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Families Learn Together in 'Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids'

boy playing footballMADISON – As kids spend more and more "screen time" in front of computers, TVs and video games – often at the expense of play time and exercise – dramatic increases in childhood obesity are causing health problems that were unthinkable 20 years ago.
 
Giving kids and their parents the tools to build and maintain healthier lifestyle choices, Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids is a comprehensive six-week class taught by UW Health registered dietitians. By involving both children and their parents, instructors Melody Cole and Sarah Schumacher hope to reach entire families with their educational messages, advice and activities.
 
"It gives parents and kids the same vocabulary, the same language to talk about food and health, and to talk about what’s happening with food and health in their own homes," says Schumacher.
 
The course begins September 19, 2007 and runs for six weeks, and classes are held at UW Health’s Odana Atrium Clinic, 5618 Odana Road, Madison. The weekly sessions take place from 5:30-7pm, and the fee is $150, covering one parent and one child, 8 to 11 years old. To register, call (608) 287-2770. Learn more
 
From eating on the run to fun physical activities that kids can do – even during commercial breaks – the nutrition, exercise and behavior-related topics are designed to help busy families make better food choices and get moving.
 
Regular Family Meals
 
Research shows a strong connection between frequent family meals and better nutrition. In one study, absence of family meals was related to eating fewer fruits and vegetables, as well as consuming more fried food and carbonated beverages.
 
"When families don't eat together, kids are often grazing, eating off on their own," says Cole. "Families are busy and it can be hard to find the time, but the important thing is to look at everybody's schedule and eat together at least two or three nights a week."
 
When children eat together with their families instead of snacking and eating on the go, it helps them stay in touch with hunger and fullness cues, Cole says. In fact, sitting down to meals together helps all family members pay attention to what – and how much – is eaten.
 
"It helps children be able to rely on regular eating times," says Cole. "And there's also the added benefit of connecting with other family members at the end of a busy day."
 
In "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids," busy families will be given crock pot recipes and other kid-friendly tips to make family meals easier to plan.
 
Setting Boundaries and Limiting Screen Time
 
Every day, 8- to 18-year-olds spend an average of four hours watching TV, at least an hour on the computer and about 50 minutes playing video games, according to a 2005 Henry J. Kaiser Foundation survey.
 
All that "screen time" cuts into active play time and exercise, which can easily lead to weight gain when paired with poor eating choices. In "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids," Cole and Schumacher discuss a variety of ways to limit total screen time, establish boundaries and make better food and activity choices:
  • Have kids and all family members eat in only one spot in the house – the kitchen. This limits "mindless eating" in front of the TV or at the computer screen.

    "If you're not sitting in front of the TV and eating, it helps you regulate your body signals a little better," says Schumacher. "If you're eating in front of the TV, grabbing food out of a bag, you're not paying attention and thinking, 'How much am I eating?' and 'Am I full?'"

    "When you're eating in the kitchen, with just the plate in front of you, there are no distractions other than eating," Schumacher added. "You can tune into the signals and determine whether you're actually full."
     
  • Keep an exercise band near the family television so kids can do lateral raises and other exercises during commercial breaks. As part of the fee for the course, "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids" participants will take home a Thera-Band and a special pedometer that measures steps taken throughout the day.
     
  • Whether they're watching TV, playing video games or on the computer, have kids get up every 30 minutes to take a five-minute walk – even if it's just around the house.
     
  • Focus on increasing the colors in your diet by eating more fruits and vegetables. 
     
  • Don't drink your calories – cut down on sodas and juices, particularly those containing high-fructose corn syrup. To illustrate the impact soda can have on your diet, Cole shows a large baggie full of sugar to represent the extra 2 ¾ cups of sugar a person consumes by drinking two cans of soda a day for one week. That's the equivalent of about 140 teaspoons.

Diet-Free Zone

 

Cole and Schumacher stress that "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids" is not a diet – rather, it focuses on lifestyle changes, offering guidance about healthy living and eating.

 

"We don't want the kids to lose weight – we want to stop the weight gain as they grow taller," Cole says. "This is not a diet at all. Learning how to live and eat healthy is what's important."

 

To illustrate the point in the first "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids" session, parents and children are shown pictures of dogs, horses and other animals of all shapes and sizes. In a group discussion about body image, the main message is that all bodies are not created equal, but each body type can be healthy.

 

"Some of us are Great Danes, some of us are Chihuahuas – and everything in between," explains Cole. "People's bodies are different, just like there are different types of animals. It's about just doing the best you can to take care of what type of body you have."

 

Easy Meal Recipe for Busy Families

 

Below is a sample of the crockpot recipes offered in "Healthy Habits, Healthy Kids":

Chicken Creole

4 boneless chicken breasts, browned
½ cup chopped onion
½ cup chopped green pepper
¼ cup chopped celery
1 can (8oz.) stewed tomatoes
1 can (4oz.) sliced mushrooms
¼ tsp. thyme
2 Tbsp. quick cooking tapioca

Place chicken in slow cooker. Mix remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours. Serve over rice.

Nutritional Information:

Servings = 4
Calories per serving = 165
Fat = 3 grams
Saturated fat = Less than 1 gram
Monounsaturated fat = Less than 1 gram
Carbohydrates = 13 grams
Fiber = 2 grams
Protein = 23 grams 


Date Published: 08/06/2007

News tag(s):  children,  food and nutrition

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