HEALTH AND FITNESS TIPS FOR ALL

By Chris M Gray

A recent White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President, Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation, released some startling information that childhood obesity has become an epidemic in America and it is now considered a national health crisis.
According to the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies, approximately nine million American children over six years old are considered obese. In addition, one study found that obese six to eight year-olds were approximately ten times more likely to become obese adults than children with lower body mass.
It is important that parents take the responsibility to feed their children healthy foods and monitor their intake in the early years, so that good eating habits stay with them for life. In addition, kids need exercise, which includes strength training, not only to help them maximize their bone growth during their youth, but also because kids are less fit than they've ever been and strength training plays a major role in reducing body fat.
The problem is that we often attempt to train kids in the same way we train adults, and guess what, just like many of the adults, they get bored! One of the problems has also been that in the past we were afraid that strength training might not be good for kids. Some kids were getting injured when training with traditional barbells and dumbbells and doctors also feared that it might not be good for growing bones. Of course we now know that if done properly, the exact opposite is true.
Physical education researchers have found that children as young as 5 or 6 years old can strengthen their muscles and bones by strength and resistance training. And when properly performed, strength training can increase bone density and muscle mass as well as tendon and ligament strength. It can also improve joint function and significantly lower the chances of obesity.
In children we call this "preconditioning." It will not only help build strong bones and big muscles for life, but it will also help kids avoid injury in the gym or on the sports field.
When you're training kids, you need to make sure they're having fun. Putting them on treadmills, and forcing them into traditional strength and conditioning programs built for athletes and adults can burn them out and bore them quickly. Kids can and should still train with traditional equipment, but this should be done with a careful mixture of traditional and non-traditional movements that will keep them interested, engaged, and fit for a lifetime.
Medicine balls are one way to make it more interesting for kids. They look a lot like soccer balls and come in different shapes and colors. Medicine balls can range from 1 to 12 pounds or more. They were actually used around the turn of last century for rehabilitation with the elderly, and as with so many fitness trends they have re-surfaced and kids love them.
Medicine balls are great for kids because they are new and interesting to them and exercising with them seems more like play than work. There are many different fun exercises they can do with medicine balls to work the entire body and they are much safer for kids than traditional weight training equipment.

By Rob Excelsior

A great deal more high-level international scientific studies bear upon the use of backyard swing sets than one would imagine. Naturally, the industry that produces kids play sets is careful to conduct rigorous controlled product safety testing, but perhaps even more interesting is that children's play equipment receives substantial attention from researchers in the fields of medicine and psychology.

Children's Physical Activity Levels Influence Lifelong Health
Medical research suggests that when a child's physical activity level is persistently elevated, he or she will be more likely to engage in comparable physical activity levels as an adult, and thereby stem or prevent the numerous maladies over which we exert varying degrees of control. A young girl, for example, can augment her bone strength through daily exercise, decreasing the likelihood that she will later develop osteoporosis. By engaging in daily athletics, one minimizes body fat and raises his level of lean muscle mass, both of which can help overcome genetic predispositions to gain weight as one matures.

Government Studies Recommend Children's Play Equipment to Schools
Studies conducted by both government health departments and leading universities have all but mandated that school systems devote increased attention to, and funding for, kids play sets for use during recess periods. The children's play equipment enjoyed during gym periods two or three times per week is fine, but insufficient. Not enough time is spent in physical education classes to meet even the least demanding doctor's exercise recommendations.

By providing extra children's play equipment, such as monkey bars and swing sets, on the school grounds, children have greater opportunity to engage in unstructured, non-competitive play, whether during lunch period or after school. The exercise level equals what is expected of them in gym class.

Kid's Play Sets and Backyard Swing Sets Implement Doctor's Recommendations
Wisdom suggests that the recommendations for children's physical activity levels at school, particularly because they cannot be fully met during the school day, need to carry over and apply to leisure time activities beyond the schoolyard. Backyard swing sets are a perfect complement to playground and gym equipment.

Behaviorists note that many children dislike organized athletics and resist participation in structured games. Outside the obligatory gym classes, such children may only rarely exercise at the recommended levels of stress and frequency for their age. Providing kids play sets at home, or installing backyard swing sets, presents children with appealing freestyle exercise opportunities to complete the health and physical education requirements to which they are introduced during the school day.

Whenever one improves a child's physical activity level, one promotes greater health, and over time, a higher quality of life. Elevated childhood physical activity levels can reduce the frequency and severity of chronic ailments later in life, as well as provide emotional and psychological uplift through the difficult phases of adolescence and the teens. The freestyle, non-competitive yet vigorous activity in which kids engage while playing on backyard swing sets, especially those that feature slides, ramps, ladders and rings, is an invaluable component to their exercise program.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rob_Excelsior

By John Oon

Child obesity has become an international epidemic issue. In order to prevent or eliminate this phenomenon, action should be taken.

