Tips for parents for a healthy diet at home:
- Encourage a healthy well-balanced diet.
- Starchy foods like whole wheat bread, potatoes, and whole wheat pasta are both filling and nutritious.
- Offer fresh fruit or vegetables for a snack instead of chips or cookies.
- Cut out fat by grilling or baking foods instead of frying them.
- Avoid soda and juices that are high in sugar. Encourage water or skim milk as an alternative.
- It is important to start the day off with breakfast. Low-sugar cereal with milk and a piece of fruit is a good alternative to sugary cereal or doughnuts.
- Offer dried or fresh fruit instead of sweets. For a healthier sweet, frozen yogurt is an alternative to ice cream.
- To achieve lasting effects, the whole family’s attitudes and habits towards food and exercise need to change.
- Try to set an example with your own eating habits
- Provide meals and snacks at regular times to prevent eating throughout the day.
- Do not let your child eat while watching TV or doing homework
- Do not make outing for fast food part of a weekly routine
- Try to get your child involved in preparing food to make them more aware of what they are eating
- Have your child chew their food more slowly because they will feel fuller more quickly and be less likely to overeat at mealtimes.
Common Health Issues
High blood pressure
About five of every hundred children have higher than normal blood pressure. Hypertension is even more common among Hispanic individuals than the rest of the United States population. In many cases, hypertension develops with age. As a result, your child may show no signs of high blood pressure now, but may develop the condition as an adult. Overweight teens are more prone to hypertension so it is important for you to stress good eating habits and physical activity to your child in high school and through the rest of their life.
High blood pressure can be controlled through dietary changes, medication or a combination of the two. If hypertension is allowed to continue or become worse over many years, the prolonged extra pressure can:
- cause heart failure
- put stress on blood vessels in the brain, causing them to burst, producing a stroke
- cause changes in blood vessel walls resulting in damage to the kidneys, eyes, and other organs
Any of the following symptoms may indicate high blood pressure:
- Headache
- Dizziness
- Shortness of breath
- Fatigue
Limiting salt in your child's diet can help reduce their blood pressure. Giving up the use of table salt and restricting salty foods can reverse mild hypertension and will help lower more serious blood pressure elevations. You will also have to be careful when shopping for packaged foods because most canned and processed foods contain a lot of salt, so check labels carefully to make sure the items have little or no salt added. Physical activity also helps regulate blood pressure and can reduce mild hypertension along with losing weight.
See the American Heart Association’s Web site for additional information on blood pressure
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is a lifelong disease that develops when the pancreas cannot make enough insulin or when the body’s tissues cannot use insulin properly. Insulin is a hormone that helps the body’s cells use sugar or glucose for energy. Insulin also helps the body store extra sugar in muscle, fat, and liver cells. Without insulin, the sugar stays in the blood instead of getting into the cells causing high blood sugar levels.
A person has diabetes when their blood sugar stays too high for an extended period of time. Over time, high blood sugar can cause problems with the eyes, heart, blood vessels, nerves, and kidneys. High blood sugar also makes a person more likely to get serious illnesses or infections.
Many children have no symptoms before they are diagnosed with type 2 diabetes.
When children do have symptoms the most common include:
- Slight increase in the frequency of urination
- Slight increase in thirst
- Increased tiredness
- Nausea
- Blurred vision
- Frequent infections and slow-healing wounds or sores
- Weight loss
Factors that affect the body's resistance to insulin in childhood include:
- Sex-Girls seem to develop more resistance to insulin than boys.
- Body composition-Insulin resistance increases as the amount of fat around the waist increases. Being overweight is the primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes in children.
- Activity-Exercise may improve how the body's cells use insulin and get the sugar they need.
- Race-Latino at higher risk than other races.
See the American Diabetes Association’s Web site for additional information on Type 2 Diabetes.
Obesity
Childhood obesity
Obesity is clinically diagnosed as being greater than the 90th percentile for weight for height or greater than or equal to the 95th percentile Body Mass Index (BMI) for a specific age and sex.
Effects of obesity
Obesity has been linked to heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Many risk factors associated with these diseases such as high cholesterol and blood pressure start in childhood. The risk of adult obesity is greater among children who have extreme levels of obesity. The age of onset, severity, and parental obesity are three factors that indicate that obese children are likely to become obese adults. Obesity in children can also have social psychological and emotional consequences. Obese children may feel isolated and lonely which can lead to self-esteem and identity problems.
Causes of obesity
- Genetics-Children with obese parents are more likely to be obese. Heredity contributes between 5-25% of the risk of obesity. The remaining risk is attributed to environmental and behavioral factors.
- Dietary Patterns-The total number of calories that children consume is more than the body needs. Restaurants are providing larger portion sizes and children are exercising less.
- Physical Activity-Children are spending less time being physically active.
Treatment
Lifestyles and behaviors are established early in life so it is important to get started now in encouraging your child’s good health. The primary goals in obesity management are reducing the number of calories your child consumes by following a well-balanced diet and increasing physical activity. Make sure your child eats breakfast. Children who skip breakfast may have difficulty in class and tend to snack and eat heavier meals later in the day.
See the Mayo Clinic’s Web site for additional information on Childhood Obesity
Health tips for students
To Lose Weight:
- Reduce the number of calories you consume by eating a well-balanced diet
- Do not skip breakfast. You may snack and eat heavier meals later in the day if you do
- Increase physical activity.
Try making healthy choices at school by:
- Not snacking from vending machines
- Picking foods at lunch that match your nutrition counseling advice
