The Importance of “Sugar Added”

A few months ago, during a health supervision visit, I was discussing with one of my teenage patients the need to increase his calcium intake. He is a healthy athlete, involved in elite training and, being 17 years-old, capable of understanding and taking charge of his own diet.

Most teenagers want to learn about food. Especially if they are very involved with sports; some of them even express their desire to make a career out of their dreams. I try to spend some time helping them understand the sacrifices of being a professional athlete:

It involves lots of self-discipline.
It requires good interpersonal skills and the capability to follow directions without complaining.
They need good grades.
They must have a plan-B, meaning they need to have other career interests, not only as a default, in case they don’t make it into the professional world, but also because athletes have a short professional life and they need to acquire skills to serve them in their adult life.
They must take control of their eating habits, learning from the beginning about how to avoid junk food and how to maintain balanced meals.

Young people these days are amazing. This particular patient understood right away that his weakest point was calcium intake. He did not like milk very much so we discussed other alternatives that would help increase his calcium during the visit.

He returned to the office a few weeks later and he shared with me the changes he has implemented after our conversation. He found out, from the information I had given him and by checking some web sites, that by drinking 3 cups of milk per day he could meet his requirements of calcium for the day. Since he did not like regular milk, he was now drinking 3 full servings of chocolate milk instead. His sources told him that each cup or full serving of chocolate milk was able to provide him with 300 mg of calcium, and having 3 servings per day could total the 900 mg in a day we had discussed. He was also having yogurt and cheese occasionally, adding even more of the needed calcium for his growing bones.

At that point it was time to get out the calculator again. He now had to consider what is wrong with this picture.

Chocolate milk has 3 times the amount of sugar than regular milk does. If white milk has 11 grams of sugar per serving, chocolate milk can go up to 40 grams easily. When we consider 3 servings everyday, 7 days per week, we really add a large amount of sugar to the diet.

We came up with a grand total of 14 ounces of added sugar consumed in just one week from the innocent, good tasting chocolate milk. In one month my patient will be consuming over 3 lb of sugar in an attempt to comply with his calcium requirements.

Do you know what 3 pounds of sugar looks like? No problem, I took a picture of it. This is the real meaning of an image being worth a thousand words.

Most of the drinks our children consume and love are full of added sugars. It can be cane sugar or it can be in the form of corn syrup; it is sugar after all. Our body stores the excess sugar in the form of fat and, by looking at the picture, you can easily understand how much insulin the pancreas must put out to handle the load.

It is now possible to multiply this figure to find out how much added sugar he is consuming in one month, or in a year. When the pancreas gives out, we arrive to the condition known as “insulin resistance”, which leads directly to diabetes.

I sometimes sound like a broken record and I realize that. But this young, smart boy encouraged me to continue my preaching.

Offer your children regular milk with the meals and water in between meals. Don’t negotiate the above rule. Get rid of the sugar-containing drinks in the house. It they get some flavored drinks outside the house, it is not going to be that much and you are still controlling what you can. Good parenting involves disappointing our kids on occasion, but it is for a good cause.

You can do it!

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Just Add Tomatoes!

This is the way I feel sometimes. I feel as if I just add tomato to my meal when there is nothing else available. I must admit it is not a bad decision.

Take yesterday, for example, I was about to prepare lunch when I realized the only feasible food options I had in the refrigerator was a few fillets of basa fish I fried the night before. They were good, but they didn’t spark any enthusiasm when I looked at them. And I knew my family was going to feel the same way.

So, I cut up a few tomatoes, added thin slices of onion, a little olive oil, sherry vinegar and some salt and voila! The shiny red tomatoes placed around the plate of microwaved-day-old fish really saved my lunch.

I find myself doing this tomato trick a lot. After all, tomatoes are very good for you.

This vegetable-fruit produce originated in South America; it was brought by the Spaniards to Europe in the 1550’s and from there to the rest of the world. The Spaniards also introduced tomatoes to the Philippines and to Asia.

