Food Restriction: Yay or Nay?

This week I reached out to the parents of the community via Facebook to see what issues are affecting families these days.  One reply that I received wanted to know about food restriction. This reader wanted to know if they should restrict food with their child to help with weight loss.

I want to start off by saying that in no way do I want children starving.  They are growing bodies and the future of our world.  However, the majority of today’s children are overfed and undernourished.  Many portion sizes are at least double of what they should be, stripped of nutritional value and over processed.  With low quality food choices, you definitely want to keep an eye on the portion sizes of your child’s plate.  I don’t recommend that you constantly tell your child “you are eating too much” or “don’t eat that.”  That’s like telling someone not to think of chocolate cake and then that’s the only thing they can think about.  If you constantly tell them those things then you will be counter-productive with this issue.  Make sure that you are providing food options with a high nutrient to low calorie ratio.  This is going to be fresh produce such as fruits, vegetables, and berries.  If the quality is good, then you don’t have to pay attention to portion sizes as much.   

·         TIP - Try cutting up an assortment of fresh vegetables and placing them in different compartments of a muffin baking pan.  Also, place an assortment of fruits and berries in some of these compartments.  Place on the kitchen counter or coffee table and let your child graze on these food items.  You have provided a variety of good food choices with little effort for your child.    

To keep both children and adults from being tempted into bad food choices, don’t keep tempting food items in the pantry.  If it’s not available, then you will be less likely to eat it.  Everyone is going to eat out of convenience.  If there are cookies in the pantry, then you might bypass the apples sitting on the kitchen counter.  Basically, if you keep bad food items out of the pantry then you won’t end up treating your child’s stomach like a garbage can.    

Summertime Strengthening and Conditioning

Now that summertime has arrived, it’s time to make sure that children get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather.  An issue that is facing today’s young people is physical inactivity.  It is recommended that 60 minutes of physical activity be performed every single day, but most children don’t meet this recommendation.  In the United States, 17% of children are obese; this percentage being affected greatly by lack of movement throughout the day. The 60 minutes should involve activities such as running or fast walking, which stress the cardiovascular system.  Push-ups and air squats should be included to help with muscle strengthening and metabolic assistance.  And jumping rope is a good activity to help strengthen bones.

Relays and games are a good way to incorporate physical activity with a group in a fun manner.  The following are a couple of examples that require an even number of participants split into two groups.

·         Cones Up & Cones Down – Group 1 will be Cones Up.  Group 2 will be Cones Down.  For every 4 people, there should be 10 sports cones.   Take 10 cones and spread out in an open area.  Place 5 of the cones standing up and 5 of the cones lying down.  Start a timer for 2 minutes.  Group 1 will be responsible for running around and standing up all of the cones that are lying down.  Group 2 will be responsible for running around and knocking down all of the cones that are standing up. At the end of the 2 minutes, the group that has the most cones in their favor wins!

·         Tennis Ball Trot – Each group will line up in a single line.  There will be one tennis ball placed on a ground marker approximately 10 yards in front of each group.  When the relay begins, the first person in each line will run and pick up the tennis ball and bring it back to the second person in the line.  The second person will then run and place the tennis ball back on the ground marker.  That process equals 1 round.  The team that completes 10 rounds first wins! 

The Sugar Situation

            These days it doesn’t matter if you are watching television, shopping at the grocery store, or eating at a restaurant, you are going to be exposed to sugar.  Increased sugar consumption can lead to obesity, therefore, increasing the likelihood of conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and asthma.  More than one-third of American children and adolescents are obese.  According to a report by the CDC, 16.3 percent of boys’ caloric intake and 15.5 percent of girls’ caloric intake is from sugar.  And of these percentages, foods provided 59 percent of added-sugar calories while beverages provided 41 percent.  The school systems often get the blame, but it was found that most added sugar calories came at home. 

A few tips to help change the amount of sugar intake is to replace snacks of cookies and chips with fresh fruits and vegetables. Also, replacing sports drinks and soft drinks with water will be much better.  Sports drinks are often used to replenish electrolytes.  Compare a medium banana, which has 450mg of potassium, to a popular sports drink that provides 30mg per 8-ounce serving.  Be sensible about sugar.  Think natural instead of processed.