President Obama Declares September to be National Child Obesity Awareness Month

Posted by Lilian on September 7, 2010

fit, fat, obesity, overweight, childhood obesity awareness month

Currently in America, two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children are overweight or obese. The prevalence of obesity more than doubled among American adults and tripled among American children and adolescents from 1980 to 2004. If the obesity epidemic is not turned around, medical experts warn that our children may lead shorter lives than their parents. In February 2009, the First Lady, Michelle Obama, initiated the Let's Move Campaign in order to control the obesity epidemic. The campaign engages all sectors that have an impact on children’s health by providing schools, families and communities simple tools to help kids and families eat better, become more active, and get healthy. You can learn more about Lets Move at:  www.letsmove.gov  

Now that President Obama has declared September to be National Child Obesity Awareness Month it's time for us to ask ourselves these questions:
 
  • Are the children in our lives eating well and staying active?
  • What are they eating for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks?
  • How much activity are they getting each day? Do they spend their free time running around playing with friends, or sitting in front of the television set?
You may want to review the healthy eating recommendations in Chapter 5 of SAVOR - Mindful Eating, Mindful Life and see what can be improved in your children's eating routine. You may also want to review the mindful moving recommendations in Chapter 6.
 
Removing the T.V. from children’s bedrooms (and from adult bedrooms, too!) is another way that you can help lessen the influence of food advertising on all of our eating habits. It can also help us cut back on the amount of time we spend watching T.V. – an important change, since television watching is a known risk factor for obesity in children and adults. Small changes can make a big, big difference, for children and for the whole family.
 
Photo by Michal Marco from freedigitalphotos.net
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Comments

Submitted by Melanie Lane MD on Thu, 2010-09-09 18:14

What has been really fantastic for our daughter is kung fu. Not only is it excellent exercise, it helps her deal with her feelings in a healthy way. (instead of mindlessly eating in front of the TV) Additionally, she is learning self discipline, respect, and responsibility. I have heard similar stories from other parents at our kung fu school and from parents whose children attend other martial arts academies as well.

Submitted by Guest on Wed, 2010-09-29 17:49

thanks for the info it will surely can help me a lot
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Submitted by Mmope on Tue, 2012-05-01 00:30

Uneblievable how well-written and informative this was.