The nutritional properties are countless. They contain vitamin A and C; they are rich in fiber, magnesium, niacin, phosphorus, vitamin B and lycopene. And it is this last ingredient that is creating a lot of attention for the tomato plant. Lycopene is an antioxidant, that is, it has the property of decreasing free radicals that ultimately are responsible for the growth of cancer cells. So, it decreases the incidence of cancer. It also influences the health of the heart and the skin. Ladies, eating tomatoes regularly can prevent premature aging and chronic disease.

Another interesting fact is that lycopene is released from the tomato cells when heated. We know that cooked and processed tomatoes contain more lycopene than raw ones. Which brings us to what I have advised many times before in this blog. My multi-purpose tomato sauce, described in previous blogs, is not only convenient but also very healthy indeed.

Although I’ve always liked the flavor of tomatoes, I must admit I’m often unable to find good tasting ones. I often feel like the tomatoes I find in the store need a bit more sun exposure to develop a deeper aroma. But I recently found a brand of tomatoes that taste great, the way I remember from decades ago. I found them at my local HEB store and they come from Village Farms L.P. in Eatontown, New Jersey. They come in a transparent plastic box, on the vine, and they are marketed as “Sinfully Sweet Campari”. I must add that I don’t have any financial agreement with HEB, Village Farms or any other company; I am reporting to you what I see and like.

Next time you don’t know how to add sparkle to your food, just add tomatoes!

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On Halloween, Fun Is More Important than Food

We live in a culture of excess, and this culture is a major contributing factor in today’s childhood obesity epidemic. To put it simply, kids eat too much, and this is especially true on Halloween. This Halloween, teach your kids that fun is more important than food.

When your children grow up, they won’t cherish the memory of the tenth candy bar they ate that night in 2010. You are not doing them any favors by saying “yes” to every plea for more. But that tenth candy bar – or rather, the attitude that it is okay to overindulge – could be the start of a lifelong struggle with weight. And it could lead to serious health problems. The momentary pleasure is not worth the long-term price.

3 Simple Ways to Put the Focus on Fun this Halloween

1. Make a costume together.

Instead of spending money on a plastic, store-bought costume, encourage your child’s creativity and sense of adventure by making a costume together. You can use materials from around the house or use your costume funds at a local thrift store.

2. Plan a party with Halloween activities.

Let your child be a part of the planning process. Instead of loading up him and his friends with candy and sweets, play games that get them moving around, and award fun little toys as prizes. Ask your child to search for Halloween game ideas online or at the library. Or make up your own games, like Pin the Tailbone on the Skeleton. Again, the point is to focus on the fun of Halloween, and to stop thinking of it as a holiday to eat enough to make yourself sick.

3. Keep Halloween a one-day celebration.

Allow your kids to enjoy a reasonable amount of candy on Halloween, but when the day is done, the candy is gone. Use this as an opportunity to teach your children both moderation and empathy in one lesson. Ask your children to help you think of places where they can give away their extra candy. Nursing homes, children’s hospitals, a Boys & Girls Club, even the local police or fire stations. Then take them to the place they chose so they can see how their gift is appreciated.

Be a Thoughtful Parent

The easiest way to deal with your kids’ pleas and demands is to give in, to say yes. Your kids can’t see the big picture, but you can, and that means that it’s your job to do what’s right, not what’s easy. Be a thoughtful parent. Think about what is best for your kids’ health and wellbeing.

Make this Halloween one your child will remember forever, not one that will get lost in a catatonic sugar haze. Make memories, not fat. Your kids will thank you for it some day.

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Parents, Are You Teaching Your Kids to Be Active?

One of the main contributing factors in the rise in childhood obesity is that children aren’t as active as they should be. Parents bemoan the fact that their kids spend all of their time indoors, tied to the TV screen or the computer screen.

Take a good, long look at the way you live your own life and ask yourself: Am I teaching my kids to be active, or am I teaching them to be lazy?

Laziness is a lifestyle, and it’s a habit that you should break for your kids’ sake if not your own, even if your kids aren’t overweight. As a bonus, making these simple changes in your routine could help you to lose weight and feel healthier, too.

3 Subtle Ways You Might Be Teaching Your Children to Be Lazy

Going out of your way to park close to the entrance.
Are you one of those people who will circle a parking lot for five minutes in order to save yourself from thirty seconds of walking? What message do you think this sends to your kids? Even if it’s hot, cold, or raining, make it a practice to park farther away from the store even when there are lots of open spots close to the door. Every step adds up, and this is a simple habit to get into if you make the conscious effort.

