Teaching_Healthy_Eating

Teaching Healthy Eating Janie Smith Com220 Teaching Our Children Healthy Eating Teaching healthy eating to children at an early age will prevent obesity and other health conditions later in life. Millions of people in the United States are obese, suffer from diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, heart disease and stroke because they are overweight and in some cases they die from these conditions according to the American Heart Association (2010). The reality of this epidemic is unless parents start teaching children how to eat healthy then these conditions will affect them later in life. My question is “How can we help our children if we are the one’s hurting them by not teaching them how to eat healthy'” It is a scientific fact that children need more calories than we do as adults because they have more energy than we do. The proper nutrition for children is as follows: children are to eat six to 11 servings of bread, cereal, rice, and pasta; three to five servings of vegetables; two to four servings of fruit; two to three servings of milk, yogurt, and cheese; two to three servings of meat, poultry, fish, dry beans, eggs, and nuts according to Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits (2009). Parent’s need to limit the amount of fats, oils, or sweets he or she feed his or her children according to Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits (2009). Many parents make the mistake of feeding their children what they want, instead of what they need. Children should only eat the proper nutrients for their body’s sustainability. Parents can find fun ways of teaching their children healthy ways to eat snacks. For example, Peanut butter celery sticks, cheese, and tuna with crackers all make good snacks. Parents can try a few tricks to help their children eat new foods. A parent can use immunity to help his or her children eat healthier foods by telling him or her if he or she try eating new foods, he or she do not have to eat it again. According to Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits (2009) if our children love sweeter foods we can give them such foods as mandarin oranges, cherries, strawberries, and tomatoes instead of chocolate and other sweet foods, which are no good for them. Parents can also mix it up a little by mixing the sweet foods with some not so sweet foods, like Brussels sprouts, or broccoli according to Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits (2009). Most children enjoy fast food restaurants like Taco Bell, KFC, McDonald’s, Burger King, and Dominos; parents can make these same foods at home for hundreds of dollars less. Making these foods at home with children is a big way of spending time with them while learning personal information about his or her lives. Cooking tacos at home is fun because one is using fresh foods like lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, sour cream, cheese, ground beef, and refried beans. Parents should include their children in the cooking and grocery shopping process; if parents will allow their children to help prepare the meals they will receive more enjoyment out of their children. A high school in New York performed an obesity study by the school nurse who indicated that majority of the school students were overweight. To address the healthy eating solutions, the Superintendent, high school Nurse and the Assistant Superintendent decided on a specific course of action. The idea of sustaining a balance in metabolism to permit sustained concentration and endurance for student achievement in the physical and the academic areas is the heart of the purpose according to Improving Child Nutrition (n.d). Demographics- Student population-4,200 Pre-K-12, at four elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school 61%-Hispanic 35.4% -Black 2% -White 1.1-Asian .3%- Multiracial .2%- American Indian or Alaskan Native Free and Reduced Lunch-84% District Attendance-94% Graduation Rate-91% of which 80% is New York State Regents Diplomas The district employs 43 people in their Nutrition Program Daily Breakfast served has increased from 985 to 1,240. According to Improving Child Nutrition (2009) overweight and obesity, even among our children, have reached epidemic levels in America, raising the specter that our children will not live as long as their parents have. Compounding these problems is a health care system that is ill-equipped to prevent disease. We must reorient our health care system so that it focuses on preventing diet-related illnesses and promoting good nutrition and wellness according to Improving Child Nutrition (2009). We must start early. The WIC Program has long been one of our nation’s most effective public health programs and has proven itself time and time again. Our childcare settings also present us with a unique and often overlooked opportunity to reach children before he or she enter kindergarten and expose him or her to the correct kind of foods and eating habits according to Improving Child Nutrition (2009). Therefore, according to Improving Child Nutrition (2009) some school districts are working within their current budget and still going the extra mile for their kids by creating a nutritional environment that teaches kids the importance of eating healthy, provides more healthful meals for them to eat, and encourages healthy living by requiring regular physical education and activity. According to Improving Child Nutrition (2009) a significant investment in the child nutrition reauthorization by Congress would be its own down payment on comprehensive health care reform that would acknowledge the budget difficulties those school districts, daycare centers and other providers face while also ensuring that children are receiving the most balanced, nutritious meals possible. President Obama set the soft-drink industry fizzing recently when he mentioned the possibility of a “soda tax” on sweetened beverages as a way of combating America’s obesity crisis according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009). I agree with President Obama, I believe that if they tax the soda industry we will see fewer children buying sodas. Let us face it sodas have way too much sugar added, which causes children to gain the unwanted pounds, makes them too hyper for teachers to do with, and then causes them to sleep when they crash from the sugar hype. According to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009) sure, a tax on sugary beverages seems unfair, especially to lower-income Americans who spend a larger percentage of their money on sugary drinks and snacks. Many iced teas, energy drinks, chocolate drinks, fruit punches and even vitamin waters are sweet; and why should soda lovers pay a penalty while