Tips on Staying Young at Heart

As a parent, you worry about bug bites and scratches, fevers and chickenpox, grades and who your child’s friends are. But how often do you worry about your child’s heart?

Perhaps it’s something you should worry more about. In recent years, a steadily worsening diet and decreasing rates of exercise have led to a rise in childhood obesity. Studies have shown that obese children are more likely to become obese adults, who are at increased risk for heart and other diseases.

At the MCG Children’s Medical Center, we offer the following guidelines for parents to help them start their children early on the road to good health.

• Children are not small adults. While keeping your child at a healthy weight is a great goal, achieving this goal through super low-fat or no-carb diets isn’t the best way. Children need energy and nutrients for proper growth and development. Aim for the right amount of nutrition, including enough calories from a variety of foods to reach and maintain desirable body weight.
  Use the “5 a day” rule, and try to incorporate five fruits and vegetables into your child’s daily diet. When serving, fill half your child’s plate with fruits and vegetables, one-fourth with lean meat or fish, and one-fourth by a whole-grain. Note that these guidelines are not for children younger than 2, who need a higher percentage of calories from fat.
       
• Work hard, play hard. Children in particular need exercise that is fun. Look for opportunities to sign your child up for team sports, go for regular walks or play games such as basketball, tennis or soccer as a family. Focus on physical activities, rather than sedentary activities such as TV, movies or video games, as recreation. And make sure they have the time to devote to play. Just as their diet needs to be balanced, balance homework time, sleep time and play time.
       
• Relax. Being overly restrictive, cutting out all favorite foods and turning exercise into a chore is not the way to get your child excited about good health. Balance is the key. And remember, it’s important for parents to teach by example by eating right and exercising too.