When you first make this change, pay attention to how long it takes you to get from your car to the building entrance. Warning: you might feel a little embarrassed that you didn’t start doing this years ago.

On a related note, when you leave the grocery store, take the time to return your cart to the cart return area. Don’t leave it in the middle of a parking space or push it up onto the closest curb. This will teach your kids the habit of industriousness, and it will teach them empathy for the people whose cars might be damaged by your wandering cart and for the grocery store employees who have to hunt down those carts.

Resorting to fast food.
Life is busy for families today, and the temptation to turn to fast food is understandable. However, when you resort to fast food on a regular basis, you do more than just fill your families’ bodies with empty calories. You also teach your children that habit of laziness. You teach them that chores are to be avoided, and it’s okay to take the easy way out.

In your heart, you know that the right thing to do is to feed your family a healthy meal. And in truth, you can make healthy choices that don’t take much longer than driving to the fast food restaurant, ordering your food, and eating it. You can cook boneless, skinless chicken breasts in about 20 minutes. Serve them with canned vegetables and whole wheat bread, and you’ll have a much healthier choice than the deep fried chicken nuggets your kids might order at the fast food place.

If you’re really pressed for time, you can find fast and healthy options at most grocery stores these days. A whole rotisserie chicken is an inexpensive way to feed the family, and you can serve it with a tray of pre-cut vegetables and dip.

Having only one hobby: watching TV.
All too often, moms and dads feel too tired to do anything at the end of a long day but watch TV. But again, you must be aware of the message that you send to your children. They absorb everything. Everything you do sends a subtle message to your kids about how the world works and how they should live their lives.

Having a hobby feels like a guilty luxury to many parents, and so they put it so far down on their list of priorities that it is forgotten. But when your free time is wholly unproductive – such as when you watch TV – you are teaching your children to value a sedentary lifestyle.

I hereby give you permission to do something fun. Don’t allow yourself the excuse that you’re too tired. That’s the habit of laziness rearing its head. When you take up a hobby that you enjoy, whatever it might be, you will find that you’re not so tired after all. Doing something you love will give you a boost of energy.

It’s up to you to break the habit of laziness and to teach your kids that life is richer, more meaningful, and more fun when you are active.

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Make “Fall Cleaning” the Pantry Part of Your Back to School Routine

Whether yours is a single-parent family or both parents work, chances are good that your older kids will spend some time alone after school during this school year. Even kids with stay-at-home moms aren’t supervised 100% of the time. What your kids eat when you’re not looking might surprise you. You’ve heard of spring cleaning, but have you ever considered fall cleaning? I’m talking about cleaning out your pantry, getting rid of unhealthy snacks.

Your kids won’t have to fight the temptation when they’re home alone if you fight temptation at the grocery store. Make it easy on your kids to eat healthy by only providing healthy options at home. They can have sweets and salty snacks on occasion, but only on occasion. If you keep these foods in your pantry, your kids are likely to eat them as often as they can get away with it.

Not only that, they’re likely to combine these unhealthy snacks in new, creative, and humorously disgusting ways. Remember when you were a kid? What horrible food combinations did you come up with? Some of the combinations I’ve heard over the years include sugary cereal with chocolate malted milk balls and marshmallows, peanut butter and chocolate chips on white bread, marshmallows melted in the microwave.

Healthy after-school snacks for kids

Get rid of potato chips
Replace them with whole wheat crackers with low fat cheese. Read the labels of the crackers at the store. Buy two or three that seem relatively healthy. Let your kids decide which to keep in the pantry. This way, you get their buy-in.

Get rid of toaster pastries with fruit filling
Replace them with multigrain bread with raspberry jam. You get extra points for choosing sugar-free jam!

Get rid of pizza rolls
Replace them with English muffins, pizza sauce, and low fat mozzarella. Try to find a pizza sauce made with fresh ingredients, no preservatives. Your kids can spread the sauce on half of a muffin, sprinkle with a tablespoon of cheese, and then microwave for 30 seconds or so. This doesn’t take any longer than microwaving the frozen pizza rolls would, but is guaranteed to be much lower in fat.

