Fuel Up to Play 60
Fuel Up to Play 60 is a fun, interactive program that allows YOU to decide how to make your school an even healthier place. You can put your ideas and plans into action to help everyone eat healthy and get active. Take fun Challenges with your classmates along the way to have the chance to earn prizes; you can even be recognized on our website for your efforts!
Fuel Up to Play 60 is your chance to make a commitment to healthy eating and 60 minutes of physical activity every day. Make a difference for yourself and make your school an even better place.
http://www.fueluptoplay60.com/
How do I put my 11-year-old on a diet?
Every weekday, a CNNHealth expert doctor answers a viewer question. On Friday, it's Dr. Melina Jampolis, a physician nutrition specialist.
Question asked by Asked by Lisa
"How do I put my 11-year-old daughter on a diet? She is 50 pounds overweight, though she only looks about 20 pounds over. She has a lot of muscle. She plays sports year-round.
She is a picky, picky eater. She has asked to go on a diet, but I don't think that an 11-year-old should, even though it's unhealthy to be so overweight. I have told her she will need to give up sweetened drinks, sweet snacks and white bread products.
Any other ideas that will not be too drastic but will show results?"
Expert answer
Hi Lisa. I answered your question a couple of months ago but I received some excellent feedback from pediatric endocrinologist Craig Rudlin MD, FAAP, so I wanted to expand on my answer and make a slight correction based on the information that Dr. Rudlin provided.
A 2005 paper from the Pediatric Endocrine Society about childhood obesity suggested a more aggressive approach based on the associated health complications of overweight children, including high cholesterol, high blood pressure and pre-diabetes.
Specifically, for children with a BMI (body mass index– here's a calculator) of 85-95 percent, rather than focusing on weight maintenance, as I previously stated, the paper recommends "a modified diet with decreased sedentary activities."
They go on to recommend an even "more aggressive approach toward children and adolescents with BMI at or above the 95th percentile or in less obese children who suffer metabolic, orthopedic, or cardiopulmonary complications and/or psychological distress."
Dr. Rudlin, who treats overweight and obese children, says the weight loss goal should be about 1 pound per week, and that some older children and teens can safely lose 2 pounds per week.
When I expressed concerns about losing weight while children are still growing, he explained that a nutrient dense, portion-controlled diet, which he advocates rather than avoiding any particular food group, could actually improve growth.
"If they are eating a balanced diet of all five food groups, they are getting all the nutrients, protein, calcium, vitamins they need and the weight loss is from the loss of adipose tissue, which is desirable."
He also suggested measuring height every three months if this is a concern.
Regarding my suggestion to eat more vegetables, he suggested that I emphasize that parents try to increase their children's consumption of non-starchy vegetables, especially green vegetables.
If your child refuses to eat vegetables, try to re-introduce foods over the years as taste buds change. It is also critical to be a good role model and consume a variety of vegetables yourself on a regular basis.
In addition to my previous suggestions, which included eating breakfast daily, increasing fiber intake and limiting juice consumption, here are a few more suggestions from the childhood obesity consensus paper that I think would be useful for you to adopt as a family to support your daughter's weight loss efforts.
1. Eat meals as a family in a fixed place and time.
2. Do not skip meals, especially breakfast.
3. No TV during meals.
4. Use small plates and keep serving dishes away from the table.
5. Avoid unnecessary sweet or fatty foods and soft drinks.
6. Remove televisions from children's bedrooms; restrict times for TV viewing and video games.
And finally, although you mentioned that your daughter was very active in sports, make sure that she gets at least 60 minutes per day of exercise per the latest exercise guidelines for children.
Post by: Dr. Melina Jampolis - CNNhealth Diet and Fitness Expert
Filed under: Children's Health • Healthy Eating • Weight-loss
Website Gets Your Kids off the Couch
A new online resource provides a variety of fitness facilities, activities and services at your fingertips. Surf their site and find fun programs that will keep your kids off the couch and moving toward a healthier lifestyle. From tumbling to dance classes; swim lessons to karate, there's something for everyone - and for all interests.
Let’s Move! Campaign
Let’s Move! is a comprehensive initiative, launched by the First Lady, dedicated to solving the problem of obesity within a generation, so that children born today will grow up healthier and able to pursue their dreams. Sure, this is an ambitious goal. But with your help, we can do it.
Combining comprehensive strategies with common sense, Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future during their earliest months and years. Giving parents helpful information and fostering environments that support healthy choices. Providing healthier foods in our schools. Ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. And, helping children become more physically active.
At the launch of the initiative, President Barack Obama signed a Presidential Memorandum creating the first-ever Task Force on Childhood Obesity to conduct a review of every single programs and policies relating to child nutrition and physical activity and develop a national action plan to maximize federal resources and set concrete benchmarks toward the First Lady’s national goal. The Task Force recommendations focus on the five pillars of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:
• Creating a healthy start for children
• Empowering parents and caregivers
• Providing healthy food in schools
• Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
• Increasing physical activity
Everyone has a role to play in reducing childhood obesity, including parents and caregivers, elected officials from all levels of government, schools, health care professionals, faith-based and community-based organizations, and private sector companies. Your involvement is key to ensuring a healthy future for our children.
http://www.letsmove.gov/about
