by Beth Staiano

Created on: May 21, 2009

A growing concern of mine is the health and welfare of our nation's children. Surprisingly, the percentage of overweight children has more than doubled since I was a kid in the 1970's. One out of every three children are overweight.

Children are spending less time outside getting exercise, and more time indoors watching television, playing video games or on the computer. When I was little, it was rare to see an overweight toddler or pre-school age child. At this present day and age, 10% of children age 2 - 5 and more than 15% of children between the ages of 6 and 19 are overweight.

Today's families are so busy that they rarely have time to cook a well balanced, healthy dinner. All too often, with both parents working, it's easier to stop at McDonalds, Wendy's, Burger King, Taco Bell or pick up a pizza. Many families don't even take the time to sit down at the dinner table and eat a meal together and get caught up on what's been going on in each other's lives. I've known families who sit in front of the television set while eating dinner. There are way too many couch potatoes in this country and the epidemic is getting bigger.

Kids younger than 8 spend an average of 2.5 hours watching television or playing video games. Kids 8 and older spend 4.5 hours. Children who watch more than 4 hours of television a day are more likely to be overweight.

A lot of food that is sold in the grocery store is loaded with hidden salts and fats. This problem can be resolved by looking at the labels on the boxes and containers. Something that may appear to be healthy, may actually be the reverse. Buy more fresh fruits, vegetables, legumes and nuts.

Parents need to get involved with their children's health. They need to set a good example. There is no reason why the entire family can't get out and exercise. If the weather is too nasty to go outside, it's still possible to get exercise walking around the mall. We have a walking program at The Mid-Hudson Mall. When it's too cold to walk outside in the winter months, many people go to the mall and walk. They have the entire mall mapped out so everybody knows exactly how far they're walking. Biking is another fun activity for the entire family, and a great way to get and stay in shape. Others include playing sports like basketball, baseball and soccer. Swimming is another fantastic way to stay in shape. Swimming is amazing because the water helps the swimmer to avoid the type of injuries that occur while running. I can't wait until

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