is to do it.

Teaching kids how to exercise is also a good strategy. You can start teaching them basic and simple exercises that they can do when they wake up. This will also help your kids as they grow up as they will develop a good habit of physical fitness. It is never to early to teach kids how to exercise, there are lot of exercises that are simple, basic, easy to follow and not very strenuous. You just have to teach the kids how to properly perform the exercise and remind them to avoid straining themselves too much.

Obesity among kids is a growing concern and cannot be overlooked. The lack of physical activity is a major factor that contributes to obesity and it can be solved with the proper guidance and encouragement from parents. One way to solve the problem is to teach kids to do basic, simple and easy-to-follow exercises.

My name Zero Carter is I'm an internet marketer who enjoys doing research online.

Do you find the article useful? You can learn more about weight problems with kids in http://healthandfitnessforkids.blogspot.com/

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Childhood Obesity a Growing Problem

Childhood Obesity is an increasing problem for minorities. To help your child, here are suggestions:

1. Work at being healthy yourself. Remember: experts say that a child who lives in the house with two obese parents has an 80 % percent risk of becoming overweight, and if he or she has only one parent who is obese, the risk is 70%. The risk drops to 7% if both parents are normal weight.

2. Cook at home. The more families eat at fast food restaurants, the greater the risk of being overweight.

3. Give up the soft drinks. They are high in calories and loaded with sugar.

4. Substitute healthy snacks for chips, cupcakes and other fattening, salty foods you buy for kids.

5. Buy more fresh fruits and vegetables. If you can't get the freshest vegetables, move to frozen vegetables.

6. Reduce the amount of fatty meats you buy and cook.

7. Cut back on fried foods, such as chicken and fish. Those 'french fries', that children and adults love from the many fast food stores that crowd some communities, help to clog up the arteries and pack on the weight.

8. Control food portions. The portion sizes of meals has tripled. We are eating more food than we need. No need for seconds and thirds.

9. Get everybody moving. Turn off the television, go for walks, or go to the community center or Y to exercise.

10. Be an Advocate:

- At your child's school, push for outdoor recess, gym classes, and after-school athletics.

- Ask your administrators about replacing soda and candy with healthy water, fruits and snacks

- Tell your public officials that you want more safe places for kids to play in your area, and

- Support Farmer's Markets that help to provide fresh, affordable and accessible food to your community.

Increasing Prevalence of Obesity in U.S. Population

The percent of U.S. adults with obesity increased in White, Hispanic, and African American U.S. populations, but most strikingly, among African Americans between 1988 and 1994, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The best approach to overweight and obesity prevention is to:

- Start early and be consistent in promoting and facilitating healthy eating and regular physical activity for both children and teens.

- However, to accomplish this, or recommend it to others, one must first understand and appreciate the context and environment in which the effort will be, or is being, made.

Dr. Goodwin earned her B.S. degree from Virginia State University and her M.D. degree from the Medical College of Virginia.

Dr. Goodwin is President and Editor-in-Chief of http://healthpowerforminorities.com

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The Importance Of Sports In A Child's Development

Games and sports are an opportunity for children to mingle with other kids and get some exercise. Children should not be deprived of outdoor play and should instead be encouraged to participate. Games and sports provide a more fulfilled childhood especially for those whose passion lies in sports. A child should be encouraged to pursue a game or sport that he or she loves in order to develop their self-confidence.

Building Relationships

Games and sports can help a child establish friendships. Being in a team and being friends with their teammates makes him feel accepted, which can eliminate their insecurities. The child is able to appreciate the value of friendship and he eventually learns to develop relationships elsewhere. Having friends teaches a child to share, communicate and cooperate whenever they needs to. They also learn to understand how people are different from one another and adapt to these differences. Children who participate in games and sports are also able to effectively communicate with other people.

Leadership Skills

The leadership skills of a child are better harnessed if he or she is given the chance to participate in groups or teams. Participating in games and sports teaches children to follow rules from a leader. Because children learn by example, they learn how to lead their own teams and apply their skills inside the classroom and in other occasions where leadership is needed.

Self-Confidence

Team sports expose a child to many people and allow them to experience many things. Exposure to people increases a child's self-confidence. They are able to use this newfound confidence in school and in dealing with other people.

Physical Fitness

Games and sports keep a child physically healthy while providing a form of recreation. This is especially true for those children who are part of teams that practice regularly. It becomes easier to maintain a regular exercise especially if the child meets their friends during practice. Coaches also encourage the children to maintain a healthy diet along with regular practices. Failure to maintain a healthy weight may result in elimination from the team, so children are motivated to do better and keep their bodies healthy.

Life Lessons

Studies show that games and sport help children keep a busy life, which prevents their involvement in drug addiction, sexual activities and alcoholism at a young age. Instead of engaging in these acts, children who participate in games and sport spend most of their time practicing, playing and hanging out with friends who have the same hobby.

Team sports teach a child that putting his best efforts is far more important than winning. At an early age, he is also taught how to respect other people-even their opponents. The child is then able to use these life lessons in the community, in the classroom and in other occasions.

Raising strong, active and healthy children in today's fast-paced and fast food environment gets harder and harder with each passing day. To get tips and ideas about child fitness, child health and child nutrition and learn how to keep your children healthy, strong and happy. At Concerning Kids, you will discover fun things to do that will help your healthy kids live longer, live stronger and lead a more fun, active and healthy lifestyle.

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Steps That You Can Take to Help an Overweight Child

Today, it is a fact that the percentage of people in America who are overweight and those who are suffering from eating disorders is rapidly on the rise and the sad thing is that many of these people are our children. There are many parents who are totally shocked when they witness their children eating large amounts of food and when they begin to put on extra pounds, they put the hammer down on them to shed the excess weight. Most kids are naïve about the food choices that they make, so as a parent it is our responsibility to teach our children the importance of healthy eating instead of criticizing them about what they eat all of the time.