Get rid of fruit-flavored snacks
Replace them with fruit.  A good rule of thumb is: The less processed a food is, the better it is. Snacks don’t get any healthier than fruit.Your kids are likely to gravitate toward food that’s easy to grab and go. If you make fall cleaning your pantry part of your back to school routine, you can ensure that they make healthy choices because only healthy foods will be available to them.

Your kids are likely to gravitate toward food that’s easy to grab and go. If you make fall cleaning your pantry part of your back to school routine, you can ensure that they make healthy choices because only healthy foods will be available to them.

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3 Tips for a Healthy Family Road Trip this Summer

Between Memorial Day and Labor Day, American families take to the highways. They pile the kids (and maybe the pets) into the car, load the luggage wherever they can fit it, and hit the road. Whether they’re visiting relatives or seeing the sights, these summer trips help them bond as a family and build shared memories that they’ll laugh about for the rest of their lives. The summer road trip is an American tradition not to be missed.

But there’s part of this annual American tradition that should be left far behind: fast food, sugary drinks, and unhealthy snacks. Childhood obesity is an epidemic in the United States. Plainly put, there are more fat kids today than at any time in history. Fat kids are much more likely to grow up to become fat adults.

Because of childhood obesity today, children could have a shorter life span than their parents. No parent wants to outlive their child, but it becomes much more likely when the child in question suffers from diabetes, heart disease, or any of the other serious medical problems associated with obesity.

By following these simple tips, your family road trip will be both healthy and fun – in fact, I believe that these tips will make the road trip more fun than it would’ve been if you had indulged every unhealthy whim.

Skip the fast food, period. Memories are not made at a fast food restaurant. In fact, every McDonald’s around the world looks basically the same. While that’s a large part of the appeal for people who are afraid to try new foods, it also drains the color out of the interesting places you’re visiting. Make it a challenge for your family to avoid fast food restaurants during the entire trip.

Turn it into a game. The first person to spot a fast food restaurant gets a point – or award a different number of points for different chains. But do not stop at any of them. Use this opportunity to discuss why and how you’re making better choices.

Instead, eat at local restaurants, and try to find healthy choices on the menu. Salads are a good bet, especially if you don’t load them up with dressing. Grilled chicken or fish with vegetables on the side. Not only will this make for a healthier meal for your kids, but this will also help you build those shared family memories. You can taste homemade macaroni and cheese in Wisconsin or gumbo in Louisiana. Sampling regional food is one of the most delightful things about traveling. Don’t let your kids miss out!

Look for the blue signs. On American highways, most directional road signs are green. They tell you where to exit for gas, food, and lodging. Blue signs direct you to rest areas. By picnicking at a rest area, you can save money, eat healthier, and get some exercise, too. When you pack the lunch, you control what goes into it. Fresh fruit, healthy sandwiches, water or juice to drink. You really don’t need much. Your kids can run around and play while you set up, then grab a bite to eat before playing some more.

Plan on spending the same amount of time at the rest stop that you would have spent at a restaurant. In other words, relax. You don’t have to gobble down your food and rush to hit the road again. In fact, the more you allow the kids to expend their energy by playing outside, the more likely they are to settle down in the car and stop bugging you with whining and fighting.

By looking for the blue signs along the road, you will help your kids build great memories together. Getting there really will be half the fun of the trip.

Buy healthy snacks. Don’t feel that you’re depriving your kids if you tell them they can’t have the salty potato chips they’re begging you to buy at the convenience store. Shift the way you look at such moments. You are not depriving them of a momentary pleasure – you are giving your children the gift of a healthier future. They may not see it that way until they have children of their own, but there will come a day when your kids will thank you for being strong enough to say no.

Instead of chips, offer to buy your kids a snack that has at least some nutritional value. (All snacking should be done sparingly, of course.) Raisins, fruit, crackers with peanut butter, nuts, trail mix… even at the gas station, you can usually find something better for the body than chips.

The summer family road trip is a treasured American tradition, and so it should be. We can keep everything that we love about this tradition while abandoning the unhealthy habits that are making us fat. Leave the fat, not the fun!

