You have probably heard by now of Marshall Reid, the sixth grader from Sanford, North Carolina, who managed to change his and his familys poor eating habits and wrote a book about the experience, titled Portion Size Me, which was obviously inspired by the well-known documentary film, Super Size Me, by Morgan Spurlock about the negative health effects of fast food.
Like many overweight children, Marshall was bullied and made fun of by his peers. After being called fat one too many times, he decided to take action and asked his mother to help him lose weight and eat more healthily. He also took up exercising with his father. Eventually, the family made a video about their lifestyle changes and put it up on YouTube. The book that followed is filled with healthy recipes, easy to understand nutrition facts and a journal describing Marshalls journey to a new life. We realized that the amount of weight you drop isnt the endgame. Its about how good you feel about yourself, about making healthier choices, said Alexandra Reid, Marshalls mother in an interview with the New York Times (4/24/2012).
Marshall is by no means alone in his struggle with weight problems at a young age. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), almost 20 percent of American kids ages 6 to 11 are now obese. Childhood obesity is one of the greatest health threats were facing today, not just here but around the world. What makes this story so remarkable, however, is that one childs determination to take control of his life and turn his situation around can make this much difference.
Understanding your childs nutritional needs
Parents are often confused not only about the kind of foods but also how much their young ones need at different stages of their lives. Children always want more of the foods they like, and often these are not the most nutritious choices.
Moreover, appropriate portion sizes can be difficult to determine. Deciphering serving sizes on Nutrition Facts labels is hard to do for adults. There is virtually no information that can help parents with apportionments for smaller stomachs.
The right amount of food to put on your childs plate varies with age. Toddlers should eat about a quarter of an adults serving in one meal, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Preschoolers and younger school-age kids have greater calorie needs, especially during growth spurts. Between the age of four and eight, appropriate portion sizes are around one third of those of an adult. Older children and teens will eat almost as much as their parents, but this is the time when overeating becomes particularly tempting.
Addressing the issues
For families like the Reids, weight problems can be a sensitive subject to discuss. Parents dont want to embarrass their children even more than they already are and yet the issue must be addressed before things get further out of control.
While it may be uncomfortable to discuss weight concerns, the sooner you bring it up and help your child take action, the easier it will be to help him or her achieve a healthy weight. Ignoring it wont make it go away, and in fact, waiting until your child is older to deal with weight issues may make it harder in the long run, wrote Constance Matthiessen a freelance writer for WebMD.
She strongly recommends tackling weight problems when a child is still young and more open to lifestyle changes. Parents, she says, must act as their childs ally, not their critic. When it comes to making better food choices, children should be involved in the decision-making process. It gives them ownership and teaches them to take responsibility for their actions. Most importantly, parents have to be good role models. If parents go to fast-food restaurants and expose their child to junk food around the house, that child will develop the same habits and those habits are extremely hard to break.
Thats also Alexandra Reids, Marshalls moms experience. A fat reduction review can help you establish a clear summarize of what you require to focus on to accomplish your fat burning purpose if you're a rookie; or serve as a reminder for those who are at an intermediate or more enhance step of their weightloss strategy. Promptly after are seven steps that can serve as methods for your special weight loss program. The first thing that one must understand is that losing weight and losing fat is not a similar thing. Many weight loss applications have misled people into believing that it is the same, but most diets and weight loss plans only work by producing a person's body to lose more muscle tissue and water than actual body fat, more help please visit The Fat Loss Factor. Its a challenge to keep up the hard-won eating and exercise regimens for the whole family. We are a work in progress, she said. Arent we all?
If you are interested in learning how to determine healthy portion sizes for children, go to Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D./Kids Health.
Timi Gustafson R.D. is a clinical dietitian and author of the book The Healthy Diner How to Eat Right and Still Have Fun, which is available on her blog, Food and Health with Timi Gustafson R.D. (http://www.timigustafson.com), and at amazon.com. You can follow Timi on Twitter and on Facebook.
Parenting - How To Information eHow
www.ehow.com/parentingTake your career to new heights. Our expert advice will help you land a job, navigate complicated work situations, get a raise or promotion or jumpstart a new career.
Publications NDSU
www.ag.ndsu.edu/publicationsA list of current publications from NDSU Extension Service. ... The materials on this site are organized by topic. Use the menu on the left to browse for materials ...
