Is Your Child Overweight? Try Focusing on Healthier Eating

Childhood obesity is on the rise, according to a study done by the Journal of the American Medical Association, and has more than doubled in the past 30 years. Obese youth are more at risk to develop health issues like cardiovascular disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure. In a population-based sample of youth ages 5 through 17, 70 percent of obese youth had at least one risk factor for developing cardiovascular disease, according to the Journal of Pediatrics.

Eating healthier can be the biggest preventative step against fighting childhood obesity. However, getting your child to eat healthy foods can be a big challenge. Forcing or tricking your children to eat fruits and vegetables may seem like a good idea at first, but educating them on healthy eating can promote longer-lasting eating habits. Health Advocate offers the following tips to help get your child on track to a healthier lifestyle.

·         Make meals fun. Spend time creating menus with your kids. Shop for the food and prepare it together. Have your kids take care of some of the easier steps, like washing fruits and vegetables, shredding lettuce with their hands, shucking corn, or snapping string beans. Try to engage your kids in the whole meal preparation.

·         Grow a garden. Plant a garden this summer. Choose from a variety of colorful fruits and vegetables, like tomatoes, strawberries, peppers and cucumbers. If kids can watch what they planted grow, they may be more likely to be interested in, and willing to accept, these foods.

·         Take a trip. A simple online search can help you locate organic farms in your area that grow produce and will take you and your family on a tour of their fields, allowing everyone to pick fresh fruits and vegetables. Go for apple picking in the fall, or blueberry and peach picking in the summer. You can also bring the kids to your local farmer’s market to have them help you choose fresh fruits and vegetables. Then take your fresh produce home and prepare a nice treat together!

·         Check out recipes. Go to the library or a bookstore and look for some kid-friendly cookbooks. Let your kids choose recipes they would like to make. Have them write the list of ingredients needed, accompany you to the grocery store to buy the ingredients, and then make the recipe together.

Talk to your child’s pediatrician about more ways to get them to eat healthier foods. Don’t have a pediatrician? If you’re a Health Advocate member, call us today to speak to a Personal Health Advocate who can help you locate one. Some Health Advocate members may also have access to our Wellness Coaching service—if this is one of your Health Advocate benefits, you can also speak with one of our Wellness Coaches, who can help you and your family reach healthy goals such as improving your diet or increasing your fruit and vegetable intake.

Not a Health Advocate member?  Check out these websites to help you get your kids eating healthier food:

Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) – Educates people on the health benefits of adding more fruits and vegetables to your diet. www.pbhfoundation.org

http://www.foodchamps.org– This site offers fun games for kids of all ages about eating healthy.

http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/main-recipes- This site offers a database of over 1,000 healthy recipes that involve fruits and vegetables.

Simple steps to keep kids’ smiles healthy

Creating a child's healthy smile begins in infancy.  Creating habits that help a child maintain their healthy smile can have lifelong benefits.  The Center for Disease Control and Prevention has created the following set of pediatric oral health tips to help you get your child establishing the kind of habits that promote healthy smiles.

• Start cleaning teeth early.  As soon as your child's first tooth appears, begin cleaning it every day by wiping it with a clean, damp cloth.  Once more teeth come in, switch to a small, soft toothbrush.  Start using toothpaste with fluoride when the child is 2 years old, or earlier if your dentist or doctor recommend it.


• Use the proper amount of fluoride toothpaste.  Fluoride is very helpful when it comes to fighting cavities, but you'll need to be careful when using it when a child under the age of 6 uses it--if the child swallows too much fluoride, their permanent teeth could have white spots.  To help prevent this, make sure your child uses only a small amount of toothpaste--a pea-sized amount is ideal.  Teach your child to thoroughly spit out the toothpaste and rinse well after brushing their teeth.


• Supervise teeth-brushing time.  For children who aren't yet able to brush their own teeth, it's recommended that you brush your child's teeth twice a day.  Once the child can handle brushing their own teeth, closely watch them while they brush to ensure that the child is brushing thoroughly and using only a small amount of toothpaste.


• Talk to your child's doctor or dentist.  Check with these health care professionals about your child's specific fluoride needs.  After age 2, most children get the amount of fluoride they need from drinking water that contains fluoride and by using pea-sized amounts of fluoride toothpaste when they brush their teeth.  If your drinking water does not contain enough fluoride, talk to your doctor to see if there's a fluoride supplement that could benefit your child.  Also, don't let a child under the age of 6 use a fluoride mouthwash unless your doctor or dentist recommends it.

Early care for your child's oral health can result in the formation of good health habits and have lasting healthy effects for years to come.   But the best and most targeted oral care advice should come from a licensed dentist.  If you and/or your child don't currently have a dentist, reach out to a patient advocacy service like Health Advocate or Health Proponent--they can help you find a provider that meets your needs.