HEALTHY EATING HAS TO START EARLY
I admit I'm only scratching the surface of a growing problem.
We recently ran a story on 11 News about new statistics from the Centers For Disease Control. The CDC says 45 percent of American adults have either high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes. 13 percent have at least two of the three! The reason for all of this poor health? According to the CDC, much of it is weight-related and a third of Americans are obese....not overweight, obese.
The CDC defines obese as a body mass index of 30 or more. 18.5 to 25 is considered normal weight. They also point out that BMI is not a direct measure of body fat and there are lots of variables. In simplest terms, someone who's 5' 9", in general, would have to weigh 203 pounds to be obese. Again, there are lots of qualifiers and variables, but the bottom line is..that's pretty heavy, and 33 percent of Americans are in that category.
| Weight Range | BMI | Considered | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5' 9" | 124 lbs or less | Below 18.5 | Underweight |
| 125 lbs to 168 lbs | 18.5 to 24.9 | Healthy weight | |
| 169 lbs to 202 lbs | 25.0 to 29.9 | Overweight | |
| 203 lbs or more | 30 or higher | Obese |
Being an overweight adult often starts with being an overweight child. It's estimated that about a third of children and adolescents in this country are obese. Get this, if a child is obese from ages 10 to 13, there's an 80 percent chance that child will be obese as an adult....80 percent! There are other studies that show things like foods high in fats and sugars can have an effect on the brain that makes them addictive. With that in mind, here's part of a news release that came out today about unhealthy foods in school lunches. It's from dietitians from the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine:
"Some of the foods contain more saturated fat and sodium than a child should eat in an entire meal."
The five worst school lunches are:
Worst
Beef and Cheese Nachos
24 grams of fat and almost 1,500 milligrams of sodium
Second Worst
Meatloaf and Potatoes
472 calories and 78 milligrams of cholesterol
Third Worst
Cheeseburger
More saturated fat than a child should consume in an entire meal
Fourth Worst
Cheese Sandwiches (including toasted cheese and cheese quesadilla) More than 7 grams of saturated fat and almost 1,000 milligrams of sodium
Fifth Worst
Pepperoni Pizza
More than 6 grams of saturated fat; pepperoni is a processed meat that increases cancer risk
The report suggests that schools increase the number of days they serve healthier options already on their menus, such as vegetarian chili and veggie burgers, which are low in fat and cholesterol and high in fiber.
I still fight weight as an adult but I'm winning the battle now because I have made heavy exercise a top priority every day. It's the only thing that works for me. Wouldn't be nice if kids could grow up without having to worry about weight and the health consequences that come with being too heavy?
We're airing a story today about the school lunches, and another one tonight about getting kids to make healthy food choices. Watch them if you can, maybe they'll help you and your kids. I'll add the links later.
As for the school lunches, District 11 in Colorado Springs is working now to phase out the worst of the foods. Good for District 11...more importantly, good for the kids who go to school and eat lunch in District 11.
We'll talk again soon.
Don Ward
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