If you are the parent of an overweight child there is no need to panic because there are ways to encourage your child to lose those extra pounds while at the same time not getting into a confrontation with them all of the time.

The first thing that you need to remember is to choose your words carefully when you talk to your children about their eating habits as harsh words can often have long-term effects on your child's health. If you are constantly harping or nagging at them about their eating, this can cause them to suppress their emotions and keep them inside and this is not a good thing for their well-being. The best thing that you can do is to set a good example for them. If you want them to eat certain foods such as vegetables, make sure that you enjoy them also because it will be a lot easier to develop good eating habits in your children if you possess them yourself.

You need to keep in mind that your overall goal is not a strict diet, but a healthier lifestyle for your child. The key to success is to properly educate your child on healthy food choices and you do this by making smart food choices for yourself in front of your children. If your child constantly sees you scoffing up candy bars or eating a gallon of ice cream and then you scold them for having an extra piece of cake, they will become frustrated and may decide not to listen to your advice any longer. Make sure that you also teach them the importance of proper daily nutrition and the best time to do this is not at the dinner table where they may feel pressured, but at a place where they feel relaxed.

Do not force your child to exercise. Instead encourage them to participate in things with you know that you know they enjoy and this way you can get them moving. Invite them on a walk or challenge them to a one on one game of basketball or ask them to take a bike ride with you and these are all good forms of exercise. If your child is sensitive about showing their body, choose activities that avoid this.

Try to get your child involved with playing with other children in your neighborhood. This is difficult for some kids especially if they have been picked on by others because of their weight. Some kids are too embarrassed to play with other kids and this is a big issue for them and you need to be respectful of this. If they are able to play with others, this is a great way to build up their self-esteem and they will respect you for doing this.

Last of all make sure that you do not force your child to eat less because your child will not appreciate you constantly keeping at and hovering over them. There are a lot of children who turn to eating for comfort at a very young age and this is not a healthy thing for them. The key is to try to provide them with healthy alternatives that will be better for them. Instead of eating potato chips, offer them popcorn and when they are craving soda, offer them a fruit drink or smoothie.

Dealing with your child's weight problem will prove to be a challenge, but when you approach it in a friendly way, your child will be much more open to the idea and you can work together with them to hopefully solve the weight problem once and for all.

I hope that you enjoyed this article and if you would like some great free information on eating healthy, please visit my web site where you will find some great tips to help you live a long and healthy life.

I am a 54 year old retired mill worker from Northern Maine. I am happily married with 3 wonderful boys. My main interests are my family and God. I own a eating healthy web site with great tips and information that is designed to help you live a healthier and longer life.

www.eatinghealthyhub.com

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Why Physical Fitness Class Is Better Than Club/Membership Involvement for Students

As a future physical educator, I've learned the very importance of physical education while studying for my degree, but even more so with the involvement with my students. The truth of the matter is physical education class is vital to any student's success in the future. In the early grades we go over key motor skill and development tasks. As we progress through the grades, we target other more in depth skills, such as strategy and cooperative games, that incorporate these fundamental motor skills. This directly can be associated with our National Association of Sport and Physical Education standards, but more importantly teach students how to participate in a variety of skills. Other than these tasks, we also are able to associate physical fitness with fun and positive experiences, by offering our students a chance to expand in their imagination and creativity. These are also vital skills that teach students to come up with their own ideas and to adapt to different environments, as they will need to do these tasks on a daily basis. The physical education class is the only place that can allow such a dramatic and dynamic learning atmosphere.

The main reason clubs and other various programs do not and will not ever be able to fulfill the skills learned in our physical education class is because they are all based of specificity training. Specificity training is when clubs, memberships, etc. train children and adolescence to be particular good at one skill. For example, swimming memberships specifically would train students to only be proficient in in-water activities. However, it is common knowledge that a majority of physical fitness happens outside the water rather than in it. While I find the program to be of great value for those who want to go on to swim competitively, it does not teach the motor skills needed to even participate in swimming.

Let's say you were a student who joined the swim team in your area because your physical education class was terminated at the beginning of the year. Now that your program is cut, you need to attend swim practice after school three times a week for one hour. This means that homework along with dinner will have to wait or be rescheduled for a different time. You are also swimming around 20-50 laps during practice and learning the max of the four strokes available to swimmers. Now imagine that your physical education class was not terminated and is scheduled twice a week during your school day. After a given subject classes you go the gymnasium to find out this week and next you will be touching on your basketball skills with an instant activity and a scooter basketball tournament. The following two weeks your will be playing racket ball with again an instant activity, as well as, a mini round robin tournament. This example shows how there are multiple of other factors that go into students needing to attend an outside activity rather than a physical education class; for example, after school time taken away from valuable homework time and the fact that being involved in only one activity stiffens a student's skills and imagination. Also, it is imperative that as physical educator's we place emphasis on not only team sports, but also individual sports. Even back yard games such as Can Jam and Horse Shoes are games played at family and community events. If we do not teach these basic games to our students who will? Put yourself in our student's shoes with this example and examine which is truly better for accomplishing both these goals. The answer is physical education.

It is our duty as a physical education program to teach these skills to our students and associate them with positive memories. This will in turn allow students to be excited about physical fitness and be much more successful in the helping them continue to participate in physical fitness throughout their life. This is goal of not just the physical education class but expands throughout our community. As fitness is one of the essentials of life, it is one that is necessary to promote in our communities in a way that has value and success. The physical education classroom is our answer.

Kelly-Ann Smith

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Gluten Free, Dairy Free Diet for Children

A plethora of information is on the internet, in magazines, on the radio and television about whether or not gluten and dairy products play a role in autistic behavior. Neurotransmitters and neuroreceptors in the stomach correspond with those in the brain - this information leads folks to believe that some kids will benefit from the diet. Current research looks at the influence of gluten and milk proteins in the intestinal function. Gluten is a protein in wheat; casein and whey are proteins in milk. Serious evidence needs to be obtained about the diet and the effects it has on each individual child.