Prevention of child obesity is easier to say than done. It should initiate from the parents' education. Prevention should begin from newborn baby during breastfeeding. Parents should identify the suitable nourishment foods for the newborn baby.

Some inherited obesity could not be overcome entirely. In this case, parents should concentrate more on self-respect building and the children's emotional issues.

Besides, other prevention action that could be taken is listed below: -
Mental Support- Do not set obese children aside. Mentally support the children to overcome the circumstances.
Arrange Time Table for Children's Activities- Arrange daily timetable for TV Program and computer interaction session. Try to reduce inactive activities and promote physical activities.
Organize Family Program- Organize family program which involve physical movement and exercise. Besides, encourage the child to organize it.
Taking Dinner without TV- Try to eat dinner without watching television program. Eating and watching TV program together might have overeating.
Do not Set Limit on Foods- Parents should not set limit on children's diet unless it is advised by physical health care practitioner.
Help the Children do the Food Decision Making - Involve the children in meal planning. Help the children in food decision-making by highlighting to them that high-fat food is not for daily diet.
Buy Foods Good for Health- While doing the grocery shopping, the parents should shop for foods which are nutritious, low-fat and high fiber. In other words, unhealthy foods which are high fat and low fiber should keep to the minimum.
Good Health is Vital not Weight- Start from young, teach the children to stay in ideal health with healthy foods and adequate exercise. If not sure, get the advice from pediatrician on the suitable feeding and physical exercise during early childhood.
Food Guide Pyramid for Children - Make use of the Food Guide on providing adequate portion of foods to the children. Eat with children as frequent as possible. Parents decide on the foods to offer. Children decide on the quantity to eat.
Join Forces with School- Do not fight the child obesity by yourselves. Join forces with the school. Work with the school to ensure children are having nutrition foods and adequate exercise to attain healthy fitness level.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=John_Oon

By Becki Andrus

What is the best healthy diet for kids? A smart parent is going to make sure that the child does not know that he is eating a healthy diet! That is because children are under the impression that eating healthy is not so cool. On the other hand, eating junk food and lots of processed foods, fats, and sugars are okay, because hey, these products are tasty. Unfortunately, a lot of parents are not very bothered about the proper diet of their children, because they are too busy to look after their meals. That is why they miss out on teaching their kids to follow a right and proper healthy diet, from childhood. However, getting your children to eat healthily is definitely not difficult, especially when those food items are kept in the fridge and processed foods are banished from your kitchen and pantry. Children are going to start snacking off nuts and fruit when they do not find potato chips and processed foods. In the same manner, if they do not find fatty and meat products, they are going to make do with vegetable and fruit salads, with lots of spicy olive oil-based homemade salad dressing, vegetable dressing or homemade ranch dressing.

The best healthy diet can be interpreted as making a children's meal interesting, and then it needs a little bit of self-discipline. It is no use forcing your child to eat something when you do not follow that same diet plan. Therefore, if you cannot master your craving for junk food and turn up your nose at fruit and vegetables, you definitely cannot expect your child to eat a healthy diet. Parents need to know the value of a good diet. Incorporate it into your lifestyle. Reach for an apple instead of for a fattening cake or pastry; try experimenting with raw salads instead of going for processed foods. Children are imitative, and so they are going to follow the dietary patterns of their elders. So naturally, the proper healthy diet for kids is going to be one with plenty of carbohydrates, fresh fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, beans, and legumes.

Do not consider healthy diets to be boring; the word "diet" is automatically associated with you depriving yourself of your favorite meals, just because you want to lose weight. On the other hand, when you start associating the word "diet" with a meal that is going to be enjoyable, tasty, healthy, delicious, and nutritious, you are already half way to eating healthily, and so are your children! Eating healthy does not automatically mean eating boring, tasteless food. Spice it up with olive oil, pepper and season it with your own preferred seasoning salts and stuffing. You are going to be surprised at the wide-ranging variety of cooking styles which are in use, all over the world. Eating healthy for kids and for you is definitely not hard, so try out these tips right away!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becki_Andrus

By Becki Andrus

When we look at the eating habits of the children today, we may possibly recall the days of our childhood when we finished everything which was placed in front of us, and so we grew up to be really healthy adults. The point is clear; we were not taught that we were eating healthy food. Instead, our parents made sure that we ate plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, nuts, extra virgin olive oil, avocados, seeds, legumes, beans, and foodstuffs made of whole grain. However, thanks to a really fast change of pace in lifestyles, modern parents do not bother much about a healthy diet for their children. That is why they are encouraged to eat unhealthy fats, processed foods, lots of fattening dairy products, sugars, and other products, which are made up of chemicals preservatives and additives, because Mom could not be bothered to cook up a healthy meal for her kids. One has to admit it; this is the truth. Or, it is possible that she is going to tell the child, "I am going to be busy this afternoon, order a pizza, will you?" and hand him some dollars. Remember that if you do not take the responsibility for your children's health by cooking or preparing healthy meals for kids and delegating your responsibility by giving the choice of foods to a seven-year-old child, well, one is sorry to say but you are definitely not a responsible parent. You are going to be ultimately responsible for your child suffering from ill health.

