Childhood Obesity {It's an epidemic}

Is your child overweight? Were you thin as a child, but now overweight? Sadly, chances are that history will repeat itself through your children. It might take decades, but it will probably happen unless you make changes at home now. You can stop the cycle and get educated on food and get more active. It's really that simple.

Healthy kids are more likely to be healthy adults.

Approximately 17% (or 12.5 million) of children and adolescents aged 2-19 are obese.

Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years.

The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.

What causes childhood obesity?

Childhood obesity is the result of eating too many calories and not getting enjoy physical activity.

Being a parent holds a huge responsibility. Educating your child about food should not be forgotten or left to the school system to teach. You might be surprised at how little many adults know about what is going into their bodies, let alone children. Does that mean that it wasn't taught to them as a child? Maybe.

Teaching your children at a young age about food, and it's purpose, is key to overall health for decades to come.  The world is full of temptations on every street corner. If they are educated early, they will form healthy habits. Healthy habits that hopefully last a lifetime.

Get your kids involved at mealtime preparing the food. Teach them about where the food comes from. Try new things. Teach them what foods are natural and good for you. What foods are processed. What does processed really mean? Teach them about serving sizes and how to read a label. If they can read, they are old enough to read labels.

Making eating clean fun! 

Plan a pizza making party.

You can try this recipe for dough: Whole Wheat Pizza Dough

This is a great article on the issue: Children's Longevity

To read more about childhood obesity and ways to get involved visit: www.cdc.gov