Each child on the Autism Spectrum has a different chemical makeup, thereby, certain foods and vitamins affect each child differently. One child may respond well to the diet's vitamins, although for another, it may increase aggressive behavior. While others see an increase, over time, it steadily decreases; others may plateau to the point of the behavior entirely diminishing. Although some children do benefit from this diet, other children have significant changes in behavior or personality, and may even gain or lose weight. If you are thinking of putting your child on a diet or on vitamin therapy, consult with a nutritionist before starting therapy.

Many children have gastrointestinal problems such as constipation and diarrhea. One of the hallmark signs of Autism is rigidity - in routines, foods, activities, and transitions. For children, having a rigid diet is one of those routines that they do not want changed. Many of them do not get the needed nutrients from a variety of foods, therefore, they are not receiving the benefits intended with a well-rounded diet. Some children will only eat salty, crunchy foods, while others will only eat foods that are red and round. Whether these problems are linked to brain development is a question that is being researched.

Children with Autism also have a flavor for objects and items that are not foods - such as chemicals - glass cleaner, dusting spray, soap, lead paint, dirt, metal, etc. Something in their body is either lacking or missing altogether, which is why the body is seeking to replace what is lost. This is similar to you craving something salty, if your body is lacking salt, then you find yourself craving products such as condiments or meats high in salt. Does the diet eliminate this craving?

Vitamin therapies include combinations of Vitamin B and magnesium as they produce improved performance and attention, and decrease bad behaviors. Dramatic improvement occurs after a child is free from chemical additives and allergenic foods eliminated from the diet. Some diets are comprised of 50-75% raw foods (not including raw meats). No junk foods, sugar or white flour products are given, and only steam -distilled water is given to drink. Choline, DMG, magnesium plus calcium, vitamin B complex plus niacinamide, B3, B5, and Vitamin C are the most important supplements to help improve brain function and circulation to the brain. DMG is an oxygen carrier to the brain, important for normal brain and nervous system function.

There are other types of cleansing and fasting diets and treatments to rid the body of chemicals, but as always, please check with your doctor before starting any diet program. Remember - your DNA is much different than your Autistic son or daughter's DNA. What may not work for them, may work for you. Do not try their drugs or supplements, in the dosages their doctors prescribe for them. You trying their therapy and drugs is NOT an indication of how well the diet will work for them.

Julie Callicutt is the owner of Ferko Therapeutic Group, a company specializing in providing intensive rehabilitation therapy to children with disabilities, specifically those on the Autism Spectrum. Julie's services include 1:1 intensive therapy, coaching/mentoring of caregivers and making herself available to speak at local and national early childhood conferences. If you would like more information, please visit, http://www.ferkotherapy.com.

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Lose Weight Fast - Why Childhood Obesity Is Increasing

ByMike Derfasi

In the United States today, one of every three children is obese. This is the major health issue in that country. Obesity, especially in people so young, leads to early onset Diabetes, strokes and heart attacks, even in the adolescent years. It may be linked to some cancers. There are two reasons for this health issue, poor eating habits and lack of exercise.

Your child cannot lose weight fast until both of these deficiencies are corrected. However, that is harder than you think, because most of us crave unhealthy meals. We eat processed foods which are loaded with artificial colors, sugars and salt. Readymade dinners, breakfasts and lunches fill the freezer sections and shelves of most grocery stores as well as calorie dense deserts, snacks and concentrated fruit juices. Look at your grocery store, how much of it contains fresh produce, dairy and meat sections, in comparison to processed, canned and frozen foods?

Unhealthy foods are everywhere because they taste better and more convenient. There is hardly a store you walk into today which does not have candy and snacks near the checkout counter, including department stores, home improvement stores, even fabric stores and pet stores. There is a portion of fresh meats, dairy products and eggs contain certain amounts of chemicals fed to animals so they can produce more, grow faster, or stay healthier. These, according to recent studies, stimulate fat cell growth. Even plants can be injected with chemicals, rubbed with waxes, and given added colors. They can be picked before they are fully developed and then artificially ripened with gases on the way to market reducing their nutritional value. People say they can't afford organic foods and locally grown produce and meats. However, health is your most valuable possession so hold it tight and never let it go.

Furthermore, our kids are becoming sedentary, physical education programs have been shortened or cut, computer games and TV have taken the place of physical activities. Luckily, the newer games get kids active and moving. Still, in the 1960's kids watched an average of 5 hours of TV a week. Today, many watch that much a day.

Good habits start young. If you want your child to lose weight fast, be the parent with the touch love attitude. Stop buying the wrong foods, pack their lunches, talk to them about the importance of good eating habits and make exercise a part of their daily routine. Finally, kids imitate mom and dad, so follow your own advice. Exercise with them, and share healthy meals together. You may discover the house is a happier place, everyone sleeps better and doctor visits will be less often. You may even discover that you lose weight fast as well.

If your ready to melt and slash the fat off your body naturally, click on the link to lose weight fast at Fitness Watchers

Mike Derfasi holds a Masters degree in Food and Nutrition Science from Curtin University of Technology

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Child Nutrition: Help Your Child Be Healthy

ByDhames Wary Karthiges

The food your child eats is important not only now but also for the rest of his or her life. A small child is going to need various types of foods for energy to play, grow, and to build a healthy body. Muscles and bones are forming over the first fifteen years of life, and when eating the right types of foods and including smart nutrition your child is more likely to avoid sickness and to ward off some types of disease.

Your child's nutrition

Your child's nutrition is going to start with you. You child is going to see what foods you eat, and when you are more likely to eat them, and your child is going to build their own habits from those habits he or she sees you following. If you eat breakfast on the go, all the time, your child will feel this is normal and ok, but you should be sitting down to a breakfast every morning for good nutrition basics. Even if you are eating a bowl of cereal or you are enjoying a glass of juice, taking five minutes will encourage better eating habits.