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Let Your Kids Feel Hunger Sometimes

Hunger can be an important weapon in the battle against childhood obesity. Parents sometimes go overboard in making sure their children never feel hungry, even for a moment.

Teaching kids to feel hungry sometimes could lead to better nutrition and healthier bodies.

3 Reasons Why Hunger Can Be Good

1. Less snacking means kids will eat more at mealtime.

One of the greatest causes of childhood obesity – and indeed, obesity at any age – is snacking between meals. Snacks tend to be high-calorie processed foods with very little to recommend them nutritionally. When kids are not given too many snacks between meals, they will eat more at mealtime.

Of course, this is only a good thing when those meals are healthy. A kid who’s a little hungry is more likely to eat vegetables without complaint.

I don’t suggest avoiding snacks altogether. However, if a child complains of hunger within an hour of mealtime, parents should consider allowing the child to remain hungry or perhaps serve the meal a few minutes early. When parents do provide snacks, the portion size should be very small, and the food should be healthy. One small piece of celery with peanut butter often provides enough energy for the body to make it to the next meal.

One cautionary note about this: Children who get too hungry between meals tend to overeat. Parents should try to slow down the meal to give the kids’ stomachs time to send the “I’m full” signal to the brain. A great way to do this is to use mealtime to catch up on the kids’ days.

Mealtime should be family bonding time.

2. Kids will gain a better understanding of their bodies.

When children are very young, they don’t necessarily make the connection that food is the fuel that powers the body. In fact, they may turn to food for emotional comfort as much as for any other reason, particularly when parents’ automatic response to crying is to fill the child’s mouth. By allowing small children to be hungry for short periods of time, parents teach the children that food should be used to sate hunger, rather than as an emotional balm.

It’s important for older children to learn that they won’t starve if they’re hungry for an hour or so. They can continue to function. Parents can use these times to teach their children to distract themselves from the hunger. When they focus on something else – preferably something active and fun – the time before the next meal passes in a flash. Often, parents find that their children were more bored than hungry in the first place.

3. Kids will learn to eat on the family’s schedule.

Children can be manipulative as they test their limits, and parents must have a plan for dealing with this power struggle. When a child refuses to eat the food provided by his parents at meals, the consequence should be hunger. Allowing the child to live with the unpleasant sensation of a growling stomach for a couple of hours will teach him to eat when food is provided.

This is easier said than done, I know, when parents are concerned that their children aren’t getting adequate nutrition. In the long run, though, eating at mealtimes will lead to better nutrition. Even the most stubborn kids learn this lesson quickly when parents remain strong.

Don’t fear hunger

Hunger between meals is not something to fear. In fact, a little hunger can go a long way toward preventing childhood obesity.

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Today’s Menu: Menestra

Menestra is a summer dish very easy to prepare. There is no excuse not to have a nutritious dinner for the family, when we can reach over and have a menestra prepared in no time. Some of the ingredients can be kept frozen until ready to cook. One of them is the “home-made tomato sauce” I explained before. I am going to repeat the ingredients and preparation of this basic because it is worth to keep it ready to go in your freezer.

This tomato sauce combines fresh green ingredients and contains no preservatives or chemicals; just natural ingredients with some salt and pepper to taste. I make a batch of it on the weekend and find plenty of occasions to use it during the week.

Here are the ingredients:

4 large, fresh tomatoes or 1 can of tomato puree
½ onion
1 leek
1 small carrot
2 garlic cloves
Fresh parsley
Oregano
Basil
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
Pinch of sugar (optional)

Preparation:

In a saucepan, heat up 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Cut the onion, garlic, leek, fresh parsley and carrot in small pieces and cook it in the oil for about 5 minutes. Add the tomato puree or the fresh tomatoes (peeled and cut). Cook in low heat for about 30 minutes. Separate from the heat and mix, using a hand blender, until all he ingredients are forming a sauce of uniform consistency. Add the dried oregano and basil, salt and pepper and cook for additional 10 minutes. You can also add a pinch of sugar is desired.

This sauce is typically added to cooked pasta, but this time we are going to use it to make Menestra, a vegetable dish.

