I have recently come across a few articles and news reports that have to do with our diet, especially concerning how our diet effects our children.
This is my first of two posts which I plan on sharing (so stay tuned).
So what made the government to take drastic measures to make changes? Probably the stat that 1 of 5 children are now obese. 20% of our rising generation are overweight. (CBS News Report). I tried to get the video up on here, but had troubles. For those who haven't taken the time, it made some simple suggestions which comes down to more activity (including less TV/game time) and a better diet (including a smaller portion intake). It seems well intuitive, but I guess not. I think for the majority, we know we need to be more active and we need to eat better. Knowing is not quite the problem - but rather it's the being aware and DOING. And that's why I liked this video. For those who did take the time to watch, the father of two children mentioned one major change he made. I was waiting to hear that he got rid of sugar or candy or even juice. Instead, he got rid of baby bottles, which I think would also include sippy cups. I think this is one suggestion we should all think about when it comes to nutrition education. We know we should be eating better, but do we really know what we are eating. The idea behind getting rid of the baby bottles is that letting a child have his/her bottle all of the time means he is drinking all the time (and most of what kids are given these days are juice and milk which 99% are filled with sugar). We let our kids drink these bottles and aren't even aware of how much sugar they are really getting. Getting rid of the bottles and sippy cups forces the kids to drink from regular cups, which the kids drink less, and hopefully as shown in the video, allowing the child to fill their own cup hopefully to a more accessible water.
What I really wanted to look at is what has changed in our nutrition education. Meet the Food Plate, a new government project introduced as "My Plate". The title along with the picture makes it a little more personal, a little more appealing than a towering unconquerable pyramid. But what is the real difference? The major difference seen is that Vegetables have now taken over, rightly so. Grains have taken a step back, slightly. Fruits are about the same as proteins, and dairy has been limited, really outside the plate like more of an accessory than a primary food source. I don't know if they had any intentions here, putting dairy in a smaller portioned cup, but I think it fits well with the new founded evidence of the lack of nutritional value of Dairy. I kind of wish that fruits was a little bigger on the plate, but I really can't complain with this idea. It shows more that these food groups are about balance, instead of one being over the other. And the most noticeable difference probably a result from the obesity crisis is that there is no more room on this plate for sugars and fats. These things are in our common foods anyway - it's not a food group. About time they made that change.So what is on "Your" plate? I think now is better than ever to truly educate ourselves and change our diet appropriate to bring back our Health. But like a said - it's not an issue of knowing, it's about Doing. We now have a more updated and valid Food Plate - But what are we going to do with it? It can't make a difference until we choose to make a difference. Hopefully the stat of obese children will motivate and stir this decision in the right direction. It's sad how these children are facing such issues. It's more than just being overweight. These children will soon face diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and so many other conditions and the truth is- it's the parents that are giving it to them. We as parents need to do a better job. We are putting are children into this crisis, and it needs to change. It's time to take back our health. What's on your plate?
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