However, some parents have an excuse, "He definitely does not eat fruit and vegetables. How can I cook a healthy meal for him, if he does not like it?" That is because bad eating habits have already been inculcated in him, since he was a little child. If, as a child, he was encouraged to eat a mixture of tasty colorful fresh fruit and vegetables, placed on his pizza instead of meat, processed foods and heavy lashings of fattening cheese, he would take it for granted that these toppings are delicious! You could also try making fresh fruit muffins or fresh fruit dips with honey instead of sugar, to fulfill his natural craving for sweets.

Use your imagination when you are preparing healthy meals for kids. Telling him that broccoli is good for him is definitely not so entertaining as telling him that the "green trees" are going to make him grow as strong as the Green Giant! You could try asking your child to name all the fruit and vegetables in his own personal manner. Then you can encourage him to eat them because they are mmm good, tasty, crunchy, crispy, delicious to eat, (use your own adjectives) are not they? Vegetables lightly fried in olive oil and spread all over whole-grain bread or pizzas are going to be healthier in the long run. "But all my friends eat pizza for dinner, why cannot I?" may be a refrain which parents may hear occasionally. Well, the answer to that is, "all right, we will have pizza for lunch tomorrow, and you are going to make it." Then prepare the toppings given above, puree some fresh tomatoes, and let your child be happy that he is getting his own way!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becki_Andrus

By Becki Andrus

Childhood obesity is an epidemic that is hitting America hard. With all of the unhealthy food available to our children it can be hard to teach them that a healthy eating plan is important. Many parents worry that it is too late in their child's life to teach them how to eat healthy. It is important to know that it's never to late to teach your child about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle. This article will provide you with three tips to keep your child healthy and happy.

1. Being a good example
Your child looks up to you for just about everything. If you are eating junk food all day long and lounging on the couch it is unlikely that they will do the opposite. Showing your kids that you care about yourself enough to eat good foods and get the right amount of exercise can make all the difference in the world.

2. Make their meals yourself
You may think that you make most of the decisions as to what your child is eating, but you may be surprised if you saw what they ate when you are not around. School is the place where most children make bad eating decisions. When put in a position to choose a baked potato and vegetables for school lunch or french fries and a hamburger, most kids will go for the hamburger. Instead of sending them off to school with lunch money to buy a lunch there, you should make their lunch yourself. This way you can control what they will be eating.

3. Skip the Drive-Thru
A lot of bad decisions are made at fast food restaurants. Between shakes and french fries it can be hard to find a quick meal or snack for your children that is healthy. Instead of hitting the drive-thru on the way home from school, try making them a wholesome snack when they get home. Preparing a snack earlier in the day for when they get home from school is a great way to ensure that you wont give in to their pleading to stop at McDonald's. The same goes for meals. Make a healthy meal plan for the rest of the week to abide by so your not tempted to take them out to eat instead.

Abiding by these tips is a great way to keep your children healthy. Add in a little exercise everyday such as a trip to the park or walking the dog and you will have no problem keeping your children healthy and happy.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becki_Andrus

By Becki Andrus

Health-conscious parents may be rather worried about how they can instill healthy habits in kids in the matter of eating a healthy diet. Many kids would rather eat processed foods, and junk food than eat fruit and vegetables, because hey, those foods come in the healthy food category, and they are so boring! Well, many people beg to differ!

A healthy diet is definitely not boring, as long as it is not forcibly drilled into a child that he has to eat some food because it is good for his health. This is quite the wrong way to go about matters. On the other hand, telling him that he is missing something really tasty, especially when their siblings are gobbling up the meal is going to bring him running in order to have his share of the nuts, seeds, fresh vegetables, fruit, beans and legumes, and whole grain products. Try encouraging your child to appreciate the value of these products, especially in snacks and meals that he has helped to make.

Healthy meals consist of lots of fresh organic vegetables and fruit. They also include carbohydrates in the shape of whole grain breads and unpolished rice. Legumes, lentils, beans and nuts are great sources of healthy proteins. Good nutrition should definitely be a family project with all the family members understanding the value of a good nutritive and healthy diet. You could teach your children to experiment with beans and legumes fried or baked with spices, nuts and olive oil. This is quite delicious! Baking is also a really healthy way to enjoy nutritious food especially if you are watching your weight, and do not want to fry your meals.

