Child Obesity: What Should We Do?

Slate :

The percentage of kids in the U.S. who are obese has more than doubled in the past three decades. Obesity puts children at risk for related chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and much more. Slate wants to fix the problem, but we need your help. Read the introduction, and please submit your brilliant ideas for overcoming childhood obesity. Then comment and vote on the other ideas suggested by Slate readers. Voting ends on March 15, and together readers and judges will announce the winners in late March.

Read the whole story: Slate

Comments

[elann]

03:32 PM on 03/28/2011

The solution to obesity is no big mystery. Amazing to me how much the media pounds on this subject. Even Mrs. Obama is on the bandwagon. Personally, I'd like her to take up another cause, like doing an anti-bullying campaign or inspiring kids not to drop out of school.

[babybelle]

11:57 AM on 02/25/2011

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2011/02/alligator-in-brazil.html

Take a lesson from this alligator.
Stop eating when you are full, even when temptation is right next to you!

[babybelle]

07:34 AM on 02/24/2011

Out of your seat....
onto your feet,....
and move !

Turn up the music and dance.
It's great excersise and fun!

[elann]

03:33 PM on 03/28/2011

There you go. Easy and fun, too.

[IMDATRAINER]

04:45 PM on 02/23/2011

The new USDA school food guidelines are a step in the right direction. Most school food and nutrition education is hideous. One thing is clear, something has to be done. Here's a great link to an article on this very topic:

http://www.angrytrainerfitness.com/2011/01/kids-and-food-the-new-school-rules/

[Last Gasp]

03:38 AM on 02/23/2011

Weston A Price Foundation.

[IMHOinCO]

03:10 AM on 02/23/2011

Knowledge is Power IF we take that knowledge and put it to use! I am often shocked at the lack of knowledge when it comes to good nutrition. I worked with LapBand patients and was asked so many times what a good carb was - by seemingly educated adults. Some had no idea what a carb was at all. These are the parents who are raising the children who are obese. Of course, these people were obese or they wouldn't have been getting the LapBand in the first place.
Good nutrition starts in the home. It's learning portion control, good carbs vs bad carbs, good fats vs bad fats and it's taking the time to value our families enough to prepare the foods that will feed their bodies not bulk them! It's taking the time each week to make a menu and prepare their meals, so that they aren't tempted to stop at the fast food place on the way home. It's tough to work full time and raise a family and still take the time to feed them healthy meals. BUT it can be done. It's a committment that must be made to our children.
I think starting with the parents will make all the difference in this country. Starting when the child is small is key. Good nutrition and an active lifestyle can turn the childhood obesity problem around!

[Alex Russell]

05:28 PM on 02/23/2011

Fanned and Faved! Great points! You hit the issue right on the head; inactive parents. Just like you said it takes time and it's not always easy but if you are concerned with your child's health and well being it is a step that needs to be taken. My thing is, if you start feeding your child healthy foods early (like you suggested) then that's all that they will know. When they come home and say, "Little Johnny had a sugar induced coma sucker and I want one" then you might have to do some clever maneuvering. But even then, if they are use to eating right, their pallet more than likely won't accept it as good anyway.

I also think that getting our kids more active is just as important. So many kids sit in front of tv, computers, or video games. That also needs to be limited. They should be doing after school activities ie; sports, plays,camps. That not only helps keep them healthy but also teaches them to appreciate what they have more as well.

[IMHOinCO]

11:56 PM on 02/23/2011

Absolutely! Activity is the next and very important component to raising healthy weight children. I remember as a child, I'd hit the door after school, get my play clothes on and play outside until it was dark! IF I was naughty I'd stay long after dark and usually got into big trouble for that! I remember doing my homework at school during my breaks so that i could play outside. Today kids run home to play computer games and watch tv for hours!! It's sad.

[steve12]

12:01 AM on 02/23/2011

1. Bring back PE to public schools. Fewer than 56% of high school students were enrolled in PE classes and only 28% attended PE classes daily, according to the CDC.
2. Teach kids how to cook healthy and nutritious meals.
3. Teach their parents how to cook healthy and nutritious meals by involving the entire community.
4. Eliminate "fast food" from the cafeteria menu.
5. List calories, sodium, and carb info on cafeteria menus and make sure that info is available to parents on-line.
6. Set health and fitness goals, in accordance to each child's needs, as well as academic goals, after discussion with both the student and his/her parents.
7. Stop driving kids to school. Let them walk or ride their bike, preferably in groups, to ensure safety.
- just a few ideas.

[AnnT]

11:35 PM on 02/22/2011

Eliminate MSG from foods. It makes people addicted to food. They inject MSG in baby mice so that they will become obese.

http://www.naturalnews.com/009379.html

[DrP]

10:40 PM on 02/22/2011

I fed my children an ultra-low-fat grain based diet in the belief that it was healthy. My daughter weighed over 300 pounds by age 16 and my son had severe ADHD. The mistake was not understanding that I was starving my children on a high-grain diet.
The answer to the obesity epidemic in both adults and children is to determine the carbohydrate tolerance of the individual. At least 2/3 of us have some degree of insulin resistance and can't handle the glut of carbohydrate in the American diet, even the diet that is promoted by health professionals and the food pyramid.
Feed your kids full-fat dairy (no skim milk, please and absolutely no fat-free, sweetened yogurt or cereals), eggs, unprocessed grass-fed beef, fish, poultry and lots of green veggies. Eliminate all processed food and especially foods that come in bags, boxes, and bottles. My kids eat that way now, and so do I, and we have reversed the ill effects of our previous folly.

[kimhoulian]

07:27 PM on 02/22/2011

Yep because as we know only fat people are on welfare. Too bad you couldn't offer any real solutions or facts.

[Rebecca P Cohen]

05:23 PM on 02/22/2011

I am pleased to say that I think the U.S. is on the cusp of a 15 Minutes Outside revolution, where families start with time outside every day as a way to be naturally active, grow closer as a family, and make better choices by growing their own food. Moms are starting to blog about it, and as a mom I made it my mission to help parents have a fun and rewarding tool to keep the whole family healthy. My book, 15 Minutes Outside: 365 Ways to Get Out of the House and Connect with Your Kids (Sourcebooks) is out March 1st and here is why I wrote it: http://www.vimeo.com/19606893

[The Revolving Diet]

04:57 PM on 02/22/2011

Increase salaries for the breadwinner of the family, ensuring one parent is home or if only one parent they can afford to spend more time with their children through more lenient vacation/leave from work options, lower taxes , lower overall costs so that parents are rushed and find themselves using cheap drive thru food places or having pasta everynight.

Offer FREE education on quick and healthy meals. Including shopping tips, make ahead ideas, etc.

[Jazmo]

04:00 PM on 02/22/2011

Better balanced eating and exercise? I mean, this isn't a complex formula.
And I'm going to be one of these middle-aged people (my kids are grown) who says that yes, satellite/cable tv and video games have impacted children and weight issues. I just don't see kids going outside and socializing and playing like they used to.

[thebearschick]

03:06 PM on 02/22/2011

Buy them bikes instead of Ipads

[steve12]

12:03 AM on 02/23/2011

and then stop driving kids to school

[Frank Bourne]

01:54 PM on 02/22/2011

Stop buying junk food and rouse them off the couch. I tell my kids to get out of the house all the time. I don't care where you go or what you do. Just get outside. An added benefit is they go to bed early. They're exhausted.