January 2010

First Lady Michelle Obama has announced a national campaign to fight childhood obesity, and said that she was once surprised by her own pediatrician telling her that her daughters were getting off track.

In an interview reported by the Associated Press, Mrs. Obama said that her pediatrician told her to take a closer look at her daughters BMIs.  “We always think that only happens to someone else’s kids, and I was in that position, ” she aid.  “Even though I wasn’t exactly sure at that time what I was supposed to do with this information about my children’s BMI, I knew that I had to do something.  I had to lead our family to a different way.”

The solution she found was relatively painless:  More fruits and vegetables both during meal and snack-time, TV only on the weekends, water bottles at lunch instead of juice, and a family-wide appreciation for portion sizes.

“It was really very minor stuff, but these small changes resulted in some really significant improvements, and I didn’t know it would,” said Mrs. Obama. “It was so significant that the next time we visited our pediatrician, he was amazed. He looked over the girls’ charts and he said, ‘What on earth are you doing?’”

This is the message Mrs. Obama wants to spread:  Small changes can benefit kids’ health in huge ways.  Research shows that dieting doesn’t work for adults, but it can actually be harmful for kids.  Instead, make eating whole and healthy foods and getting daily exercise a priority for the whole family.

For more information on kids and healthy eating, visit KidsHealth.org.

Photo courtesy of veronica.decker, Flickr

When you’re feeling down or tired, it’s hard to resist the urge to reach for something comforting like sweets and processed junk food.  We call this emotional eating, but it’s not all in your head.  Sugar activates reward receptors in your brain, and carbs have a mild sedating effect.

So for a short time, you really do feel better.  And then the sugar lows hit.

Scientists recently discovered what they think is a cause-and-effect relationship between a junk food diet and depression.  People who ate a regular diet of processed foods were more likely to be depressed than those who ate whole foods.  Can you see the cycle?  You eat junk food because you’re feeling bad, and the junk food actually makes you feel worse, so you go back for more.

You can reverse the pattern, though.  Visit MSNBC for tips on how to include more whole foods in your diet and reduce your consumption of processed foods.  Just a note:  When sugar lovers give up sweets, anxious feelings and fatigue can actually get worse for a few days.  Tough it out, and you’ll be feeling great in no time!

The American Heart Association has come up with an easy way to both measure your risk factors and prevent heart disease.  It’s a list of seven lifestyle factors that, when all are present in one person, predict a long and healthy life as far as the heart is concerned.

“Collectively, when these health factors and healthy behaviors are found in aggregate in one person, the effect on markers of health and healthy outcome are remarkable,” said Dr. Clyde W. Yancy, president of the AHA told HealthDay. “Your chance for meaningful longevity with good quality of life is substantially increased.”

HealthDay reports the seven factors are:

• Never smoked or quit more than a year ago.
• Body mass index, a measure based on weight and height, less than 25.
• Physical exercise — at least 150 minutes of moderate intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous intensity each week.
• At least four key components of a healthy diet, such as fewer calories, more fruits and vegetables, and oily fish, such as salmon, four times a week.
• Total cholesterol lower than 200.
• Blood pressure below 120/80.
• Fasting blood sugar below 100.

Even if your “numbers” such as total cholesterol and blood pressure are high, changing your lifestyle to match those at the top of the list may bring them into a healthy range on their own.  And though changing your lifestyle requires determination, dedication, and hard work, it’s pretty basic:  Eat less, eat more fruits and vegetables, and exercise daily.

For tips on getting more fruits and vegetables into your diet, visit 5aday.gov.

My husband and I could not agree last night.  The issue?  Where to donate to help Haiti.  “The Red Cross,” he argued.  “Partners in Health,” I said.  We both had our reasons, and realized very quickly that the solution was easy enough:  Donate to both.

Haiti has never needed our help more than they do now.   Food, water, medical care, search and rescue teams — these are critical needs that the country is going to need for the foreseeable future. When disaster strikes, as it did in Haiti last week, people are often more than willing to open up their wallets and give.  In fact, Wyclef Jean’s Yele Haiti Foundation raised $5 million in a texting campaign, just days after the earthquake hit.

What many people forget, though, is what happens after the headlines fade.  Haiti may be lifted out of crisis in the coming weeks, but rebuilding their lives and their country will take months, if not years.  If you’ve been wondering how to help Haiti, the Washington Post has an excellent list of reputable organizations that are helping Haitians.  And if you’ve already given, consider giving again — now, or in the weeks and months ahead.

We all know that negative thinking can bring us down.  But did you know that a pessimistic attitude can also affect your physical health?

Live Science has a list of seven thoughts that are bad for your health.  Cynacism, for instance, has been connected with a higher risk of heart disease.  Living life without a sense of purpose may affect your immune system.  And those who fret may be more prone to unhealthy habits, such as smoking or overeating.  If nothing else, being optimistic will have a positive effect on your mental and emotional health.