Nutrition for your child's health

Healthy beginnings start with fruits, vegetables and good portions of meats. The food pyramid is going to be important in the early stages of life so that your child will learn to eat many types of foods, and not only the foods they like the taste and looks of. Giving your child many options in life will help them pick foods that are better for them in the long run. Healthy children are not going to eat burgers and fries for every meal, but they will have a well-rounded life with nutrition builders such as fruits, vegetables, meat, and variations of these builders.

Teaching good habits for your child's nutrition awareness will start with reading labels. Learn about what preservatives and additives are in some of the foods you are eating, and then talk about these with your child as they grow. Include foods that are all natural, or that contain very little preservatives for a solid start in their understanding of nutrition.

Be patient.

Don't try to force your children to eat if they refuse to finish their meal. By creating drama in the kitchen, you set a bad tone for the future. Kids will automatically think of mealtime as a negative experience and will only become more reluctant when it comes to eating. Be persistent by offering a variety of foods along with those you know they like. As new foods become familiar, your children will be more likely to try them.

Diet and Fitness Tips for Lasting Weight Loss for Kids and Teens

ByJoe Busch

One of the largest challenges that any child can face is being overweight. Not only are overweight children more likely to be heavy adults, but they also face many emotional and physical side effects even as kids because of the extra weight. They may become withdrawn, suffer from low self-esteem, and avoid activities that they enjoy because they feel that they are too overweight to participate.

If your child or teenager is overweight and needs to lose weight, they can follow some of these easy-to-use diet and fitness tips. These will help them change their minds about healthy food and get moving in a fun, yet effective, way.

Diet Tips

No one wants to go on a "diet" and kids most certainly will balk at the idea of diet food. But healthy eating principles are more than just a fad diet or something that will last for a few weeks. Nutritious noshing should be an essential part of any child's everyday life (as well as any adult!) and so kids need to apply principles to their everyday eating that can be turned into long-term habits. Some ways that kids can change how they eat and lose weight in a healthy, sustainable way include:

Cut back on junk food, but do not cut it out completely. Many kids struggle with feeling like they cannot eat the things that they really love because they are on a diet. If your teen or kid simply eats what they love in moderation, filling up on the good stuff and then having junk food as an occasional treat, they can lose weight and keep it off. As soon as a kid thinks that they can never have French fries or candy again, they will covet them even more. Moderation is the key with junk food.
Focus on eating at the table and not in front of the television. Kids should avoid eating in front of the television or the computer, because this is when they eat when they are not hungry and eat more than they need to. Try encouraging everyone in the family to eat meals and snacks at the kitchen table.
Avoid fast foods and make meals and snacks at home. Fast food can be dangerous to any healthy lifestyle. Children who eat meals and snacks at home as opposed to at fast food restaurants tend to be at healthier weights than those who exist solely on drive-through fare.
Build meals around fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables contain essential vitamins and minerals and are the perfect base for any meal or snack. Kids can lose weight simply from swapping French fries and candy for veggies and fruits.

Exercise Tips

No healthy life makeover for kids is complete without exercise. Some top tips for kids to follow to get in shape and stay healthy include:

Move for 20-30 minutes a day. Kids can walk their dog around the blog, go for a jog, shoot hoops in the front yard, jump rope or any other physical activity for 20-30 minutes per day. This can help them to get active and burn calories while doing something that is enjoyable.
Take up a new sport. Sports are one of the best ways for kids and teens to lose weight because they are fun and they foster a sense of connection with other kids. Look for neighborhood baseball or soccer leagues, sports at school that are "no cut" sports (like track and cross country) or even sports leagues at your local gym or church.
Play video games that are active. Many new video games combine video game play with exercise, such as Wii games. Kids can play these for a half an hour or so after school and get the necessary activity they need to be healthy.

Teenagers and children can also find out more healthy eating tips and exercise tactics when they attend fitness camps. These summer weight loss camps can help them to foster healthful eating habits, learn new exercises and make new friends all at the same time. They can help to teach kids methods for weight loss that they can use for the rest of their lives. They may also help kids who were suffering from low self-worth to get out of their shells and meet new people.

Kids and teenagers do not have to spend the rest of their lives overweight, as long as they adopt healthful eating habits and make exercise a part of their daily lives.

Joe Busch specializes in writing articles related to healthy weight loss for kids. He focuses on proper diets, exercise, and weight loss camps. Parents with children that struggle with their weight should consider a weight loss camp for teens to jump start the process.

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5 Things Everyone Needs to Know About Helping Young People With ADHD

ByKate Horstmann

Sometimes it is hard to know where to start when supporting young people with complex needs, including those who have Attention Deficit Disorders. When my colleague Jo Steer, a Clinical Psychologist, and I sat down together to reflect on our years of working with young people, and their families and schools, we realized that all our 'success stories' had a few common themes. Those times when things worked best, we had dealt with the complexity by providing support from multiple directions. They were also the times when we took the 'onus' of making changes from the shoulders of young person and shared the responsibility for success between all of those on board - teachers, parents, professionals AND the young person.

The 5 'secret success' elements we identified will not surprise you, and in fact many people use these strategies every day. However we found that once we put them down in writing, they helped us to create a format for designing our support packages. When working with families and schools, we now make sure that we had at least one action point in each of these areas.

Understanding is the key: Providing support to young people is all about forming positive relationships, and relationships will struggle without understanding. It is important that adults learn about ADHD and also how it impacts on the young person as an individual.

Adapt the environment: ADD/ ADHD impacts on many areas of function, and often creates a very real disability for a young person. Changes to expectations and support need to be made in order to enable engagement, participation and learning. There are many effective ways to structure the environment and tasks in order to provide scaffolding and maximize performance.

