BMI: Helping children develop healthy nutritional habits
Healthy habits learned young can stay with a child throughout his or her entire life. Unfortunately, an estimated 18% of Pennsylvania children are considered overweight … and many more are at risk of obesity, which can lead to serious health problems.
By eating healthier and encouraging more exercise, parents can help their children avoid obesity and its risks of low self-esteem and limitations in physical activities early in life, to heart disease and diabetes as an adult.
That’s why Lancaster General joined with several Lancaster County school districts and the Pennsylvania Departments of Education and Health to help parents raise healthier, active children.
|
|
By encouraging children to stay active and eat
the right foods, parents can help them stay
healthy and happy and avoid the problems
associated with obesity. |
“We strive to raise awareness of the many health hazards related to children being overweight or obese,” says Alice Yoder, RN, Director of Community Health at Lancaster General. Alice applauds the steps many schools are taking, such as removing soda machines from schools, looking closer at the nutritional content of school lunches and offering alternatives to candy bar-type fundraisers and pizza party-type celebrations.
“This is a very complex issue. It did not happen overnight,” Alice says. “So solutions need to be multifaceted and will take a long time. It will take a broad community effort to turn this trend around.”
One of the key components of the effort is the Body Mass Index (BMI) screening, which all Pennsylvania schools are now required to administer as part of their student wellness policy.
What is BMI?
BMI is a screening tool designed to determine if a child is overweight, underweight, or at risk for becoming overweight. It factors a child’s weight and height to determine if that child is in the appropriate range for their age and gender.
“It’s a screening tool, not a diagnosis,” Alice says. “It can send up a red flag for parents that they should discuss this further with their family physician.”
School nurses will screen children in grades K-8, and the results will be sent home to every parent at some point during the school year. Parents will also receive a guide for how to interpret the score and what they can do to improve their child’s health. By 2008, all students in grades K-12 will be screened.
“This is not just a cosmetic issue,” says Rosemary Search, RN, Wellness Educator. “We must intensify our efforts for early identification and early prevention of overweight and obesity, or we are going to have the first generation of children who do not live as long as their parents.”
That’s why Lancaster General is working in partnership with schools, local organizations and county departments to help parents and children implement best practices and add physical activity to their day and promote healthful lifestyles for children at home, in school and community. “Goals should be set for health rather than weight, incorporating a healthy balance of nutrition and exercise into the daily routine,” Alice says.
In addition to the physical consequences, overweight children may also suffer psychologically and emotionally through discrimination, stigmatization and a poor body image.
“The earlier the intervention, the better chance that health problems can be prevented,” Rosemary says. “Families, schools and communities need to work together on this multi-faceted issue for the best results.”
What parents can do
When families make important lifestyle changes together, they have a more lasting impact, adds Joanna Boyer, RN, Childbirth Education Coordinator.
“I often ask parents, ‘Do you remember when you used to have to get up to change the TV channel, answer the phone, or walk to the store?’” Joanna says. “More than ever, we have to work hard to incorporate exercise into our daily routine.”
Parents can take a few simple steps to keep their child healthy and active, including:
- Reduce TV and computer viewing. Suggestion: Limit it to one hour a day.
- Make at least one hour of physical activity part of the daily routine. Suggestion: Bike riding, walking, chores or outdoor sports.
- Create a healthy eating plan and routine. Suggestion: Eat at the same time every day and serve smaller portions. Let children stop eating when they are full, rather than when their plates are empty.
- Don’t reward positive behavior with food, such as cookies or pizza.
- Drink water instead of soda or sweet drinks.
The Lancaster General Wellness Center has produced “A Parent’s Guide to Healthy Eating and Activity for Children” to help parents make good choices with food and physical activity. We also offer “ Lancaster on the Move,” a guide for free or low cost places to be physically active with your kids in Lancaster County.
For parents who need a helping hand to get on track, Lancaster General offers its Shapedown weight management program, designed for children ages 7-17. For children under 7, nutritional counseling provided by a pediatric dietitian is available through the Diabetes & Nutrition Center, 544-5923.
Many overweight children have overweight parents who have a difficult time making personal life changes to be effective role models. To assist them, we also offer LEARN, a weight management program for adults.
“These are all tools designed to help parents raise happy and healthy children,” Alice says.
To learn more about the publications or the weight management programs offered by the Lancaster General Wellness Center, call 544-3145.
For more information related to this topic: