Why Childhood Obesity is Your Problem Not Your Child's

This past week First Lady Michelle Obama kicked off the Let's Move initiative. This is a nationwide campaign to solve childhood obesity in a generation. It's such a great initiative because I know this affects many children. I've seen kids that are more than 100lbs and they are only 7 or 8.

Honestly, childhood obesity is a recent phenomenon. Our lives have become so hectic that for many of us it's extremely difficult for us, and our children consequently, to live a healthy lifestyle.

Let's think about it. In our childhood, there were many things that kept obesity at bay:

-We walked to and from school. Many children now ride buses.
-We had physical education in schools. This is usually the first to go with budget cuts.
-Parents cooked more homemade meals and fast food was a luxury. Now, fast food is the staple.
- Kids played outside until the street lights came on. Now, kids sit in the house and play video games or watch television until bed time.

So it's not surprising that obesity has become an issue and although it affects our children little of it is their fault. Childhood obesity is every bit as much about the parent as it is the kids. It's just the kids who suffer the effects. After all, kids don't decide what to serve for dinner, whether physical education will be taught in school, etc.

Here are some tips to ensure a healthier lifestyle for your kids:

1. Healthier lunches. Eliminate water and sugary snacks from your child's lunch. Replace it with water (try flavor water also), fruit and low fat snacks such as pretzels, yogurt, and raisins.

2. Afterschool snacks. Consider fruit, turkey subs and other low health options. One thing we've done in our house is to do a monthly fruit bazaar where we have white, chocolate and/or caramel dipping sauce where the kids can dip their fruit or pretzel snacks into it. This is a great way to make fruit fun for kids to eat. After all, we do need to make it fun for them.

3. Limit videogames and television to 30-1hr. a day. In the summer, it's easier to send kids out to play. In the winter, however, consider investing in board games and other events that get them moving like the Wii Fit. Also consider taking your kids to the gym with you or do a family walk at a mall.

4. School involvement. A few weeks ago, my children's school started a walking program where the kids walk around the school in groups. If your child's school doesn't have this or some similar, consider discussing it at the PTA or with the school principal.

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