the childhood obesity epidemic, we have to work together as a society including healthcare professionals, schools, government, religious organizations, neighborhoods and families.”
Childhood obesity is running rampant throughout the U.S. Over the past thirty years, the problem has grown by leaps and bounds with approximately one-third of America’s children now falling into the overweight or obese categories. In addition, Businessweek.com recently completed a study that ranked Indiana at number 15 of the top twenty laziest states, stating that Hoosier residents spend slightly more time engaged in sedentary activities than the average American. The consequences of this sedentary lifestyle can include high cholesterol, edema, diabetes, skin darkening (called acanthosis, it is due to an insulin resistance and inability to metabolize sugars), heart problems, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and depression. The growing problem can be attributed to many different behavioral and environmental causes combining to create an epidemic. Growing dependence on and accessibility to technology (one recent survey found that four out of five American teens—nearly 17 million—carry a wireless device, a 40% increase since 2004), and busy lifestyles requiring fast and easy meals and less time for family activities are just part of the problem. “It is a result of many factors,” says Lori Walton, Pediatric Weight Management Coordinator for the Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital L.I.F.E. for Kids program at St. Vincent. “Eating out more often, increased portion sizes, increased availability and marketing of processed “empty calorie” foods, decreased activity due to less gym and recess now offered at schools, increased technology resulting in less manual labor and excess T.V., computer and video game time, both parents working resulting in kids home alone and less time to prepare healthy meals, etc. In order to truly impact 50 INDY’S CHILD * SEPTEMBER 2010
Eating healthy is one of the top two methods of weight control (besides exercise). Take a little time to plan out meals with your children and ask for their input. Visit Web sites that specialize in healthy meal ideas like www.foodnetwork.com, www. eatingwell.com, recipes.kaboose.com, etc. Pick up books at your local library that recommend healthy, kid-friendly recipes such as Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food by Jessica Seinfeld, The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: 101 All-New Recipes and "Sneaky" Tricks for Creating Healthy Meals Kids Will Love by Missy Chase Lapine. One of the best ways to enhance your child’s palette for healthy and delicious foods is to scrap the staples of chicken nuggets, hot dogs and mac and cheese and help them head for greener pastures by helping them start a garden of their own and plan meals together. Why not create a “pizza garden” with tomatoes, basil, peppers, oregano, etc. or perhaps a “purple garden” with eggplant, purple peppers, edible purple flowers, etc. Grab a Jr. Executive Chef ’s outfit from Aeromax (as seen on our cover) (http://www.aeromaxtoys.com/Jr.%20Executive%20Chef. html) and let them help you whisk, mix, shake, chop and bake along with you. Making healthy food fun is the name of the game. In an effort to combat the problem on the school level, Peyton Manning Children’s Hospital at St. Vincent has developed the Project 18 Statewide School Health and Wellness Challenge. Designed in partnership with Marsh Supermarkets and Ball State University, the program is designed to “help kids and their families set goals, eat smarter and get active” by involving parents and educators. The project, which is named after Manning’s football jersey number, provides Indiana elementary schools with an 18-week health and wellness curriculum
designed to address the major risk behaviors in third-grade to fifth-grade students. Approximately 250 registered schools within 60 Indiana counties participated in the project last year and applications are now being taken to participate in this year’s challenge. For more information, visit the project website at project18.stvincent.org or call 317-338-KIDS (5437). It’s been said that it takes a community to raise a child, and while there may be problems with community schools such as highly processed lunches and fewer physical education offerings, the fact of the matter is, good habits begin at home and parents need to step up and set a healthy example for their children. “It’s easy to blame the schools,” says Dr. Sandeep Gupta, Professor of Clinical Pediatrics and Clinical Medicine at Riley Hospital for Children and Director of the Riley POWER (Pediatric OverWeight Education and Research) Program. “But in reality, children are only in school for onethird of the time. Schools are awakening to the issues and beginning to try harder. But a lot more can be done at home.” Yet how do you motivate your child to get up and get moving? According to Dr. Gupta, it is not about putting children on a strict diet and enforcing rules. It’s about being an advocate for a healthy lifestyle and setting an example. “Parents have to buy in for young kids, and adolescents have to buy in for themselves,” he says. “Emphasize a positive reinforcement system such as non-food