Obesity, Cholesterol, back problems have so far been linked to middle age or old age. But, recently we have seen more and more kids being affected by these. Kids health has become of foremost concern. Young people in their twenties are suffering from heart attacks. Lifestyles have changed; and changed for the worse. In cities, children have small play areas and sometimes no play area at all. We as parents need to increase awareness and do our bit in maintaining a healthy lifestyle for our children.
Just like all of us adults, healthy kids have 3 healthy habits: They eat healthy, exercise or play, and sleep well. Eating healthy does not come to us humans naturally. We are all naturally wired to like unhealthy or fatty foods. Let us see why. Originally humans had to roam the jungles in search of food. And it was found in scarcity. So, when they found food, they ate as much as possible and chose the fattiest foods as they provided most energy for survival. We haven't changed much. But our environment is completely different now. Since farming started, food has been available in abundance. This has lead to overeating and overweight.
Children know very little. As adults it is our responsibility to guide or for that matter even control their food choices. We need to regulate their habits and activities. As parents we are the ones who buy the groceries and cook the food. It is up to us, what we put on the table.
1. Buy a variety of healthy foods.
2. Keep your pantry stuffed with high fiber , high protein, low fat snacks. If kids find snacks ready to grab when they need, they are less likely to snack on junk.
3. Kids like colorful attractive looking food. Cut different vegetables and fruits in various shapes. Invest in a good food processor and it will help in cutting down you prep time.
4. As far as possible cook at home. Loads of quick and simple recipes are available online. Home made food is fresh, low in sodium and made from higher quality ingredients.
5. Small amount of food eaten often is key to a healthy body. Overloading the body with food at one time makes us lethargic. Small quantities eaten often will give just enough energy and keep kids active.
6. Each meal should include protein. Protein keeps us full longer and will lower our carbohydrate intake which increases weight and fat.
7. Cut down on some of the carbohydrate and replace it with a portion of protein.
8. Including healthy fats in the diet keep the joints lubricated and skin healthy. Ghee, olive oil, rice bran oil, mustard oil are all good choices. Make sure the oils do not smoke while cooking. Heating oils up to smoking point makes them rancid and takes away all the health benefits.
9. Never force feed or insist encourage them to eat over their appetite. If they get into the habit of ignoring their natural body signals of satiation, they will soon get used to overeating.
Burn what you eat. This will maintain a high metabolism. Encourage kids to be physically active. Be active yourself. Limit the TV time to half an hour on weekdays and 1hr on weekends. You will observe that when kids watch less TV, they have much more free time at their disposal. Join sports or activity classes. There is nothing better than doing an activity together or playing a game. Go trekking. If they develop a taste for an active lifestyle they will make similar choices in the future.
Last but not the least: sleep. Sufficient sleep is very important for children. They have an active mind and bodies. They need more sleep than adults do, to replenish their energy, organize their thoughts and save all the day's learning. Maintaining a constant sleep cycle, regulates metabolism and weight. Share your thoughts and ideas on: How to make our next generation healthier.
Just like all of us adults, healthy kids have 3 healthy habits: They eat healthy, exercise or play, and sleep well. Eating healthy does not come to us humans naturally. We are all naturally wired to like unhealthy or fatty foods. Let us see why. Originally humans had to roam the jungles in search of food. And it was found in scarcity. So, when they found food, they ate as much as possible and chose the fattiest foods as they provided most energy for survival. We haven't changed much. But our environment is completely different now. Since farming started, food has been available in abundance. This has lead to overeating and overweight.
Children know very little. As adults it is our responsibility to guide or for that matter even control their food choices. We need to regulate their habits and activities. As parents we are the ones who buy the groceries and cook the food. It is up to us, what we put on the table.
1. Buy a variety of healthy foods.
2. Keep your pantry stuffed with high fiber , high protein, low fat snacks. If kids find snacks ready to grab when they need, they are less likely to snack on junk.
3. Kids like colorful attractive looking food. Cut different vegetables and fruits in various shapes. Invest in a good food processor and it will help in cutting down you prep time.
4. As far as possible cook at home. Loads of quick and simple recipes are available online. Home made food is fresh, low in sodium and made from higher quality ingredients.
5. Small amount of food eaten often is key to a healthy body. Overloading the body with food at one time makes us lethargic. Small quantities eaten often will give just enough energy and keep kids active.
6. Each meal should include protein. Protein keeps us full longer and will lower our carbohydrate intake which increases weight and fat.
7. Cut down on some of the carbohydrate and replace it with a portion of protein.
8. Including healthy fats in the diet keep the joints lubricated and skin healthy. Ghee, olive oil, rice bran oil, mustard oil are all good choices. Make sure the oils do not smoke while cooking. Heating oils up to smoking point makes them rancid and takes away all the health benefits.
9. Never force feed or insist encourage them to eat over their appetite. If they get into the habit of ignoring their natural body signals of satiation, they will soon get used to overeating.
Burn what you eat. This will maintain a high metabolism. Encourage kids to be physically active. Be active yourself. Limit the TV time to half an hour on weekdays and 1hr on weekends. You will observe that when kids watch less TV, they have much more free time at their disposal. Join sports or activity classes. There is nothing better than doing an activity together or playing a game. Go trekking. If they develop a taste for an active lifestyle they will make similar choices in the future.
Last but not the least: sleep. Sufficient sleep is very important for children. They have an active mind and bodies. They need more sleep than adults do, to replenish their energy, organize their thoughts and save all the day's learning. Maintaining a constant sleep cycle, regulates metabolism and weight. Share your thoughts and ideas on: How to make our next generation healthier.
Thank you for your post Sonal. I have a specific question. I read a lot about children getting obese or bring less active, though I still mostly pretty lean kids all around. Does that mean the kids are getting the right level nutrition for overall growth ? I feel that since the physical appearance is the easiest, fastest attribute which gives us the signal of unhealthy lifestyle, it does get attention. How do we keep a check on self and children while the extra kilograms don't show up :))
ReplyDelete- Shweta
Dear Shweta, Thanks for reading by write up and commenting. We give too much importance to the appearance of people. Everybody has a different body structure and metabolism. I think the bottom line is: how healthy are we. If children are falling sick too often, then no matter how they look, there is obviously something wrong. They should be able to participate in a moderate aerobic activity for an hour or so daily, without overly tiring themselves.
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