Health Alert 300
A new study shows that many children already have the early symptoms of diabetes and heart disease. A lack of good food and exercise is threatening their future.
Today, I’ll share a few simple ways to help your kids avoid these illnesses and grow into healthy adults.
I am beginning to see diseases in children not considered childhood problems ten to fifteen years ago.
Dr. Katrina DuBose talked about her study of schoolchildren at a recent conference. The kids ranged in age from seven to nine. She found that many had multiple symptoms of metabolic syndrome.(1)
This syndrome carries a very high risk for obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
Dr. DuBose looked for five indicators:
- High blood pressure.
- Abdominal obesity.
- High triglycerides.
- Low HDL cholesterol, (the good kind of cholesterol).
- Elevated Blood sugar.
The results were sobering: 45% of the children had at least two of these markers. High blood pressure was the most common single marker – a surprising 37%.
Without a change of lifestyle, these kids are very likely to develop diabetes or heart disease when they reach adulthood.
When it comes to helping your kids choose the right foods, I suggest two simple rules:
- Eat the natural foods you naturally like. This means real food that tastes good to you and your child. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy products are all good choices.
- Eat natural foods that occur in their natural form. You can let them indulge in naturally sweet foods like berries or snack on nuts. These are both great alternatives to sugar-filled desserts or potato chips.
Notice that I put the emphasis on natural foods that taste good to the child. Now, of course, children will also like all kinds of unnatural man-made syrupy junk. But you don’t have to buy this stuff. Keep processed foods away from children.
The foods that put kids in real danger are things like sodas, breakfast cereals, candy and artificially flavored fruit juices. Low fat and sugar free is usually just as bad. Real natural food doesn’t come with labels. I believe diet sodas are very bad for children.
One more thing: Television is not evil. The right programs can expand your child’s experiences. But how much TV does your child watch? Too much television keeps children from being physically active. A recent study by Robert Steele, MD found that most kids spend more time watching TV than anything except sleeping.(2)
Limit their time with TV and help set programming choices. Start by taking them outdoors. Once kids get outside, they’ll remember how to be kids.
To Your Good Health,
Al Sears, MD
(1) DuBose K. Insulin Resistance in 5% of Youngsters. American College of Sports Medicine Annual Meeting. July 2005.
(2) Steele R. Do Our Kids Watch Too Much TV? www.parenting.ivillage.com