But we are going to need few other simple ingredients:
1 bag of fresh frozen green peas and carrots
1 bag of fresh frozen green beans
½ onion
3 tablespoons of olive oil
½ lb of cooked ham, cubed
1 hard-boiled egg

You just need to cook the frozen vegetables in hot water until tender, drain and reserve.

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil and add the onion, cut in small pieces. When the onion is soft and transparent, add the cubed ham and cook for about 7 minutes. Now you can add the cooked vegetables, stirring frequently. Add 1 cup of the previously prepared tomato sauce, cover and allow cooking for about 40 minutes in low. While cooking, all the juices from the vegetables will soak the flavor and spices from the tomato sauce, and the result will be a vegetable dish even youngsters will try and enjoy.

After cooked, you can cut up pieces of hard-boiled egg on top for decoration and extra protein.

This combination provides a healthy amount of vitamins and fiber from all the greens and tomatoes, plus a protein source in the ham and egg ingredients.

This is the way we can efficiently create a balanced meal. All the ingredients in the dish, when put together, meet the nutritional needs of children and adults.

Some mothers are asking me what to do to lose or maintain weight. They are concerned about their own weight and they are afraid their own eating habits may translate into future weight problem in their children.

All menus and dishes offered here are suitable for the whole family, from toddlers to elderly. Different age groups may eat different amounts of the same dish/meal, but all age groups should benefit from it. A small toddler, for example, may need to have this dish semi-pureed, while a teenager may need to eat two servings of it. Providing one meal for all also saves preparation time and is budget friendly.

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From Spain With Love

Many times I have tried to analyze why I feel more energized, lighter and healthier while on vacation in Spain. My conclusion is that, while on vacation, I am more relaxed and I have more time to be active. This time I am paying attention; I have been here for one week and the level of activity is superior to the level I have in Texas. It is not by choice, but a result in the differences in life style, local habits and lack of all the commodities we take for granted in America.

We must face it. We, in the United States, have created a very comfortable way of life that makes our work and daily activities easier, but at the same time it takes away from energy consumption. We use private transportation all the way to the entrance of the store and we get upset when we have to park far away from the door. We have drive-thru pharmacies, banks, restaurants and dry cleaners, and at home we can afford to keep the thermostat as close as possible to ideal temperature. We try very hard to avoid sweating in the summer and shivering in the winter, two body reactions to changes in temperature that expend energy and, therefore, help maintain a healthy weight.

My family here in Spain has set habits that they repeat daily, rain or shine. In the morning I must walk to town to pick up a loaf of fresh French bread and the newspaper. The walk is most pleasant and it takes barely ten minutes, but the way back home means climbing up a steep road that is hardly noticeable on the way down. Taking the car? Forget it! There is no place to park near the destination. I tried, believe me, but I ended up walking the same distance. When it rains, or if I have to make a quick stop at the grocery store, carrying the bags and the umbrella up the hill makes it even more interesting.

Food must be prepared fresh and from scratch on a daily basis. Sometimes I can get away with leftovers, but we try to prepare small amounts and we rarely have leftovers. Since we eat fish almost daily, we buy what we are going to prepare for the day, which means we must visit the market often.

Sometimes I pick up the ingredients for lunch on my way to the bakery/newspaper trip in the morning, but if the grocery list is larger we take the car to go to the store, which involves finding a parking spot, carrying bags, loading and unloading and walking several sets of stairs with bags on both hands. Nobody seems to pay attention to the amount of energy spent just to prepare meals destined to generate energy. My spoiled body noticed right away; it has been one week and I am just starting to get used to it.

Energy Intake = Energy Expenditure.

This is a very important equation we must keep in mind if we want to avoid fat accumulation. When we consume too much energy in the form of food and we don’t expend enough energy, in the form of exercise, we accumulate the excess energy in the form of body fat. As simple as that.

Countries with less incidence of obesity don’t posses information that is not available to us. They simply have habits that are maintained daily. They are also capable of going through changes in environmental temperature without touching the thermostat.

