Healthier Snacks and More Activity Make for Healthier Children

The week of August 10 is Healthy Back to School Week at DietsInReview.com.

Guest blogger Jill Knapp from “Get up and Get Moving” has some wonderful tips to get your kids eating right and exercising to prevent obesity and other health risks. Jill is from Idaho, where she lost 100 pounds after being diagnosed with gestational diabetes. Today, she manages her diabetes with diet and exercise and without medication.

Childhood obesity is one of our nation’s leading health threats. Today about 25 million kids (ages 2-19) in the United States are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. That’s nearly one of every three kids. Overweight kids are more likely to become overweight adults.

You can’t lose by using this rule in your family life: Get in one hour or more of physical activity each day!  The wonderful news is that your kids’ 60 minutes of exercise does not need to happen at once. You just need to help them get active 10 or 15 minutes at a time, a few times a day.

Naturally, the best way to get your kids moving is to get up and go with them. You too can gain the health benefits from being active.

Here are a few ideas to help get your kids moving.

Chores and More:
Get your house in shape: Not only will they score points with you, but vacuuming, doing dishes or cleaning their bedrooms can also get your kids’ hearts pumping.

Get Out There
Go green! (Thumb, that is.) When it’s warm outside, gardening or mowing the lawn are wonderful forms of activity.

Get them Eating Right
What you keep healthy food in your pantry and refrigerator they will eat it. So fill them with healthy foods.  Cut up vegetables, fruit, and keep yogurt and string cheese on hand for other healthy snack choices.

It’s important to take the time to teach your kids about how important it is to eat right. Sending them to school with a healthy lunch is the way to go. If you choose to let them eat them at school, encourage them to grab from the veggie bar and to choose healthy drinks. Schools are getting better at serving healthier foods. It’s up to us as parents to teach our children to be active and eat right.

To really get your kids participating in their own health, have them make a pledge to become more active.   It just takes a few minutes, but the commitment they make to you and themselves will go a long way.