Teach skills: Sometimes we get stuck dealing with problems and crises and overlook opportunities to teach skills that can make a real difference in day to day life. Skills can also enhance self-esteem and protect against the experiences of repeated 'failure' that are unfortunately all too common for kids with ADHD.

Make the young person an active partner: The direct involvement and participation of the young person is often what leads to real and sustained progress. This is particularly essential during the teenage years and ensures that individuals learn life-long skills in helping themselves.

Consider changes to the system: Strategies that work well for kids with ADD/ ADHD often work really well for all young people, and therefore implementing changes across the family, school or sports club is very likely to have benefits for all!

In upcoming Article I will share some more strategies as we look at each of these 5 areas in a little more detail.

Kate Horstmann is an occupational therapist working in the Evolve Behavior Support Team, Disability Services Queensland, Australia. She has over ten years' experience of working with children and adolescents with a range of difficulties including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, autism and developmental disorders.

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Physical Fitness and Childhood Obesity - Tips for Getting Kids More Active

Ever since having kids, my shopping habits have completely changed. After discovering kid's consignment stores, that is the only place I shop for kid's clothes and shoes. I am also obsessed with consignment stores in general, as I have an addiction to designer labels at thrift store prices. It works for our family, since we are on a pretty tight budget.

It has been at least three or four years since I have been in a real department store in the kids clothing section. So I was a little shocked (and a little sad) by what I saw last week when I was in JC Penny's girls department.

I read all the articles about childhood obesity, and I see it every day at school and at after school activities, but walking by a 'Plus Size for Girls' section of the department store put it all in perspective.Clearly there is a market for clothes designed for overweight kids.

I understand that parenting is extremely tough, especially when it comes to food - my kids eat more than their fair share of crap. Here is what I don't understand. If a parent knows the pain, struggles, and frustration of being overweight, why would they ever allow their kids to endure the same agony?

We know that parents influence kids every day with words and actions, and when mom and dad regularly encourage kids to be active, they help kids to appreciate fitness and have fun along the way.

Teaching practical life skills is one of the many roles that parents have. Things like how to brush teeth, how to tell time, how to tie shoes, and to add one more to the list - how to be healthy and active.

It's never too late to start a healthy habit, especially with kids. Kids like to move, and though it is highly unlikely that a child goes from couch potato to Olympian, there are several ways parents can influence their children to exercise.

While verbal encouragement or logistical support, such as driving kids to soccer practice, is important, parents' attitudes about health and fitness and their own patterns of physical activity are equally as important, since kids often follow by example.

Being active together has shown to have a significant impact on how kids view exercise, but it often goes down as a child's age goes up. Younger children are more likely to want to spend time being active with their parents than teenagers, so there may be a window of opportunity to use it before losing it when it comes to co-activity.

And even though the sphere of influence on kids can be far and wide from friends to teachers to Sponge Bob, few are as direct and important as parents.

Children are well known for their contrary nature. Tell them to do something, and quite often they will do the opposite. So trying to force children to exercise may not be the best strategy.

Every parent has his or her way of approaching life lessons, but the idea with fitness is to get children to appreciate being active, and have a little fun along the way. "Because I said so" may work for putting the dishes away, but encouragement, celebrating small victories, and doing things together can be effective ways to motivate kids to get fit and stay active. And no child wants their brain to turn to mush because of too much television.

Whether is it sports, riding bikes, a martial arts class, or walking the dog every night, it is important to consistently present each opportunity in a positive way. It may take a bit of time and patience, but when children find the fun in being active, fitness can become a part of everyday life.

When kids are active at a young age, the habit can last throughout their lifetime, and influencing kids to be active at an early age is no different than teaching them the golden rule or respecting their elders. So it's time to put fitness right up there with teaching children how to ride a bike and that there's no hiding a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.

I am a stay-at-home mom and "gym rat" certified in Fitness Nutrition. Health and fitness takes work, dedication, perspective and good information. I hope I can provide you with tips to work hard, inspiration to dedicate yourself to a fit lifestyle, a no nonsense perspective on fitness and weight loss, and reliable information so that you can become the best you.

As a mom, I always appreciate a great tip. Whether it is a shortcut on how to prepare a recipe faster, or a trick for putting on makeup, the right tip will make my day a little easier. Fitness and nutrition are no different.

Most people are short on time, so I want to give you tips and tools to get the most out of your fitness and nutrition in the best use of your time.

Healthier Choices, Happier You!
http://www.fitchicktricks.com

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Why Should If Care If My Child Is Fat, Overweight, Or Obese? What's The Difference?

BySue Bristol

How can we help our kids lose weight? Is it important that they slim down? Yes! It is vital that we "cut our kids down to size!" Extra calories are creating more than plump cheeks and chubby bodies. Unneeded calories are jeopardizing our children's health. Instead of worrying only about how to pay for college, add weight reduction as an important responsibility in the stewardship of your child's future.

Statistics show that overweight or obese children typically grow up to be overweight or obese adults or raise overweight or obese children who grow up to be...well, you get the idea. Part of the problem is certainly heredity. Our children may be born with an inner metabolism that predisposes them to weight issues. However, the eating habits they develop as children are often more to blame than their inherited tendency to be overweight.

Adults often don't know the basics of good nutrition which will lead to a lifetime of weight management. (This is why most adults are also overweight.) Many of us were raised by parents ("or parents who were raised by parents") who lived through the Great Depression of the 1930's. The memory of bread lines and inadequate food supply has haunted their memories and they have developed attitudes about making sure they, and their children, get enough to eat.

After World War II when goods and foods, and the money to buy them, became abundant for so many people, there was an understandable desire to "live the good life". Women went to work leaving little time for food preparation... and the ready-made-meals industry was born! It wasn't until high-tech medical tools for research were developed in the late 50's and 60's that scientists began to uncover the relationship between what we eat and our health. (Remember the "damn the egg" move of the 60's? The relationship between eggs and cholesterol became routine conversation.)

