In the 1940's, as we began to position for WWII, many of the young recruits coming from the rural communities of America were malnourished, bone-thin and hollow-cheeked to the point of failing their physicals. To address this, President Truman created the National School Lunch Program.

Today, in contrast, we are positioning for a war on childhood obesity. More than 9 million American children are either obese or overweight, putting themselves at risk of serious chronic disease as they grow older.

We all know change is difficult. It becomes increasingly more difficult as we age. By teaching children to incorporate healthy routines into their lifestyle while they are still developing their habits, you are laying the foundation for a healthy adult. According to the American Obesity Association, behaviors involving physical activity and nutrition are the cornerstone of preventing obesity in children and adolescents. Families and schools are the two most critical links in providing the foundation for those behaviors.

President Truman was on to something when he targeted lunch in his campaign against malnourishment the most important meal of the day. As a parent, with the kids back in school, you have an opportunity to begin laying the foundation for proper nutrition within your family. Proper nourishment, especially lunch, is cornerstone to your child's health whether or not they are overweight.

To get started, consider the following suggestions. Remember that real change happens slowly, so focus on one thing at a time.

Eat lunch. A substantial lunch will keep your child energized, alert and they will be less likely to snack on junk food later in the day. Since you can't always be there to make sure your child is eating lunch, encouraging them to "do the best that they can" to finish is likely all you can do.

Brown-Bag-It. By packing your child's lunch you will have a better knowledge of what they are eating, and a home prepared meal will give your child the connection to home while they are at school. There are countless possibilities for creative, healthy, convenient foods that taste yummy.
As we enter cooler temperatures, warm and moist foods will be comforting and nourishing. You can easily put soup, rice or mac & cheese into a thermos. You make a "Pita Bread Pizza" using tomato sauce, mozzerella cheese and veggies of your childs choice. Substitute chips, cookies and candy with bananas, dates, figs, raisins, oranges and nuts.

Involve your child. Make meals and shopping for wholesome food, planning meals and packing lunches a family activity. This provides you an opportunity to begin educating yourself and your family about food, and the correlation between nutrition and health. And, if your child has been involved in the process they will be more likely to eat their lunch.

Be Realistic With yourself, and your child. It is what you do most of the time that matters, not what you do some of the time. And, if your child's weight is getting in the way of other parts of their life then you should seek professional advice immediately.

Habits surrounding food are the key to health. If you can give your child this, everything else is icing on the cake or tomato sauce on the pita pizza.

Learn more about this author, Jean Munoz.
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