Children at Risk

 The news is not good.  “Heart disease begins in childhood,” reports the National Institutes of Health.  A recent examination of 360 randomly selected youngsters ages 7 to 12 revealed that 98 percent of the children already had three or more risk factors for heart disease.

 But we keep hearing that people are getting healthier!!

 It is mainly the grown-ups who are exercising, losing weight, quitting tobacco, and becoming more health conscious.

 But it is a different story for kids.  “Since the early 1960s the general health of adolescents has declined,” says the American Academy of Pediatrics.  “Today’s kids are flabby.  They don’t have the proper cardiovascular tone.  They are not physically fit.”

 Television and computers have had an impact.  Time spent in front of the TV set and computers is time taken away from body building, calorie-burning physical activities such as bicycling, skating, basketball, or climbing trees.  That sets the stage for excessive weight gain, which in itself is a risk factor for high blood cholesterol and heart disease.

 Exercise physiologist Kate O’Shea warns that “the junior couch potato of today is the fat farm candidate of tomorrow.”

 Don’t school PE programs help?

 Only a few require students to take physical education in all grades.  In an era of tight budgets and teacher shortages, health and physical education programs are often among the first to go.

 What about children’s eating habits?

With nine out of 10 food advertisements on children’s TV  hawking processed foods, high in sugar, fat and salt, television significantly influences the food preferences of children from their earliest years.

 Home cooked meals with families eating together are now the exception. They have been largely replaced by fast foods and engineered foods.  More than half of today’s high school kids head off to fast-food chains and snack machines instead of school lunch rooms.

 Any good news?

 The good news is that children can be taught - and the younger they get started the better.

 Here are some tips for building good health habits early in life:

             - Daily exercise - preferably outdoors - for at least an hour.

- Three meals a day, at regular times, with lots of whole grains, fruits, and vegetables.  Discourage snacks, and the child will have a better appetite for nutritious food at mealtimes.  If a snack is needed, offer a piece of fresh fruit.

 - Plenty of water.  Remember sodas are very high in calories and sugar.

 - Control TV.  The hours a child watches TV relate directly to weight gain and elevated cholesterol levels.

 - Adequate rest.  Most children are chronically tired - not surprising when you remember that teenagers do best on nine hours of sleep a night, and younger ones need more.  Put the kids to bed early enough so they awaken naturally in time for a healthy breakfast.

 - Cultivate a wide range of interests - schedule library visits, music lessons, arts and crafts, hobbies and family outings.  Children who spend time with their parents and develop deep spiritual roots experience less stress and improved mental health.

 - Set a good example.  The life choices you are modeling day by day are the strongest determinants of your children’s future behavior.

 Is it worth the effort?

 “Fitness can be fun,”     says Arnold Schwarzeneggar, who was President George Bush’s spokesman for the Council on Physical fitness and Sports. “Stay away from junk food, get off the couch, unplug the Nintendo, turn off the TV, and go out and get some exercise.  A body is a terrible thing to waste”.

                                                                         -DeWayne Butcher (thanks to Aileen Ludington, MD)