The Code We protect children from sex tourism
www.thecode.orgThe Code The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism is an industry-driven initiative with the mission to ...
FBI Provides Tips For Keeping Cyber Predators Away From Your Children
www.virtus.orgVirtus Online What is Virtus Update My Account Protecting ChildrenFBI Provides Tips For Keeping Cyber Predators Away From Your Children: Print
Health - How To Information eHow
www.ehow.com/healthTake your career to new heights. Our expert advice will help you land a job, navigate complicated work situations, get a raise or promotion or jumpstart a new career.
Children's BMI-percentile-for-age Calculator
www.bcm.edu/cnrc/bodycomp/bmiz2.htmlChildren's BMI-percentile-for-age Calculator . Use this calculator to determine whether a child is at a healthy weight for his/her height, age and gender.
CDC - Family Health - Five Minutes or Less for Your Health
www.cdc.gov/family/minutesSep 10, 2012 Family health information from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Issues The White House
www.whitehouse.gov/issuesAn America Built to Last. President Obama is working to build a country and an economy where we reward hard work, value fairness, and where everyone is held ...
Healthy Weight: Assessing Your Weight: BMI: About BMI for Children ...
www.cdc.gov/healthyweight/assessing/bmi/childrens_bmi/about...Sep 13, 2011 On this page: What is BMI? What is a BMI percentile? How is BMI used with children and teens? How is BMI calculated and interpreted for children ...
For Consumers
www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/default.htmOfficial bimonthly, subscription magazine of the Food and Drug Administration. Offers information on how to get healthy and stay healthy. It also reports on current ...
Obesity - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ObesityObesity is a medical condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to the extent that it may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy ...
Latest news and features on children's services and family policy ...
www.guardian.co.uk/society/childrenLatest news and comment on Children from guardian.co.uk ... 26 Jun 2013: Victims' statements read out at Old Bailey before sentencing detail damage suffered by girls ...
Species Protecting Wildlife World Wildlife Fund
worldwildlife.org/speciesWorld Wildlife Fund is committed to endangered species protection. See how we are ensuring that the world our children inherit will be home to the same species we ...
Computer and Internet Security Microsoft Safety & Security Center
www.microsoft.com/securityDownload Download NowWelcome to the Microsoft Safety & Security Center. Get tools & information on privacy, security, and safety to protect yourself online.
Children's Defense Fund (CDF) : Health Care Coverage for All of ...
www.childrensdefense.orgAdvocacy for American children, particularly poor and minority children and those with disabilities. Issues and programs include: Head Start, Healthy Start, Stand for ...
Glossary womenshealth.gov
www.womenshealth.gov/glossary/index.cfmA project of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office on Women's Health
United Nations News Centre
www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?Cr=&Cr1=UN News Centre Official site for daily UN news, press releases, statements, briefings and calendar of events. Includes UN radio, video, webcasts, magazines ...
Early Childhood Australia
www.earlychildhoodaustralia.org.auWhat's new on the Early Childhood Australia website: EDL 1302 - about being adventurous; Early Years Quality Fund Special Account Bill 2013; RIPS 1301 - Secure ...
Technology and Science News - ABC News - ABCNews.com -
abcnews.go.com/technologyGet the latest science news and technology news, read tech reviews and more at ABC News.
Immunizations for children: What you need to know BabyCenter
www.babycenter.com First Year Health GuideImmunizations are designed to protect against serious illnesses ranging from polio and tetanus to measles, mumps, and the seasonal flu. Many people consider them the ...
UNICEF - Convention on the Rights of the Child -
www.unicef.org/crcPublications and information on the work of the United Nations Children's Fund and its advocacy for children's rights, survival, development and protection through ...
Attachment theory - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attachment_theoryAttachment theory describes the dynamics of long-term relationships between humans. Its most important tenet is that an infant needs to develop a relationship with at ...
Silencers: The NRAs latest big lie - Salon.com
www.salon.com/2012/12/30/silencers_the_nras_latest_big_lieDec 30, 2012 Silencers could give the next Adam Lanza even more time to kill -- but to the NRA, they protect kids' hearing
Home Ready.gov
www.ready.govBuild a Kit Basic Disaster Supplies Kit Make a Plan KidsMonthly, we talk about all kinds of Ready.gov-related issues and send them directly to you.
0 comments:
Post a Comment