Here are some tips to gear our body towards energy consumption during the Texas summer:

• Maintain the indoor temperature no lower than 80 degrees in the summer.
• Wear lighter clothing and allow some degree of sweating to eliminate toxins.
• Take advantage of the Texas summer heat. Go for a 30-minute walk in the evening. The heat adds to the energy expenditure and the ½ hour walk outdoors is equivalent to 1-hour walk on a treadmill.
• Spend 1 hour gardening on the weekend: cutting the grass, pulling weeds, planting, watering, etc.
• Once a week, walk to a near-by destination. My favorite is walking home from work (3 miles), but I sometimes walk to HEB or to the video store.

Try this plan for just one week, drinking plenty of water before and after exercise. Then tell me how you feel. I can guaranty an increase in energy level and well being, even when, during the first few days, you are more aware of the discomfort imposed by the change in body habits.

We must create a certain degree of discomfort in order to generate energy.

Just do it.

Marta Katalenas M.D.

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You Can Fight Childhood Obesity – Parents Have Power Over Food Companies

Recently, a company introduced a chocolate-flavored toddler formula to the market, claiming that it would encourage picky eaters to get more of the nutrition they needed. Sounds good, right? The problem came when you took time to read the label – one of the first three ingredients in this formula was sugar! In fact, the chocolate formula had 19 grams of sugar per serving.

19 grams of sugar in one serving. One serving of a drink going into the body of a 12- to 36-month-old child.

Parents and nutritionists were outraged, and rightfully so. In light of the childhood obesity epidemic in America and around the world, the last thing that infant formula makers should be doing is creating products that help children develop a craving for sweets. We must help very young children develop healthy eating habits right from the start.

This story has a happy ending. The company has decided to pull their chocolate-flavored formula from the marketplace. It will no longer be available for sale. (Sadly, the vanilla-flavored formula, with 18 grams of sugar, will remain in stores.)

Parents have a lot of power over the companies that make children’s food. You are not helpless. You get to decide what your children put into their mouths. At least until they are old enough to start leaving the nest a bit. That’s why it’s so important to teach them proper eating habits when they’re young.

Putting Power into Practice

The Power of Your Voice

The chocolate-flavored formula story is a terrific example of the power of parents speaking up. Make your thoughts known. When the chocolate-flavored formula was introduced to the market, influential bloggers shared their thoughts online, most notably Marion Nestle, a professor at NYU and the nutrition expert who writes a popular blog about food politics. (An ironic name for a woman speaking out against chocolate.)

Regular moms and dads took up the fight, and you know the rest. You, too, can write letters and emails to the food companies. Believe me, they read the letters they receive, and they listen. You are their target market. They want to stay on your good side.

You can also write to the press and to bloggers. Let the world know when you see something that isn’t right. You may feel that the power of one voice is insignificant, but the power of a thousand voices combined grows exponentially.

The Power of Your Pocketbook

Don’t buy junk food. For the sake of your children, don’t even buy it for yourself. Remember, it’s a lot easier to resist temptation at the grocery store than it is to resist temptation at home. If you don’t buy it, it won’t call to you from the pantry, or to your kids.

Junk food undermines your efforts to teach kids good eating habits. Allowing junk food in your home teaches kids to reach for bad food choices, often when they’re not even hungry.

Make it a practice to read labels at the store. You don’t have to understand everything on the label, but do look at the number of calories, the amount of salt, and the amount of sugar. You will start to see patterns, and you’ll learn which foods are good for your kids.

Another way to exercise the power of your pocketbook is to stop allowing your children to watch commercial TV. It’s always good to limit screen time (including both the television and the computer), but it’s also important to determine what type of screen time your kids are allowed. Studies have shown that kids who watch commercial TV are more likely to be overweight or obese than kids who watch DVDs and television shows without commercials.

When your kids don’t see commercials, they don’t crave food that is bad for them. It will make your visits to the grocery store much more pleasant, as your children won’t plead with you to buy these high-salt, high-sugar, low-nutrition foods.

As a parent, you have more power than you realize over childhood obesity. All it takes is awareness and a conscious effort to do everything you can to ensure that your children eat healthy, well-balanced meals. The habits they develop today will influence them for the rest of their lives. Help them to avoid all the health problems associated with being fat. They will thank you for it one day.

And if there’s a picky eater in your family, talk to your pediatrician about healthy strategies to encourage him or her to eat more. Don’t reach for products like chocolate formula.

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