Curbing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic in America

by Cathleen London, M.D.

I know how difficult it can be to keep your kids on the right nutritional track. As a doctor and as a mom, it's a battle I'm fighting constantly with my two kids, as well as with my patients and their families.

Every day we all take to task the junk food monster, the interminable allure of the computer screen, the mesmerizing magic of television.

We all earnestly want the best for our children, but we are also faced with the reality of our own hectic lives, their equally packed schedules and the ever-present peer pressure.

As parents, we are all concerned about the frightening increase in childhood obesity and the lifelong health consequences overweight children suffer.

We have a plethora of food in our country, but it is of poor quality, refined and over-processed. We have forgotten how to eat foods in as close to their natural state as possible. As parents, it is our responsibility to teach our kids how to eat well for lifelong health.

The first ten years are yours.

Giving in to whining means you have lost. At the same time, being unrelenting means your kids will rebel as soon as they have the chance. I know this because my parents were extremely strict about healthy eating, so when I reached my teens, I made some very poor choices. If you find a moderate path, everyone will be happier - and healthier.

What we as parents really want is to give our kids the best possible health education in the first ten years of their lives. After that, they will begin to make their own choices, and there is little we, as parents, can do about those choices. We can only hope and pray our kids have enough of a foundation to make the right choices, whether it's about junk food, being a couch potato, or drugs and smoking, for that matter.

OK to be inflexible

I have four things I am inflexible about:

* Food choices: They can choose between two different foods. If they don't like either one, they're simply out of luck. Let's face it- skipping a meal won't hurt them. And I can guarantee you they will be back in an hour asking for one of those choices. Giving in and permitting junk food is not doing them a service.

* A multi-vitamin a day: I don't care how good your kids' diets are, I can guarantee they're not getting enough vitamins from food alone. Because they're growing so fast and using up their vitamins and minerals at a really amazing speed, it's important for them to have a multi-vitamin every single day without fail. My kids and I really like Sesame Street vitamins for different reasons. I like them because they are high quality, well manufactured, well balanced, and absorbable. My kids like them because they taste good. It works for all of us!

* Two hours of screen time: They are permitted no more than two hours a day in front of a screen--that means television and computer combined. For younger children, one hour may be more appropriate.

* No soda in the house: No one is allowed to bring soft drinks into the house. I explain to my kids how soft drinks leach calcium from their bones--something that's important to them because they're both budding athletes and want strong bones.

What is negotiable.

There are many things that are negotiable. Here are some:

* Snacks: Presentation actually makes a difference! Give kids several healthy choices, and make them pretty. Cut up apple wedges and arrange them on a plate with a bowl of peanut butter in the center for dipping. Put out a bowl of grapes, blueberries, diced melon and strawberries. Finger foods like string cheese are a big hit.

* Dessert: I call it "the price of dessert," which means they can have dessert only after they eat everything on a plate I have prepared for them.

* Shopping: I pick up my kids from school every Tuesday and we go straight to the supermarket where they can make some of the food choices. We read labels together and they have learned a great deal about healthy eating this way.

* Breakfast: Breakfast has always been an issue in my household. We compromise by buying high quality protein bars for weekday breakfasts. An easy breakfast may not be traditional: there's nothing wrong with some peanut butter or a piece of cheese on a whole grain cracker, and a few baby carrots.

I think, in general, the more choices kids have and the more they understand the reasons for making healthy choices, the better off everyone will be. Getting your kids to make healthy choices is one of the more difficult tasks of parenting. You won't always do it right and you'll sometimes give in to the fast-food monster for the sake of convenience alone. That doesn't make you a bad parent.

Determine that you will serve healthy meals at home and send healthy - and appealing - meals to school with your kids. Then lighten up a bit. Get your child a chocolate birthday cake and relish it. Just let your kids know that these are special occasion treats, not everyday fare.