Use homemade seasoned stuffing to spice up your meals. You could also make a number of seasonings, using olive oil right at home and use them liberally all over your meals. This homemade seasoning and sauces have an added advantage because you know exactly which natural ingredient has gone into their making! Also, have plenty of orange, green and red fruit and vegetables at hand, especially when your children are hungry. Teenagers can be encouraged to eat lots of fresh fruit by telling them that it is going to make their skin glow, and ain't that the truth, brother! Once they see the difference, they are going to believe you and start to eat healthy!
Some people are under the impression that pizza comes in the junk food category. Not, if it is made up of full or whole-grains, and also not, if the topping is made up of natural ingredients such as tomatoes, fresh fruit, vegetables, a little bit of low fat cheese and any other seasoning and topping, which the child wants to add. Bake in the oven until crisp and enjoy. The child may not know that he is eating healthy products which taste so good, but he is satisfied that he is eating pizza, which is supposedly junk food!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becki_Andrus

Why do you need to know about proper nutrition for kids? You are going to be surprised to know that a large number of children in the United States and Europe are considered to be overweight and suffer from a potential cholesterol problem. This is because they have been eating different types of foods, without any supervision from their parents. Obesity is considered to be a sign of prosperity in many cultures all over the world and stuffing your child with food, so just showing that you care for him is definitely not a sensible mental attitude. There is another point that needs to be noted; being overweight and fat does not mean that you are healthy with all the essential ingredients already present in your body. Instead, you are going to be suffering from high blood pressure by the time you reach your twenties.

So, how do you go about finding the right nutrition for kids, and how can you teach them to eat healthy? First of all, forget about all the processed foods and high fat products in the supermarket. Start teaching your child the value of healthy food, which definitely does not have to be bland. There are large number of healthy foods that are under percent natural and hundred percent organically grown. Do not go in for health foods, which have chemical preservatives in them.

Organically grown foods are going to consist of fresh fruit and vegetables, whole-grain cereals, breads, honey, and homemade yogurt. Fresh fruit juices made up of fresh fruit for breakfast are going to keep your children energetic throughout the day. Canned fruits are an option only when you do not get fresh fruit. However, these canned fruits are going to have preservatives and besides that they are treated during the canning process, so that half of their nutrients are lost. So, try to eat as much whole fresh fruit as you can, and whenever you can.

Lunches and dinners should include whole-grains and unpolished rice and breads, along with an abundance of fruits and vegetables which are going to boost the natural fiber content in your diet. White bread is processed, so if you really want to buy this processed product, going in for a whole-grain bread is the better option. Fresh vegetable soups, as well as stews made of different vegetables, potatoes, with a little bit of peppers and spices sprinkled on the surface, are definitely going to be a really good way to round up a healthy meal.

The advantages of proper nutrition for kids may not have an apparent effect in the beginning, but you are going to see the difference in a couple of months. Not only is your child going to lose weight, but he is going to gain more energy and is going to look and feel better. So look for the best natural nutrition products for your child right away so that he grows up a healthy, energetic adult.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Becki_Andrus  

By Thomas Shay

Child Obesity is becoming a national concern for the last few decades and is getting worse every year. Many doctors are very troubled by this trend and are working on ways to fix this issue.

Child obesity affects children and youth in so many ways. Obesity in childhood is connected to many different health related problems. Some of the health problems are asthma, high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea, high cholesterol and even social discrimination.

One of the main issues is that if a child has obesity issues, these can carry on into adulthood.

Obesity in children has one side affect besides health affects. The Psychological affects of being over weight makes kids easy targets of social discrimination. This stress of social discrimination can cause low self esteem, which is very hard in young kids, and will carry on into adulthood.

Cardiovascular Disease risks in very high is children. In a recent study it was found that almost 60% of obese children age 5 to 17 year olds had at least one risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol or abnormal glucose tolerance. At least 25% of the children had at least two or more of these rick factors.

There are other health risks associated with obesity in children. Sleep apnea is not that common in kids, but can still be an issue with about 7% of kids. Hepatic Steatosis in another health issue associated with obesity. It is an fatty degeneration of the liver.

Type 2 diabetes in being diagnosed by doctors in children who are overweight. Asthma is also being diagnosed by doctors as more studies are showing that there is a connection between children being overweight and asthma.

So we all need to work with our Kids eating healthy food and keep they active. Start eating healthy at home and help them stay active. Tip: I know kids can end up loving playing video games on their computer, but keep track of their computer usage and make them get outside to play and run around.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Thomas_Shay