In this blog my aim is not to come across arrogant,
judgmental or like I believe I am the world’s best father. What I am is a dedicated
dad who happens to be a personal trainer. Like most other parents I experience
the day to day struggles associated with trying to do the best for my children.
I have written this article to highlight some scary facts but also offer hope
with some potential alternative choices when it comes to ensuring your child is
fit, healthy and happy.
Childhood obesity is an ongoing hot topic in the
media and rightly so. I believe it is a worrying and fundamental problem that
is clearly obvious to my eyes when I’m out and about. Across the board children
are becoming more sedentary and eating cheaper, more convenient and ultimately
poorer quality, processed foods. Foods which are less dense in nutritious
content but filled with nasties such as salt, sugar, fat and additives.
I am not claiming for one second that my boys
don’t have lazy days were they watch TV or play on their IPads and they
certainly enjoy foods which I would rather they didn’t. (To be fair so do I!) What I can say is that I will always ensure
they get out of the house and do some physical activity to stimulate their
brains and bodies for an hour or two. The majority of time at home they are cooked
healthy, nutrient rich foods. I personally
love cooking from scratch and I enjoy getting my boys involved in the cooking
process where I can. Involving the children means we all own the process and
they clearly appreciate eating something they helped create. What’s more, it’s
a great way to spend quality time with them. Satisfaction all round.
Disclaimer… be prepared for mess!
Some facts and stats on childhood obesity in the
UK:
On average across the UK, almost one quarter of
children are overweight or obese by the time they start school. – This to my
mind is staggering.
Typically, it is the poorest children who are
most likely to be overweight or obese and to have a poor diet. They’re the
least likely to eat enough fruit and vegetables and the most likely to eat
foods high in fat, sugar and salt every day.
Obese children are at greater risk of conditions
like diabetes and high blood pressure, and of heart disease and stroke as they
get older.
Obesity in childhood can contribute to
behavioral and emotional difficulties like depression, and reduce educational
attainment. Obese children are more likely to need medical care and days off
school as a result of illness. - From my own experiences owning gyms and
personal training businesses I have come to realise so many people suffer and
have suffered since childhood with depression.
Excess consumption of sugar is damaging
children’s teeth, with extractions the most common reason for 5-9 year-olds in
England to be admitted to hospital. This blows my mind.
Currently my wife and I are looking into various
after school clubs for our children as we both believe in offering them further
physical and mental stimulation outside of their school and home environments.
They both swim once a week and I’m sure it’s a given my eldest will try out my Little
Dragons Martial Arts Classes. They
already swim once a week and we are looking at enrolling one into a modern
dance class and the other, a local Beaver group (Beavers are similar to scouts
but for younger children)
Unfortunately it appears in the UK and across the
Western world millions of children aren’t getting these opportunities. This can
be for a number of reasons such as:
Too little emphasis or interest from parents or
guardians to help get their children active. - I would like to think most
children have a teacher or adult in their life that would encourage and take
the time to help them take part in some physical activity.
Parents are too busy to cook from scratch or take
their children to classes – This for me is a simple work life balance issue.
Clubs and hobbies can be very expensive and
create a financial burden.
Advertising of junk food is rife on TV and try
saying no all the time to your child!
Eating healthily can be extortionate. - Have you
ever been at the super market and compared the prices in the junk food Isles to
those of the fruit and veg and organic sections? - I personally would love to
see the government doing more to promote healthy eating. For me it is
essentially a sickness industry. One option is narrowing the price discrepancy
between health and junk food!
Admittedly if your funds are tight it can be
difficult to pay for clubs or to buy good healthy foods but I do have some simple
suggestions.
Buy less junk food snacks and use the
money you save to upgrade and purchase better quality meal foods
If you and your children eat too
much, reduce portion size in meals and avoid creating food waste. This will result
in smaller food shops leaving money in your pocket!
Consider how much you spend on your children’s
electronic devices such as computer games and small toys that get played with
once and then thrown away. Place a spending cap on those items and use the
surplus cash to go swimming or enroll your child in a club.
If money is still tight, organise walks, cycles,
and play dates with your children’s friends. Take them to the woods to make forts
and bases, climb trees, kick a football round, or go out looking for wildlife.
These are all fantastic activities which build experiences and make happy memories.
I am all for choice but many children, including
my own at times, would rather pick their electronic devices over going out to
play or taking part in their sports / activity club. What I guarantee though is
9/10 times your children will have a better time burning off energy,
socialising outside and blowing of steam than they would cooped up in front of
a screen eating sweets.
Happy, healthy children. That’s all we really
want.