It took several decades, however, for over-consumption of fats, sugar, sodium, and calories to deliver the brunt of their effect. We became a nation of obese people with heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. We are now in the "enlightenment" phase. We see the damage excess food habits and sedentary lifestyles have produced.

Start today to educate yourself and your children as to the problem (obesity is making us sick), and the solution (exercise and eating the right foods at the right times and in the right amounts). Our health as a family and as a nation depend on it!

Sue Bristol, R.N. says: "lose weight and lower your BMI"

Here's the "Secret Weight Loss Diet" that virtually EVERY successful dieter uses. (Whether or not they are even aware of it!)

Click Here to get your Free e-book, which will give you the "Weight Loss Secret" You don't need to be overweight: how to lose weight

There is One Correct Diet

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Causes of Childhood Obesity and How to Avoid Them

-One of the more prominent causes of childhood obesity is good old mom and dad.

Yes, it's true our children learn a good part of all their behavior and develop future habits from their parents, relatives and friends, especially when they are very young. Their eating habits are no different, in fact healthy eating habits or the lack thereof, more than any other behavior...starts at home.

-If you allow your children to dictate the rules, the results will not be good.

They certainly will not always do as you ask, but monkey see, monkey do. If fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods are a staple in the home, they'll pick up on it. That's not to say we need to eliminate all the goodies, we all need those from time to time. We just need the basic framework to be in place

Other Causes of Obesity

Unhealthy eating habits learned at a young age, while certainly a root cause of obesity for some kids, is not the sole cause for many others. Physical inactivity is also a large contributor in many children. Video games and obesity unfortunately can often go hand-in-hand.

With all the unbelievably realistic video games, movies, and constant new additions in electronic devices, it can be tough to get off the couch, for adults as well as for the kids.

How to Escape the Effects of Childhood Obesity

Well, number one of course is to set a good example. They learn from you, so do your best to show them the importance of physical activities, and how much fun they can be. Take the family biking, camping or hiking or even just a walk. Any number of fun physical activities should be a regular part of the family routine.

While it's true that many children are picky eaters, they learn from us what is healthy and what they should be eating. To avoid the causes of childhood obesity, the rules of healthy eating and the importance of a balanced healthy diet must start young, and the sooner the better.

If your child is overweight, let them know they are loved and appreciated no matter what. If they eat healthy and continue to be physically active, they'll grow up healthy and happy and the weight will usually stabilize. If not, it's all the more important our kids know that they have our acceptance and approval.

Where to Start?

-Again, show them how much fun being physically active can be, the key word being "fun". Children should get a minimum of 1 hour of physical activity each and every day. Shut off the computer and take them to the park or ball field if you have to!

-Limit television and computer time, it's really a must these days.

-Make sure to provide a balanced healthy diet for the family, and keep plenty of healthy snacks on hand so when they do get hungry, and you know they will, the right stuff is available and handy. A bowl of apples, oranges and believe it or not, even carrot sticks will disappear fast when young stomachs growl.

-Eat meals at home and as a family as often as you can, where you can guide their food choices to healthy ones.

-Don't allow foods or snacks of any kind when watching TV. If the kids need a snack, eat it in the kitchen, a habit that will serve them well in the future. Never use food as punishment for your child's bad behavior, or as a reward for good behavior, it sends the wrong message.

-Avoid all sugary drinks if possible, encourage water as the drink of choice. It will save their teeth, their waistlines, and your pocketbook...not to mention their health!

The habits that are formed by our kids as children, will follow them throughout their lives, try to make them healthy habits.

Remember that 70% of all overweight or obese adolescents will become overweight or obese adults!

http://www.health-stories.org deals with a wide range of health and fitness issues, from obesity and
a balanced diet for kids -to a simple, healthy eating plan we can all feel good about.

Association Between Childhood Obesity and Low Self Esteem

ByMary Slessor Limbe

a) Background

Obesity is excess accumulation of body fat. For children a body mass index greater than 95th percentile for age and gender is considered obese. Self-esteem is a term used in psychology to describe a person's overall sense of personal value or self-worth. It is derived from a Greek word meaning "reverence for self." The "self" part of self-esteem refers to the beliefs, attitudes we hold about ourselves, while "esteem" describes the personal worth and value we give ourselves. It is how we feel about the self, how much we value ourselves, the pride we feel in ourselves or our acceptance of ourselves for who and what we are at any given time in our lives. This is important, because how we feel about ourselves can affect how we act.

Self-esteem is an essential human need that is crucial not only for survival but also healthy development. Since it develops from an individual's beliefs and consciousness of oneself, self-esteem is closely linked with one's feelings, thoughts, actions and behaviours. The development of self-esteem is a life-long process, starting from very early in life. It can be positively or negatively influenced by different events and circumstances. Consequently, a person can have either a healthy (high) or a low self-esteem. A person with a healthy self-esteem has a happier outlook to life and is more self-confident than the one with low self-esteem.

What factors influence self-esteem?

A number of key factors are believed to have a significant influence on self-esteem. To begin with we all inherit different personality traits from our parents which determine how we interpret or react to events or circumstances. This in turn impacts on our self-esteem. One of the major factors affecting self-esteem is experiences in one's childhood. Children are significantly influenced from an early age by the care givers.. A child who receives praise and encouragement for their efforts develops a healthy self-esteem and is inspired to keep trying and take on more challenging tasks. If, on the other hand, these people are critical and judgmental this can lead to a child feeling inferior, worthless or rejected.

Other factors that can influence self-esteem are painful events or experiences like divorce, bereavement, serious illness or bullying. Body image, which is how someone feel about his or her own physical appearance, can also enhance or lower one's self-esteem.

b) What is the association between childhood obesity and low self-esteem?

