Preventing Aberdeen, MS Childhood Obesity

by Karen Jashinsky

It is no secret to Aberdeen, MS parents that overweight and obesity among children and teens have reached epidemic proportions in our country. These conditions, which put the health and well being of our youth at risk, must be contained if we are to stem the growing tide of Type II Diabetes (once considered an adult onset only disease), heart problems, hypertension, and social alienation that are directly linked to body fat.

Obesity is the result of a simple equation: a person must be taking in more calories than he or she is expending every day. This is becoming easier and easier to do in our society. Minimal exercise is required of the average teenager. Instead of walking or riding a bike to school, most teens are driven. Due to budget cuts and rigorous academic requirements, many Aberdeen, MS schools do not offer adequate physical education programs if they offer them at all. Finally, most teens spend their after-school hours doing homework in front of a computer and then playing video games, watching television and talking on the phone with friends.

The fact is that parents can no longer count on their teenagers to expend adequate physical exertion to maintain health. Meanwhile, they can count on the fact that their teenagers are likely consuming more calories than their low levels of activity are burning off.

At last official count, approximately 4 million people in the U.S. were considered morbidly obese. This trend of increasing obesity doesn't appear to have an end in sight - while 72% of Americans are overweight and 39% are considered obese, only 30% of Americans are actively trying to lose weight.

Meanwhile, super-sized food portions and high levels of fat and calories saturate much of the food consumed by teenagers today. Portion sizes appear to have no limits, and teenagers are unaware of the constraints they need to set for themselves since they generally do not receive such education at school, in restaurants or at home.

Unless Aberdeen, MS parents make a point of working with their teenagers on their health, there is a high likelihood that they will spend minimal time exercising, thus increasing their chances of becoming overweight.

There are three fundamental principles parents can teach their children to help them avoid obesity and improve their general health: portion control, aerobic exercise and strength training.

Portion Control Our society has skewed portion sizes to be way too big even though many might not even realize this. You can use visuals to help gage portion control and help your child get a better understanding of what a portion really looks like. Below are some common examples:

1 oz. meat: size of a matchbox 3 oz. meat: size of a deck of cards (recommended portion for a meal) 3 oz. fish: size of a checkbook 1 oz. cheese: size of 4 dice 2 Tbs. peanut butter: size of a ping pong ball 1 cup pasta: size of a tennis ball 1 bagel: size of a hockey puck

Aerobic Exercise There are some simple ways to increase aerobic activity through out the day even if you or your teenager does not have time to "exercise."

- Rather than take the elevator take the stairs - Park far away from the entrance to the mall, movie theatre, etc. - Go for a walk after dinner

Strength Training It was once believed that lifting weights would stunt growth in young people, but research today shows the contrary. Strength training has been shown to be an especially positive force in overweight teens.

Do push-ups, crunches and lunges while watching TV. You can do this with your teen during commercials.

You can also purchase some equipment such as exercise balls and lightweights that can easily be used at home.

These are just a few ways to help your teen start implementing some healthy changes.

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