June, 2001
School is out, and you're now facing the prospect
of having your kids home, for three meals a day plus snacks.
Whether you work or stay at home full-time, you know feeding
is going to be a struggle, particularly since summer beckons
kids to devour ice cream by the ton. Fourth-of-July barbecues,
outdoor birthday parties, and family vacations pose additional
challenges. Do you let them eat whatever they want, or do
you risk being the food police? Unfortunately, you can't
afford not to take a stand at mealtimes.
Not too long ago, children in industrial countries such
as the United States suffered from national epidemics of
polio and German measles. Now, the epidemic is obesity.
American children are the most disturbing part of the nation's
increasing obesity. According to WebMD's medical library,
55% of American adults are overweight, and the obesity problem
is spreading to Westernized countries. The obesity trend
will most likely continue, since 10% of US children and
12% of adolescents, including those who come from second
and third-generation immigrant families, are overweight.
A child who is overweight at 14 or 15 will be 17 times more
likely to be overweight as an adult than the 78% of the
nation's children who are of average weight.
Experts agree that childhood obesity is due in part to decreased
physical activity and the increasing popularity of computers,
video games and electronic devices that invite children
to sit for hours while consuming soda, potato chips and
a vast array of snack foods targeted to them. They are also
being encouraged to skip breakfast because of busier schedules
and, in many cases, economic conditions--they simply can't
afford to eat breakfast. Plus, they learn quickly to model
their parents' health habits. Also, new research suggests
that even if a parent imposes a well-balanced diet at home,
making a child feel guilty about snacking may actually increase
the temptation to snack on sugary foods. Healthy food becomes
the enemy.
In our culture of abundance, we've trained our kids to reject
whatever they don't want to eat because we're (a) pressed
for time and (b) tired of fighting the dinner war. Or we
forbid anything that you might find in a vending machine,
then feel guilty because we want that Snickers bar too.
We're afraid of serving vegetables, so we cook corn and
potatoes, and congratulate ourselves that at least maybe
the kids will eat without fuss. And we ignore the whole
range of the produce section, 90% of which will most likely
end up in the trash. The USDA estimates that 27 percent
of America's food goes to waste. This is a disservice not
only to the 12 million Americans who suffered from hunger
in 1995, but to those 22 percent of overweight kids who,
without knowing it, are starving for good food.
In these days of microwaveable food, less-than-nourishing
school lunches, working parents and kids constantly on the
run, nutrition falls by the wayside, despite the constant
warnings of nutritional watchdogs such as the American Dietetic
Organization. Most harassed working parents (working as
income-earners, that is--being a parent is work) fail to
realize that they can feed their kids, and themselves, healthy
and tasty food in the time it takes to dial Domino's or
microwave Stouffer's. If they start making changes during
the school year, they can avoid meal planning headaches
when summer rolls around. We'll teach you how next month.
Next: Set Your Kids
Free at Mealtimes
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