How To Raise Healthy Children - need for children to have exercise - Brief Article

Ebony, July, 2001 by Kimberly Davis

RAISING healthy children in this fast-paced, everyone-on-the-go society can be difficult, but not impossible. One of the dominant myths of American society is that all or almost all Black children are athletically active. But the truth is that active children, on the whole, are in the minority, health officials say.

Most children, on the contrary, are more likely to be holed up inside watching TV, playing video games and surfing the Internet, with a high-fat snack in one hand and a high-sugar soda in the other.

"The kids today are being sent to after-school classes and other activities that are great for a child's cultural development, but [kids] need some exercise--our kids don't get enough," says Dr. Fred Daniels, an internist at Chicago's Stony Island Medical Center. "Our kids are growing up in a computer era, and they're not active enough. There's a loss of physical activity."

Statistics show that the percentage of overweight children has nearly doubled in the past 30 years. In 1997, 40 percent of American 5- to 8-year-olds were obese. In 1990, only 10 percent of children in that age group were obese.

And, doctors say, overweight children tend to become overweight adults, carrying not only additional pounds, but also many of the health problems that come with those pounds--heart disease, diabetes and high blood pressure.

"What we're seeing is a rising epidemic of obesity, especially in the pediatric age group," says Dr. Daniels. "The unhealthy eating habits and lack of exercise in younger children are leading to increased cardiovascular disease in people from age 20 to 40."

Taking the time to make sure your child has a positive physical and emotional well-being can make a great difference in their lives as adults, experts say.

The main idea, says Emil (Joey) Clayton of Chicago, is to introduce children to healthy habits as early as possible. Clayton, the owner and director of a gym for children, the Children's Health & Executive Club, believes that if you make exercise fun, children are more likely to want to do it, rather than feel as if it's an obligation. If children feel obligated, they may feel unhappy about exercising.

Along with exercising comes eating right. Healthy foods and the time you spend with your child making or eating them are essential to their growth. One of the major problems is that some parents do not prepare the healthy meals that were common years ago. Nutritionists and doctors recommend that parents make an effort to prepare and eat at least one healthy meal together a day.

Eating together is one way that Cathy Phillips of Spotsylvania, Va., says she can spend quality time with her husband, Dennis, a dentist, and their three children, Michael, 10, Paige, 7, and Steven, 4. Phillips, who works part-time, says it can be difficult to coordinate schedules and prepare meals, but with a little planning and a routine, it's definitely doable.

Phillips has found that each of her children enjoys certain types of foods, and is open to new foods. Therefore, she plans the meals accordingly. She also keeps track of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's recommendations of what children should eat and in what portion.

"We try to make sure they eat a variety of foods, including fruits and vegetables," Phillips says. "That can be hard sometimes."

As for your child's emotional well-being, that is often tied to how much time, you, as a parent, can give to your child.

"Raising a healthy child starts with what you introduce to them," says Clayton, the father of 13-year-old Jazmin and 10-year-old Emil. "Physical and emotional health coincide."

9 Tips for Raising Healthy Children

1. Make sure your child eats a balanced and healthy diet at home and at school. Decrease junk food and add more fruits and vegetables. Take the time to prepare more healthful foods for dinner and snacks, and make sure that if your child eats at school, the meals there are healthful, too. "Kids are eating what they want to eat, and not necessarily what's nutritious and good for them," Dr. Daniels says. "They're becoming future couch potatoes."

2. Know your child's paternal and maternal family history. Both sides of the family history are essential to raising a healthy child.

3. Move more. You and your child should take the time to exercise together, Clayton says. What's important to you becomes important to your child.

4. Introduce your children to an outdoor activity, something they can carry through their adult years, says Clayton. Find out what each child's interests are.

5. Take your child in for a checkup at least once a year, depending on his or her age, says Dr. Sherald Leonard, a Chicago pediatrician. That general recommendation is made based on the American Academy of Pediatrics. Many insurance carriers prefer preventive health measures and will provide for that service.

6. Limit TV, video game and computer time for the whole family, and don't eat in front of the TV. If you treat eating as an afterthought instead of as an important part of your everyday life, you may be helping your child form unhealthy eating habits.