fitnessandfood

A new study has found that compared to children twenty years ago, today’s youngsters are fatter and most of their excess weight gain happens before they enter school.  This suggests that action must be taken from a young age to prevent the modern epidemic of childhood obesity.  Well, I could have told you that.

One quarter of children in Britain are classified as obese, due largely to a childhood classified by sedentary activities.  Where once children used to play with each other in the street and nearby parks, they now play individually on games consoles, the computer, or passively watch television.

But activity is not the only factor.  Our modern diet is toxic, and growing steadily more refined and less diverse.  Another study found that of 11-13 year olds in the UK, over one third could not identify celery.  Celery!  More than a fifth didn’t know what a potato looked like - presumably because most of them have only seen potatoes in processed form.

What to do about all this?  Well, the first step is making fruits and vegetables more familiar to children.  Children find unfamiliar food scary and threatening, so get your kids involved in shopping and preparing healthy food.  Introduce a new food once a week, whether it be eggplant, quinoa, or gooseberry, but don’t pressue kids to eat it, just to try it.

Tell me, are your kids fruit and vegetable savvy?

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