Anna Mahler is a passionate blogger, wife and mother who generously contributes to Wednesday’s Woman on a monthly basis.
She considers herself a student of life and inspiringly shares what she learns at The Mommy Padawan. She was recently featured at DoYouYoga.com in an insightful piece Three Reasons Why Bad Moods are Wonderful.
Eat, Move, Live -
Healthy!
by Anna Mahler
There have been many reports in recent news about the how
heavily processed and fast food along with a sedentary lifestyle is actually
causing an epidemic of obesity in America, but adults are not the only ones
being effected.
Today, nearly one in three children in America are
overweight or obese. In fact, it's predicted that this could be the first
generation of children with a shorter life expectancy than their parents.
As serious and sobering as this news is, it is also our most
preventable disease.
It's common for mothers to to be concerned with what are
children are eating and trying to make sure they are getting everything they
need. Encouraging and even sneaking in fruits and vegetables to daily meals is
an every day struggle for most but one mom has taken this concern to new
levels.
Today's Wednesday's Woman is walking the walk in her own
life, for her family and creating programs and initiatives to educate, inspire
and empower families to create fuller, healthier lives.
Michelle Obama is today's Wednesday's Woman.
To encourage and educate her daughters about eating more
natural home grown food as well as inspiring others, in 2009 Michelle Obama
planted a kitchen garden at the White House. There were ups and downs,
successes and challenges, but that garden is flourishing today. To share her
knowledge from this experience as well as sharing tips about what worked,
Michelle wrote American Grown: The Storyof the White House Kitchen Garden and Gardens Across America and was published in 2012.
On February 09, 2010 the First Lady launched “Let's Move!”,
an initiative to make the fight against our country's childhood obesity
epidemic a serious priority. Along with
helping to empower families to live healthier lives, the Let's Move! web site includes
information for schools, community leaders and even health care providers.
While some states are discussing the
option to get rid of P.E. classes and looking for more ways to save money on
school lunches, this initiative could not be more timely and needed.
The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report recommendations focus on the five pillars
of the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative:
1 Creating a healthy start for children
2 Empowering parents and caregivers
3 Providing healthy food in schools
4 Improving access to healthy, affordable foods
5 Increasing physical activity
The health and wellness of our future is too
important to neglect or take for granted. We can work together for a happier, healthier tomorrow.
(Be sure to check out Apps for Healthy Kids, a competitive project of Let's Move! which provides our tech savvy children with activities that support healthy food choices and exercise.)
(Be sure to check out Apps for Healthy Kids, a competitive project of Let's Move! which provides our tech savvy children with activities that support healthy food choices and exercise.)
Do you know a Wednesday's Woman? Would you like to share her story? Contact Sperk* for an opportunity to guest post.
photo credit: USDAgov via photo pin cc photo credit: SodexoUSA via photo pin cc
Aaaah ... I missed reading you :)
ReplyDeleteThe thing I often wonder with this epidemic is where these kids are ... maybe I live in a sheltered suburban area ... but I can assure you that nowhere near 1 in 3 kids in my local schools are overweight ... I'm not saying it's not an issue ... it just isn't one that stares me in the face ...
I completely agree that we need to be an example ... but my 11 year old is obsessed with food and exercise (because of her doctor and her school and all their stresses about it) even though she has never been above the 5th percentile ... which leaves me worried that we may be creating a generation of kids with eating disorders and a distorted sense of body image ...
Like I said, it's a problem that needs to be addressed, but it just feels touchy to me :)
I think it's a good conversation to have and I agree that the problem isn't pervasive in areas where families have access and can afford healthy food choices. Typically when people can afford to buy healthy food they live in a area where it's safe for kids to go outside and be active. A lot of people live in areas where they can't have their kids out playing or even have a playground to send them to. But if we don't see this on a regular basis, we aren't aware of it.
DeleteIt's definitely best to first be aware of what's happening in our own homes, like you explained with your own child. My kids have never been thin, but they are not obese. They both struggle with body image and it kills me.
To combat the issue of childhood obesity (which, like you, I do not see in our school district), our state has mandated BMI testing in the schools which I opted my kids out of. It does more harm than good, in my opinion. When they provide an opportunity for the students to move around other than walking from class to class, I'll let them test my kids. ;)
Thanks for your comment.
You always pick the right pictures for these posts! Thanks so much Kim, this looks great. That's a great comment from Lemonade Lady as well. To me, it's an issue of everyone, regardless of where you live or economic status, having access to healthy food choices and safe places for children to exercise and play. Watching "State of The Nation" really opened my eyes to how many people in different areas in the U.S. don't have access to just those basic necessities. Schools and whole communities have to be educated and involved as well. At the same time, helping our kids love and accept themselves is important as well, especially for young girls where issues with anorexia and bulimia can start so young. Perhaps it's a balancing act - educating about health and fitness as well as body acceptance and self love. Being healthy is so much ore than just a number on a scale.
ReplyDeleteLots of “food” for thought, too! And what better way to get kids to eat healthy/get fit than by planting a garden, or having access to a community garden or an urban garden/farm. Sadly a lot of urban areas lack even decent grocery stores! All the more reason to have urban farms in neglected areas in Detroit and parts of Chicago, to name a few! My family is so lucky to live near family farms, farmers markets, farm stores... we just need to get local families more involved--which is tough if you are a single parent/working full time! I like the farm food to schools type programs as another way to get kids better food choices.
ReplyDelete