The Unhealthy American Home
In a recent survey sponsored by the YMCA, 9 out of 10 parents of children aged 5 to 10 rated themselves as good or excellent at providing a healthy home environment. But there’s something amiss: while 89% of parents think they are providing the right tools for their kids to lead a healthy life, fully one-third of children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. What gives? A closer look at the responses to the poll may help illuminate where parents commonly make health-related mistakes.
For starters, physical health ranks relatively low on many parents’ list of priorities: 42% of the 1,630 parents polled said their main concern was their children’s financial security, not their cardiovascular or weight-related health. Moral and ethical values and education also won out over physical fitness and well-being.
The economic downturn also plays a role at home, with 38% of parents saying that extracurricular activities were too expensive to afford. And many parents (42%) said they found it difficult to battle the pull of the electronic devices like computers and cell phones they provided their kids, which encourage sedentary leisure time.
Too Much Junk Food
What happened to the concept of sweet treats only on special occasions? According to the survey, 62% of parents reported that their children ate junk food one to four days per week.
That finding supports recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which found that nearly 40% of the total calories consumed by 2-to-18-year-olds were “empty” — devoid of nutrients and derived from fat and sugar. Nearly 10% of American kids’ calorie intake came exclusively from sugary sodas and fruit drinks.
But if parents are more concerned about their kids’ education than their weight, they may consider this: A 2010 study found that toddlers who ate junky high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie diets at age 3 had lower IQs by age 8, compared with kids raised on healthful, whole foods.
Too Much TV
Not only did nearly half of parents surveyed report letting their children watch more than two hours of TV daily, 74% admitted that they spent “family time” doing sedentary things — like watching TV. That’s bonding time that could be better spent on a hike or a walk in the local park. If indoor activities are more to your liking, however, how about a family game of Dance Dance Revolution?
No Time Outside
About 84% of the survey respondents said their children do not play outside daily. Further, 74% of respondents said their kids don’t meet the federal government’s minimum recommendations of one hour of aerobic activity each day. Not only does the lack of physical exercise raise the risk of overweight, obesity and related diseases, it may also take a behavioral toll: a 2009 study of 11,000 children aged 8-9 found that kids who got just 15 mins. of outdoor play a day, in the form of recess. displayed better behavior and impulse control during class hours. Not every family lives in a neighborhood that allows for outdoor play, but there are plenty of ways to make indoor time more active — if only for a few minutes a day.
Too Few Fruits and Veggies
The federal government’s Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend that everyone consume at least five servings of fruits and veggies per day, but only 16% of parents said their children got that much in their daily diet. Junk food may be cheap and tasty, but it’s not leaving room in small tummies for the good stuff. So parents can try making easy substitutes for salty, sugary processed foods in kids’ diets: instead of potato chips at lunch or as a snack, try baby carrots with peanut butter; instead of a fruit roll-up, try fresh strawberries with a dusting of sugar. Kids will still get the flavors they want, but with a big helping of nutrition on the side.
No Active Family Time
An easy way to double quality family time with a workout is to turn off the TV and go for a walk — whether you’re just circling the block, window shopping or hiking the bluffs. Yet only 5% of the YMCA survey’s respondents said they went on a daily constitutional with their children; about 25% said they walked as a family less than once a week.
Source: TIME Healthland
Photo: STOCK4B VIA GETTY IMAGES