Childhood obesity is known to be associated with a number of conditions, among them, low self-esteem. Low self-esteem can occur in children who are obese due to the following factors:

i) Bullying

Children who are obese can be bullied or become bullies themselves. Consequently they are isolated as it becomes difficult for them to make friends, they get excluded from social activities and feel unwanted.

ii) Poor body image

Body image can be closely linked to self-esteem, especially in early teen-age life. According to a study on childhood obesity and self-esteem by Richard Strauss published in Paediatrics, there was no significant difference in self-esteem scores between 9- and 10-year-olds who were obese or not obese. However by age 13 and 14 significantly lowered self-esteem was noted in some of the study children who were obese compared to their non-obese counterparts (Paediatrics 2000;105;e15). As children enter their teens they are more conscious of how they look and what others think and say about them. The manner in which being overweight or obese affects a child depends a lot on the child's parents, their perceptions and on the culture in which the child grows up. This is because some parents and cultures accept a wider range of weights than others. A child who is constantly teased about how fat they are soon develops the feeling that he or she is not good enough, is not appreciated or accepted. This teasing can take place at home as well as at school. Children may be subjected to negative comments and hurtful teasing about the way they look from siblings (especially boys), parents, classmates and peers. Such comments can affect one's body image and self-esteem. External factors, for example media images of skinny girls and bulked-up boys, can also adversely influence a child's body image and hence self-esteem. Girls have been found to be more dramatically affected by weight and perceived weight problems than boys.

Author: Mary Slessor Limbe MD
The author is a consultant paediatrician, whose subspecialty is paediatric endocrinologist. She has a keen interest in childhood obesity. For more articles on this topic, please visit the website below.

Website address: http://slessoronline.com
e-mail address: info

Simple Steps to Prevent Childhood Obesity

ByKC Wheeler

There are simple factors in every parent's control that can reduce the chance of childhood obesity. In society today, approximately one in five children will be labeled as obese. Obesity is defined as an excess amount of body fat, measured as a percentage of total body weight. A child is considered obese when their body weight is 20% higher than the average weight of children of the same age. It is imperative that parents realize how their choices impact the chances of their children developing obesity.

The main contributing factors to childhood obesity are lack of physical activity and high calorie intake, as well as the variety of foods consumed. The recent emphasis on technology as well as convenience, high calorie meals have had a detrimental effect on child health. Furthermore, one of the worst physical effects of childhood obesity is the susceptibility to diseases such as diabetes, high cholesterol, and early onset of heart disease.

Obesity has negative effects on emotional health as well. Society today labels those that are obese as lazy or unmotivated. These stigmas contribute to the increasing onset of depression, anxiety, and low self esteem in children. These factors then affect the social health of children as well, as there can be a lack in the development of relationships and acceptance from their peers.

In this technological age, it is easy for children to develop a lack of physical activity. Both computer usages as well as the increase in video gaming systems are the major technological factors in childhood obesity. It is easy for parents to use these as ways to keep their children busy. While there have been recent advancements in gaming that involve total body interaction, the comparison of these games to actual physical activity such as sports or dancing shows a minimal amount of calories burned. The largest impact that parents can have on these factors is managing the amount of time spent on all screens within the home, forcing children to find alternative methods of entertainment.

Parents do have control over several factors that contribute to obesity. The eating habits of children can be controlled, as parents need to resist the urge to provide the quick, convenience meals such as fast food and high-calorie, low nutritional snacks. A higher consumption of fresh fruits, vegetables, lean meats, and whole grains may reduce the risk of obesity in children. Parents should provide healthy beverages to their children as well, such as reduced sugar juices, skim milk, and water, as opposed to high sugar liquids such as carbonated soda pops and sugar-based beverage mixes.

Parents can also provide a variety of physical activities for youngsters. A creative mind can create unique activities that require participation and motion. Some examples of such activities are outdoor play, such as games like tag or hide and seeks, and indoor play such as fort-building, balloon play, or dancing to upbeat music.

A parents control over meal choices, activities, and daily routine may be the solution to the widespread childhood obesity seen within society today.

For more information and resources, please visit http://moms-probs-odds-and-jobs.blogspot.com/

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The Psychological Effects of Obesity and Bullying in Children

An obese child is more likely to be bullied than a normal weight child, declares Dr. Julie C. Lumeny, researcher in a 2004 study of boys and girls who fit the definition of obese, which is a category step heavier than the overweight category. She determined that it made no difference at all if an obese child was black, white or Hispanic, or male or female. Rich or poor, or A and B students alike are bullied if they are obese by 1.2 times more than normal weight kids.

We must try to have a basic understanding of what these young people have to bear in order to change this condition in homes and schools. Yes, some of the bullying comes from the home, as ignorance in parents and siblings persists.

As a result of just being obese, a child may feel depressed, anxious, socially isolated with low self-esteem and forced into functioning at a lower level. But, couple these disastrous conditions with intense emotions felt as a result of bullying of all kinds: bullying is for him/her a daily endurance of name-calling, teasing, ganging up, humiliation and ignoring. Victims without a doubt, they become perpetrators in order to defend themselves: this is one more layer of hardship for them as now they are not only offensive but defensive. They should feel safe and secure at home and in the school-yard, yet both can be battlegrounds. And sometimes, even the most dedicated of helping hands can be detrimental if they are showing, nationally, pictures of obese children with unflattering labels across their bodies.

It is not new information that overweight children are at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) and high blood pressure, high cholesterol, dyslipidemia and type 2 diabetes, compared with normal weight children. Also easy to believe is that an overweight child advances into adulthood carrying his obesity with him. A conclusion made by a Colorado State University Extension study is: Obesity beginning before 8 years old and continuing into adulthood may be more severe than in childhood.

There have been a good number of interventions mentioned in the literature that may change the picture for obese children's lives:

Address this issue at individual and community levels.Change the negative perception of obesity by peers. Future research should evaluate ways to modify these negative behaviors.Doctors should incorporate bullying history into their regular check-up history and physical.Doctors can open the conversation by asking the child if he has been bullied at home, school or on the playground, and then following up on the information he has attained from the childRegistered Nurses can put the bullying history of the child in his chart.Doctors, Health Care Personnel, Parents, Siblings, and Teachers can be empathetic with the obese child and cease reinforcing the bad feelings.

