Just a month ago many of you made a resolution to eat healthier and exercise more. With the hassles of day-to-day life, these goals may have fallen by the wayside. But if you are a parent, you are a role model for a child, which is something to consider as you reach for the potato chips or think you can skip your exercise class to veg out on the couch.
Last year’s government report about the obesity epidemic among America’s youth was eye-opening, which literally struck home for Delawareans because the First State has one of the highest rates of obese children in the nation. Studies have shown that being overweight at an early age can cause lifetime side effects. Excess weight in children triggers a number of chronic illnesses and risk factors once reserved for adults including diabetes and high cholesterol.
Delaware Cooperative Extension and 4-H are concerned about this trend and have taken on initiatives to promote a healthier, active lifestyle for children and adults. Try these activities from our 4-H curriculum so you and your family can strive toward becoming healthier.
First identify your eating habits. What types of foods are you consuming? Using the U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid as a resource, keep track of what you and your family are eating during the week. To do this, give each family member a blank piece of paper on which they can make their own eating chart. On the left side of the paper list each of the five major food groups as well as the “other” group, which includes sweets and fats.
Next, make columns beside the groups for each day of the week. As the week goes by family members keep track of how many servings they get from each food group every day. At the end of each week, sit down as a family to review the chart. The family member who has done the best job getting his or her daily-recommended servings from each group can be designated the winner and allowed a prize—such as choosing movie to rent or game to play on family fun night.
The 4-H curriculum also offers these do’s to keep you and your family on track to better health:
1. Choose variety, and try new foods. You will find that with more variety, it is easy to find healthy and tasty meals.
2. Engage family members in planning and preparing meals so they can learn the elements of a healthy meal.
3. Focus on special activities and honors rather than food as a prize when you are giving rewards for a job well done.
4. Make exercise part of your daily routine, and make it a family affair. Physical activity is just as important as a nutritious diet for a health lifestyle. If a parent is active a child will be too. Try a one-on-one game of basketball in the driveway, a game of catch in the backyard or a family evening out for bowling.
—Katie Daly, Extension Educator, 4-H & Youth Development
Originally published in “Newark Outlook,” The Newark Post
Articles Index | Staff | NCC Home
Copyright © 2005 NCC Cooperative Extension. Last revised February 11, 2005 .
It is the policy of the Delaware Cooperative Extension System that no person shall be subjected to discrimination on the grounds of race, color, sex, disability, age, or national origin.