Getting Smacked Around
This exercise works best when goals are clearly defined and when a support system is in place. Reach out to your family, co-workers, loved ones and friends for moral support.
Childhood Obesity: Causes
When I was a kid, eating out was a treat. My widowed mother worked hard to make ends meet. We didn't have a great deal of disposable income and there was no such thing as an allowance but we splurged on dinner at the local McDonald's a few times a month. She made dinner on most other nights and although her home-cooked meals were not always the healthiest, they were always balanced. We were never hungry.
I had a hearty appetite and loved to eat as a child. White bread, cheese, bacon, butter, fried foods, Doritos, Crunchies, ketchup and excessive amounts of sugar were every-day staples for me for quite some time. My saving grace for not becoming overweight as a young child was lots of physical activity. I took recess and gym while in school and rode my bike, played kick-ball or bounced on my pogo stick after school. Admittedly, I watched too much television at night but it all seemed to balance out; at least until I hit my late teens. Eventually, I became more sedentary and continued to eat too much of the wrong foods. I put on weight and developed high cholesterol by the time I was in my late teens/early twenties.
Most of our children are obese because they're eating too much of the wrong foods and are not getting enough exercise. At the core of the matter are issues like accessibility, affordability and culture. Kids have unprecedented access to fast food and junk food while the availability of healthier food options, whole foods, fruits and vegetables is limited, especially in low-income and urban neighborhoods.
Therefore, it comes as no surprise to me that low-income black and Hispanic children have higher rates of obesity than children of other ethnic groups.
Research done at the University of Washington a few years ago found that calorie for calorie, junk foods cost less than fruits and vegetables. "If you have $3 to feed yourself, you are going to gravitate toward foods which give you the most calories per dollar…Not only are the empty calories cheaper, but healthy foods are becoming more and more expensive. Vegetables and fruits are rapidly becoming luxury good," said Dr, Adam Drewnowski, lead research author.
I agree. After all, Whole Foods (WFs) wasn't nicknamed "Whole Paycheck" for nothing. And it's not just WFs, organic fruit and vegetables, free-range and grass-fed meats, non-genetically modified foods, wild-caught fish, and foods free of high fructose corn syrup, antibiotics, growth hormones, artificial sweeteners and preservatives are more expensive where ever you can find them.
Grassroots efforts like community gardens, farmers markets and food co-ops are a few great ways to make fruits and vegetables more accessible in communities with poor access (food deserts). More important however, we must focus on family-centered education. Kids are being exposed to information while in school but their parents and caregivers need a steady stream of information that is useful, realistic and relevant.