Twinkie eaters escape blameless (at least until their first heart attack)' On the other hand, according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009) something must be done. The prevalence of obesity among America’s children has roughly in the past 30 years, and the health burden that we are foisting upon our children as a result is horrific according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009). One in three children received a diagnosis of diabetes in 2009; the effects of diabetes include blindness, amputation, coma, and death according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009).This is not the children’s doing—it is ours. We owe it to them to find a solution according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009). Diabetes is a disease linked with obesity, and the main contributors to our rising obesity rate are twofold: Food manufacturers have increased portion sizes, and they have filled many of our favorite foods with empty calories, often with additives like high-fructose corn syrup rose more than 1,000% per person, paralleling our skyrocketing rates of obesity according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009). According to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009) they have proposed something different: a calorie-added tax. Like the gas-guzzler tax, the calorie-added tax (CAT) kicks in whenever a good is made with high-fructose corn syrup—a derivative of corn that is many times sweeter than cane sugar. The corn syrup is used in so many products—from ketchup to soda to bread to candy to yogurt to cereal to Tater Tots—because it is so cheap. And it is so cheap because American taxpayers subsidize industrial corn growers, to the tune of nearly $5 billion a year (Imagine how much we could do for our roads, bridges, schools, and returning war veterans with that money) according to Fight obesity by taxing calories (2009). If we, do not do something about this problem and do something fast we will not be able to stop our children from becoming diabetics earlier and earlier in life. According to Promoting Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Obesity and Unhealthy Weight Control in Our Youth (2009) there are two types of diabetes that would most likely affect our children. Latent Autoimmune Diabetes of Adulthood, once known as (Juvenile Diabetes) can generally be diagnosed before age 20. Maturity-Onset Diabetes of the Young (MODY) is the second type of diabetes; it is caused by a genetic abnormality and can be detected as early as a teen. Type II Diabetes is capable of being controlled through a special diet and exercise, but there is no cure for this disease. The mark in the picture below is a sign of Type II Diabetes. Type II Diabetes can only go away with the help of dieting, exercise, and bariatric surgery according to Promoting Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Obesity and Unhealthy Weight Control in Our Youth (2009). {draw:frame} This velvety light brown to black mark is usually found on the back of the neck, under the arms, or in the groin according to Promoting Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Obesity and Unhealthy Weight Control in Our Youth (2009). Type II Diabetes is not the only disease that children can develop in life that is an effect of being overweight. They can develop an enlarged heart, which would affect either the atria or the ventricles. If it affects the ventricles, then dieting and exercise would not allow it to shrink. However, according to 9 Types of Diseases Caused by Obesity (2006-2007) with the help of dieting ones heart will shrink only if it is their atria. If an overweight person loses weight and his or her heart does not become small it is because the ventricles stretched so the heart will remain enlarged. No one knows why this happens so unless one has an enlarged ventricle then when he or she lose weight his or her heart will become normal again. {draw:frame} According to 9 Types of Diseases Caused by Obesity (2006-2007) This is an example of what an enlarged heart looks like through both the atria and the ventricles. Another disease or health issue that would affect our female children is Fibroid Uterus. Fibroid Uterus is a physical or emotional problem that interferes with the normal menstrual cycle, causing pain, unusually heavy or light bleeding, delayed menarche, or missed periods according to Promoting Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Obesity and Unhealthy Weight Control in Our Youth (2009). {draw:frame} Another problem that can occur in children is psychological problems like depression, self- esteem issues, or Body Dimorphic Disorder. Depression can occur for many different reasons including low self-esteem, thinking one is less of a person because he or she are overweight, and Body Dysmorphic Disorder. According to Phillips, M.D. and Menard, B.A. (2006) 57.8% of the people with Body Dysmorphic Disorder a year try to commit suicide; 2.6% attempted suicide per year. Preventing these diseases are possible as long as parents are willing to teach his or her children the importance of eating a well-balanced meal three times a day. These diseases are a cycle of abuse when we do not teach our children the importance of eating healthy. Being parents we have the obligation to our children to keep them from developing these problems later in life. If we, do not teach our children how food can be harmful we, are asking for trouble. Even though there are many health conditions children can develop that would affect their lives as they grow older. Teaching them healthy eating habits in the beginning of life will prevent these conditions and even save their lives. The earlier in life children learn to eat healthy and exercise for one hour each day, the less likely they will have to face undergoing weight loss surgeries or tons of unwanted medications later in life according to Pediatrics (2010). Reference Teaching Our Kids Healthy Eating Habits. (2009). Retrieved January 28, 2010, from http://health.more4kids.info/2009/08/teaching-our-kids-healthy-eating-habits/ Mary A., L., Assistant, S., & Westbury, U. (n.d). Improving Child Nutrition. FDCH Congressional Testimony, Retrieved from MasterFILE Premier database. Zinczenko, David. “Fight obesity by taxing calories.” USA 14 Oct. 2009: 9A. General OneFile. Web. 5 Feb. 2010. http://find.galegroup.com/gtx/start.do'prodid=ITOF&userGroupName=apoll o Promoting Healthy Behaviors to Prevent Obesity and Unhealthy Weight in Control in Our Youth (2009) Retrieved January 28, 2010, from http://apa.org/pi/cyf/prevent-obesity.html 9 Types of Diseases Caused By Obesity. (2006-2007). Retrieved January 28, 2010, from, http://odyb.net/physical-health/9-types-of-diseases-caused-by-obesity/