By Robert Barron, Staff Writer
Enid News and Eagle
ENID —
Parents and their children learned Thursday how to make tasty snacks that are good for them, too.
Participants in the Parents As Teachers Program received training in the new Healthy Eating campaign launched by Smart Start, a service of Community Development Support Association.
Parents and their children attending the class at CDSA were shown ways to make snacks like veggie pizza and how to make smoothies using only fruit.
Fighting childhood obesity has become a national cause. Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates have tripled, and today nearly one in three children is obese or overweight. Numbers are higher in African-American and Hispanic communities, where nearly 40 percent of children are overweight or obese, according to figured provided by CDSA.
“If we don’t solve this problem, one-third of all the children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. In addition to diabetes, other related diseases will be prevalent, such as high blood pressure and heart disease,” said Diane Juhnke, director of CDSA’s early childhood programs.
About 32 percent of adults in Garfield County are obese, according to studies, and there is concern about how they are feeding their children. Juhnke said we are “supersizing” our kids. According to a study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about 15 pounds more of sugar per person is consumed in a year than was consumed in 1970.
“Juice is also filled with sugar, the recommendation is four to six ounces of juice a day,” said Ebbey Stratton, parent educator.
Parents As Teachers focuses on helping parents teach their children through age 3, which is the age children learn more than at any other time. The healthy eating program focuses on healthy snacks and promotes the use of fruit and vegetables to set healthy eating patterns in children’s early years. The program also examines ways to distribute information in the community.
Stratton said children often go all day with a sippy cup filled with juice. Their small stomachs are filled with juice and they do not eat at meal time. The constant drinking of juice, which contains a high amount of sugar, also harms children’s teeth.
Other common foods also contribute to the sugar problem, Stratton said.
“White flour, like pasta, converts into sugar. There are whole grain flours out there,” she said.
When children are picky eaters, she said it often is an attempt at independence. She said if a child will not eat the meal prepared for the rest of the family, parents should not give them anything else.
The Robert Wood Johnson survey stated 30 years ago people led lives that kept them at a healthy weight. Kids walked to and from school every day, ran around at recess, participated in gym class and played several hours before dinner. Meals were home-cooked with reasonable portion sizes and there was always a vegetable on the plate. Eating fast food was rare and snacking between meals was an occasional treat.
Children experience a different lifestyle today. They go to and from school by car and bus. Gym class and after-school sports have been cut. Afternoons are spent with television, video games and the Internet. Parents are busier than ever, and families eat fewer home-cooked meals. Snacking between meals is common, the study said. Portion sizes have become larger — two to five times bigger than they were in the past. Beverage portions also are much larger than they were in the mid-1970s, when the average beverage size was 13.6 ounces. Today, kids can drink a 20-ounce, sugar-sweetened beverage.
Some tips for healthy eating at home include:
• Teach your child fruits and vegetables are healthy choices because they are good for the body and help make them strong.
• Explain why it is important to wash fruits and vegetables before they are eaten.
• Discuss the different ways fruits and vegetables can be prepared and eaten and discuss the different tastes different preparation can make.
For information, or if you have a child under age 3 and are interested in the Parents as Teachers program, call CDSA at 242-6131.
