By Ms. Karen James, TRICARE Management Activity
October is Children’s Health Month and TRICARE recognizes that healthy youth become healthy adults. It’s time to encourage families of the uniformed services to get moving and eat healthier to prevent childhood obesity.
The percentage of overweight children in the United States is growing at an alarming rate – 17 percent of children are now considered overweight or obese. In schools across the country children are taught to read, write and solve math problems, but many children don’t learn about healthy lifestyles at school or home.
Children are spending less time exercising and more time on computers, watching television and playing video games. To compound the problem, most families have less time to prepare healthy meals.
During Children’s Health Month , the U.S. Surgeon General is asking everyone to “take the pledge” to help prevent childhood overweight and obesity at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/obesityprevention/pledges/index.html and TRICARE has joined the effort with a special Web page at http://www.tricare.mil/getfit. Visitors can find a special message from the TRICARE Deputy Director, Army Maj. Gen. Elder Granger as well as other videos, articles and a video “widget” that is like a trading card which can be shared with others.
TRICARE has partnered with the United States Department of Health and Human Services to help spearhead the effort to raise awareness among military families as well as the general public. The initiative is highlighted during Children’s Health Month, but encouraging children to stay active, have healthy eating habits, and make healthy choices is a long term commitment.
Overweight and obese kids are in jeopardy of developing medical problems that affect their present and future health and quality of life. “They have a higher risk of developing diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and bone and joint problems,” said Rear Adm. Steven K. Galson, Acting U.S. Surgeon General. Kids can also develop shortness of breath, restless or disordered sleep patterns.
Overweight or obese children may tend to mature earlier and may be taller and more sexually mature than their peers, raising expectations that they should act as old as they look, not as old as they are; overweight girls may have irregular menstrual cycles and fertility problems in adulthood. These kids are also at risk for liver and gall bladder disease and depression.
The first step in fighting childhood obesity is to cultivate an environment of exercise and healthy eating. Obesity treatment programs for children and adolescents rarely have weight loss as a goal. Rather, the aim is to slow or halt weight gain so the child will grow into his or her body weight over a period of months to years. Early and appropriate intervention is valuable. Childhood eating and exercise habits are more easily modified than adult habits.
Obesity is easier to prevent than to treat, and prevention focuses mainly on parent education. In infancy, parent education should center on promotion of breastfeeding, recognition of signals of fullness and delayed introduction of solid foods. In early childhood, education should include proper nutrition, selection of low-fat snacks, good exercise/activity habits and monitoring of television viewing.
“Our young people watch us. Parents can not expect that their kids are going to get out and exercise if they are not; role modeling is very important,” said Galson.
When preventive measures cannot totally overcome hereditary factors, parent education should focus on building self-esteem and addressing psychological issues.
Some helpful tips to start families on their way to a healthier lifestyle include:
- Breastfeeding babies
- Offer a variety of food choices
- Encourage children to be physically active every day
- Steer children toward healthier food choices such as grilled chicken sandwiches and salads
- Cut down on portion sizes
- Teach children to prepare healthy snacks at home
- Limit television, computer and video game time
- Discourage eating while watching television
- Eat meals together as often as possible
- Encourage kids to have at least five servings of fruit and vegetables a day
- Limit sugar-sweetened beverages, replacing with water
- Prepare healthy breakfast everyday
Childhood obesity is a big deal. The United States has one of the highest obesity rates internationally and the problem is also increasing among military families. If children continue down this road, generations of adults plagued with health problems will be sure to follow.
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