If you’re a lifelong pessimist, it can be hard to change your thinking.  But it is possible, and research shows that changing your thinking really can change your emotions.  Mayo Clinic has some excellent tips for learning how to recognize negative self-talk and how to make it positive.  For instance, instead of saying, “I’ll never get this done,” try “I’m going to work really hard and try to finish.” It’s a subtle change, but an important one.

Like anything else, optimism takes practice.  But with time and patience, you just might find yourself with a healthier outlook on life … and a healthier body, too.

I worry, in the winter months, that my kids don’t get enough exercise.  We go sledding every weekend and play in the snow when we can, but during the week they’re far more likely to choose to play with their toys than go outside.

Experts have long said that kids need a full hour of moderate physical activity a day.  While toddling may count as moderate physical activity for a one-year-old, older kids really need to get out and move to get their heart rate up.  Unfortunately, a lot of our kids just aren’t getting that much movement every day.

A study out of Britain measured the daily activity of 1,892 schoolchildren and found that up to 39 percent of girls and 18 percent of boys aren’t getting a full hour of exercise every day.  Interestingly, however, 80 percent of parents reported that their kids were plenty active.

While you can count physical education as exercise, you can’t depend on those 30 minutes (often just once a week) to keep your kids fit.  Recess counts, too, as long as kids are outside playing.  But most children are going to need active play after school to reach that one hour mark.  Here are some ideas:

Get outside:  Kids spend long days inside studying.  Let them take advantage of that natural outdoor light, soak up a little vitamin D, and get some necessary exercise by scheduling a regular outdoor playtime after school every day.   With the right gear, even kids in the most northern states will enjoy their time out in the snow.

Have a plan B:  Snow, rain, frigid temperatures — sometimes outdoor play isn’t an option.   Inside, you can get kids moving with active games like Hyperdash, indoor tag (if you’ve got the room), or, for younger kids, CDs that encourage movement.  We love Greg and Steve at our house.

Be a good role model:  Kids need time to play and explore on their own, but active family time not only gives you time to bond, it teaches kids that fitness is a life long habit.  Try family walks after dinner, bike rides on the weekends, or an afternoon spent sledding together on a Saturday.

Do you think your kids get enough exercise?  What are your tips for keeping them moving?

When Jared Fogle went from from fat to fit eating, he claimed, only Subway sandwiches, the chain found their new ad campaign.  And it was a successful one, too.

Now Taco Bell is following suit after hearing from a customer who lost 54 pounds after trading her regular Taco Bell meals for food from their “Fresco menu” five to eight times a week.

Christine Dougherty, 27, loves Taco Bell, but she didn’t love being overweight.  So she tweaked her fast food habit just a little bit:

“I lost about two pounds a month over a period of two years by reducing my daily calories and replacing my typical fast-food lunch or dinner with something from the Taco Bell Drive-Thru Diet,” Dougherty says in a commercial for Taco Bell. “I just chose smarter options.”

Taco Bell’s “Drive Thru Diet” campaign is misleading, I think.  Encouraging people to eat fast food when they’re trying to lose weight is counterproductive.  But despite the frequency of her fast food habit — five to eight times a week is pretty excessive — Dougherty had the right idea.  Replacing an old, unhealthy habit with something that’s lighter and more nutritious is a great way to get yourself on the road to weight loss.

If nothing else, it’s nice to see fast food restaurants offering healthier fare.  What do you think about Taco Bell’s new ad campaign?

January 1st has come and gone, and chances are at least a few resolutions have already flown the coop.  The trouble with resolutions is that they’re usually too big, and too overwhelming.  It’s easy to keep your resolve on December 31, but on January 1 — when the real work begins — things get a little tougher.

I make (and break) resolutions every year, but this year I’m determined to be different.  Instead of planning a whole year’s worth of goals, I’m going one week at a time.  This week, my goal is to lose two pounds.  Next Sunday night, I’ll re-evaluate and set a new goal.

Breaking a large goal into smaller parts is one way to approach your resolutions this year.  Here are three more tips for making those goals break-proof:

Write your plan down:  A good plan has a long-term goal (lose 30 pounds, make fitness a regular part of your routine, eat a cleaner diet), as well as several short-term goals.  Write them down, then write three specific steps you’re going to take today to reach that short-term goal.

Tell someone:   Not so they’ll police you, of course, but as back up for when your resolve gets week.  When I gave up sugar, I told my husband first.  He’d never even consider saying a thing if I broke my word, but just knowing that he knew made me more accountable.  The other benefit of sharing your goals with a friend is that they might want to join you.  Built in support system!

Build new habits: Dropping a bad habit is a lot harder than replacing it with a good one.  If you want to stop drinking sugary soft drinks, try replacing one serving a week with flavored water.  If a mid-morning doughnut at the office is your regular routine, pack a healthier snack to eat instead.  Rather than constantly telling yourself “no,” say “Let’s do this instead.”

With time, patience, and hard work, you really can keep those New Year’s resolutions.  Did you make any this year?