We are a nation of fat people. Can we not stop this trend of fatness by starting with the OB nurse in the Obstetrics Ward of the Hospital? Here is an opportunity for all of us to have knowledge of what happens to our young ones as they face the world, to help them instead of hindering them. I say the OB nurse should have it in her/his teaching routine for new mothers--right at the very beginning of the lives of our babies--the mothers should be taught, along with all the other useful and necessary subjects, how not to feed their child too much or too often, that a healthy child is not necessarily a fat child. They can be taught how a healthy new baby looks and acts and what the mothers can look forward to as a future for their babies if they do not take charge in their kitchens and households to produce wonderful normal weight teenagers who walk uprightly into adulthood.

This means that you, parents, are in charge, even though you allow your children to have their say. You do the shopping, you pay for it and you have the control over who eats what! If you have a preventive way of thinking, the bad stuff never occurs and you do not have to rehabilitate it. This is one thing you cannot grow into gradually: you have to be prepared to meet it before it takes over your life.

Margaret Heaps is a native born Californian who sees life as not long enough to fit everything in. She has grass roots in Petaluma, California and Nicasio, California, where her great grandfather bought land from gold that he mined in the Gold Rush of 1848 and created a high yield dairy farm. With this background legacy, she married and raised six boys, went back to school and became a registered nurse; this was her profession for many years. Now that she has retired, her energy level still high, she has undertaken to build and market a new website:
http://bloodcirculationhealth.com

Shop all day and all night on the internet. No hurry! We can serve you. Make the above URL work for you, and we will introduce you to a variety of physical fitness equipment at a reasonable price. See our exercise bicycles, wobble boards, punching bags for kids and adults, weight lifting iron, jumping ropes, Pilates, charts showing the muscles of the body, home gyms and much more.

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School Lunch Police?

We all want our kids to eat the best food for them. For some parents, it's the school lunch program. For others, it's a carefully planned lunch they make themselves. But it's always your choice.

Right?

Maybe not. Recently, in North Carolina, a four-year-old's lunch was taken from them (confiscated) by an adult from the school. Apparently, the turkey and cheese sandwich, potato chips, banana and apple juice box did not conform to the USDA guidelines for a healthy meal.

These guidelines require that a sack lunch from home must contain one serving of meat, one serving of milk, one serving of grain and two servings of either fruit or vegetables.

What did the girl eat instead? Processed chicken nuggets.

As a nutritionist, there are several problems I have with this. First, it is my opinion that if a child brings in a lunch, that's their property and no one can take that away. As parents, it is our right to feed our children the best foods possible.

Secondly, the guidelines take no consideration at all to the numerous health problems found in our schools. It also takes into no consideration the poor quality foods served in most schools.

School districts are allowed to serve greasy pepperoni as a meat. This product has very little quality protein and very high levels of unhealthy fat, salt and preservatives. This can lead to high cholesterol and high blood pressure when eaten often. It's not the only meat served during the week; hot dogs and hamburgers are not high on the health list either.

An excellent meat substitute is tofu, a vegetable based protein that takes on the flavor of what it is cooked with. It can be crumbled in a salad or made into seasoned cubes for finger food. Hummus is also a great vegetable protein made from flavorful chickpea. Dipping veggie sticks or 100% whole grain crackers tastes great.

The next guideline really distresses me. Milk is a low quality food, just barely above white sugar on the nutrition scale. It is a fast growing allergy and a potential cause and exasperator of ADHD. Most children do not digest milk properly, because most of us stop producing the lactase enzyme require to digest milk at about 4 years old. Add to that, the milk served in schools is 2% or skim milk. The healthy calcium and Vitamin D that makes raw milk healthy is destroyed and removed during the pasteurization and homogenization process. Vitamin D is a fat based vitamin and cannot exist in milk without the fat portion. Finally, a Harvard Medical study is now linking factory farmed milk, the stuff your kids are drinking, to hormone dependent cancer. The dangerously high estrone sulfate found in these milk products are linked to cancers of the breast, colon and lymph.

The serving of grain may injure children with gluten intolerance or Celiac's disease. As many as 1 in 33 children are thought to have Celiac's disease and 1 in 3 are gluten intolerant. Symptoms of these diseases are unexplained weight gain or loss, hyperactivity and digestive issues like gas, loose bowel and constipation.

Also, financially distressed schools may choose unhealthy and cheap processed white flour products for their grains rather than healthy 100% whole grains. White flour products are known to raise blood sugar and insulin levels, starting a cycle that leads to Type II Diabetes.

The chemical preservatives found in white flour products and hormone remnants and pesticide residues found in milk also interact with medications for ADHD, allergies and antibiotics. It can negate the medications entirely or make them more aggressive. Several studies have been conducted linking chemical residues to ADHD.

Two servings of fruits and vegetables are good, unless one starts to count a teaspoon of pizza sauce as a vegetable. And that is how the government gets away with serving greasy, pepperoni pizza on a white, sugary crust to your child and calls it complete nutrition.

Is it any wonder that our children cannot recognize what fruits and vegetables look like anymore? Or that over half are overweight? Or that ADHD is now the top problem our schools are facing?

The 'unhealthy' lunch that was taken away from the four-year-old was much healthier than the foods served in the cafeteria. I would improve that lunch with 100% whole grain bread, a cup of organic yogurt with fruit and skip the cheese.

Christina Major is the Naturopathic Doctor and Holistic Nutritionist of Crystal Holistic Health Consulting. Crystal Holistic Health helps people, especially women, who have Type II Diabetes, High Cholesterol and High Blood Pressure lower their numbers, get off medication and increase their energy so they can save money, take back control of their lives and improve the health and happiness of their families. You can get a free report on health at http://www.crystalholistichealth.com/!

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