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ADULTS – Health Management – Physically Active Kids
Weight Management for Kids
Some of our kids simply aren’t active enough and this is a major contributor to childhood obesity. If children are eating more food than their bodies can use, the excess calories will be stored as fat, and kids become overweight or obese as a result.
When kids are so inactive at such a young age without any reduction in calorie intake, the pounds will add up and over time, serious health issues with devasting outcomes can be realized.
Physical Activity & Exercise Critical
The risks to our kids are real and the consequences potentially severe, if we don’t proactively manage an increase in physical activity and exercise for the children in our family.
Parents as Teachers
As responsible parents, we need to hold ourselves accountable to ensure our children get the best out of life, including a healthy life. As adults, if we don’t know how to lead an active lifestyle, then we need to take the time to learn. Parents continue to be the primary teachers for their kids in all areas of life learning.
Benefits to Exercise
When kids are active, not only do they burn up more calories and strengthen their muscles, they also are less likely to eat during this active time. Fewer calories consumed and more calories burned during activity gives kids get a double benefit.
Since exercise is known to accelerate the metabolism, kids can burn up calories even at rest (assuming kids don’t “pig out” because they were just active).
As long as fruits and vegetables are readily available (cut, rinse, and store in easy to use containers for the busy week), kids who are more physically active will naturally tend to eat better. Perhaps, since kids feel better they want to eat better?
As the old saying goes “use it or lose it” is very appropriate for kids as well as adults. Not only is exercising muscles important for the body, research has shown it is also good for the brain. Another double dose of benefits!
And there is another old saying “a family that plays together, stays together”. Kids grow up so quickly and that “play time” can never be recovered. Why not have some active family fun together every day? It may take more of an effort, but it sure is worth it. As an added benefit, your kids will have fond memories of your fun, family time together.
Schedule Physical Activity & Exercise
Parents need to be deliberate in scheduling intentional exercise and physical activity for themselves and their children, much like scheduling errands or family events. Block off time each day (or as much as you can) for the family to be active and have some fun together. Leading an active lifeystyle needs to become a natural part of everyday living, much like brushing our hair and teeth every day.
No Excuses
If you say your family doesn’t have time to exercise, then ask yourself if your family has the time for deadly diseases which exercise is known to help reduce or prevent. Daily physical activity and exercise needs to become a permanent fixture for every member of the family. Even if you forget and fail to get your kids to engage in daily exercise and activity, try again. Be patient. Change takes time. You will persevere if you keep trying and don’t give up. You can do it - start today!
Ten Rules of Kids’ Fitness
A Men’s Health article posted on the website for ABCNews Health does a great job of summarizing ten important rules that parents can use to help make their kids more active. A list of the ten rules outlined in the article are as follows:
- Rule #1: Don’t Rely on Organized Sports
- Rule #2: Keep Play Fun
- Rule #3: Turn off the TV…
- Rule #4: …Unless You’re Playing Wii
- Rule #5: Never Reward Kids with Food
- Rule #6: Instruct by Showing, Not Telling
- Rule #7: Know When to Praise
- Rule #8: Make a Play Date with Friends
- Rule #9: But Don’t Compare Your Kids with Others
- Rule #10: Give Them Your Blessing
You can read the full article at Ten Rules of Kids’ Fitness.
What are your thoughts on increasing physical family activity and exercise?
ADULTS – Health Management – New Choose My Plate Graphic Replaces Pyramid
New My Plate Graphic
I don’t know about you, but I love this new easy-to-understand nutritional graphic from the government, which replaces the pyramid.
For each meal, your plate should have mostly vegetables, an even amount of grains and protein, some fruit, and a serving of dairy.
It is easy to picture this graphic in my mind, and the nutritional guidelines it offers, when I am choosing what to make for dinner, eating in a restaurant, or serving food on a plate.
Not On Plate
Of course, it doesn’t mean I am restricted from having food that is not represented on this plate. For example, it is okay to have sugar and fat from candy, a cookie, or a bar once in a while, but it shouldn’t be part of every meal.
Some people restrict the amount of sugar and fat they consume during the week, but allow themselves to have a treat or two on the weekends. For those people that love chocolate after a meal, small, individually wrapped pieces of chocolate candy work out well, such as those offered by Dove. Or the smaller portioned packages of candy that were typically offered only at Halloween time, but more readily available throughout the year now, work really well too.
With respect to cookies or bars, make smaller portions when you are baking, or break a cookie or bar into halves and have 1/2 at lunch and 1/2 at dinner.
Small Changes Add Up
Anything you can do to reduce the amount of sweet treats in your diet will really help your nutrition and body weight management in the end. Even small changes, repeated on a daily basis, can add up over time.
Everything in Moderation
If you do like sweets, it is important that you don’t try to completely restrict them from your diet, because then you will probably want them even more. Remember, everything in moderation!
Healthy Kids
While our own health is important, it is critical that we consider this ChooseMyPlate graphic when we are thinking about meals for our children or grandchildren. We want to ensure kids get their nutritional requirements for the day, and maintain a healthy weight. We also want to teach kids good eating habits that will start at a young age and last throughout their lifetimes.
Hopefully, following this nutritional guideline for most meals, we will give the kids in our family a better chance for a long, healthy and happy life.
What could be more important?
Click on the link at www.choosemyplate.com to learn more.
ADULTS – Health and Health Management Description
Definition of Health
The subject of health focuses on the physical, mental, and social well-being of an individual. Good health is usually associated with the absence of serious injury or illness, disease and pain.
Definition of Health Management
Health Management is the proactive management of an individual’s health at an early age as it relates to the human body, mind, and social well-being. The goal is to try and lead a healthy lifestyle while minimizing the risk of serious injury or illness, disease, and pain whenever possible.
Importance of Health Management
A healthy body, mind, and social well-being is critical for success and happiness at home, at school, and at work. If an individual is healthy, there is more time and energy that can be focused on maintaining positive relationships at home. At school, a healthy individual will tend to be more alert and have the energy and drive to focus on performing well in academic subjects. Also, feeling good may translate into a better mood and ultimately, better behavior at school. If an individual is sick, then the focus is on getting better, not on external relationships, academic performance, or individual behavior. As a child gets older and involved at work, a healthy body, mind, and social well-being is important to have the positive energy and stamina to work hard and the positive mental health and attitude to collaborate well with others for professional success.
Health Management Scope
The scope of this topic at Cognitra includes the following main areas:
- Eating healthy foods such as grains, nuts, fruits and vegetables.
- Trying to maintain a healthy weight appropriate for the height, age, sex, and body size of the individual.
- Losing weight to ensure body weight is within professional recommended weight ranges.
- Maintaining a healthy mental state including the proactive management of stress.
- Avoiding negative impacts on health such as addictions to food, nicotine, drugs and alcohol.
- Avoiding risky behaviors such as unprotected sex, lack of seatbelt use, and more.
- Ensuring body muscles are exercised and strengthened in a safe and consistent manner.
- Ensuring daily body maintenance and hygiene.
- Having many positive relationships in life, while minimizing negative relationships if possible.
- Making regular doctor and dentist appointments based on professional recommendations.
Health Management Learning Goal
The goal is to start out with very simple health management concepts when children are young and get more sophisticated as the age of the student progresses. Each lesson should build on the one before it. If we teach kids how to manage their own health when they are young, over time they should get much better at managing their health, which in turn, should ultimately lead to more personal and professional success and happiness.