By: Erin Griffin

What’s the scariest thing you can imagine happening to your child? Does a life plagued by debilitating health problems, low self-esteem, and social torment rank among the top? These conditions, and many others, can be the devastating result of childhood obesity. This epidemic is among the leading health conditions affecting young people in America today, with the number of obese children ages 6 to 11 doubling in the past 20 years, and those ages 12 to 19 tripling, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These children face a higher risk of suffering from diabetes at some point in their lives, and many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems, such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma.

With so many children falling victim to the fat life, it’s tempting to ask who’s to blame. Supersized portions at fast-food chains are a suspect, along with shrewdly disguised marketing campaigns and the rise of television and video games. Some people even blame schools, which they claim feed kids unhealthy food and fail to provide enough exercise.

According to a recent survey by the marketing research firm ACNielsen, when parents were asked who should shoulder the blame for America’s obese children, only one percent blamed manufacturers, seven percent blamed TV advertising, nine percent blamed the children, and ten percent blamed fast-food companies.

Surprisingly or not, two thirds of parents blamed themselves.

Research shows that a child’s brain develops most dramatically in the first five years, and what parents and caregivers do during these years to support their child’s growth will have a meaningful impact throughout his or her life. After all, especially for younger kids, parents are the only ones that have control over a child’s eating habits, food choices, and outlook on physical activity.

Of course it isn’t easy, especially if parents themselves are overweight. A recent study from Johns Hopkins University predicts that by the year 2010, 75 percent of American adults will be either obese or overweight. Statistically, children with obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves; and in this monkey-see-monkey-do world, parents are role models to their children. If parents lead a sedentary life, children are more likely to do the same. If children see their parents eating unhealthfully, children will think it’s okay to follow suit.

While genetics may indeed account for up to 80 percent of childhood obesity and overweight diagnoses, obese parents are also more likely to pass down their poor habits to their children. Despite genetics, it’s important that parents focus on changing the things in a child’s environment that can lead to unhealthy lifestyles; obesity is an epidemic that can be controlled through practice and responsibility.

Part of a country often regarded by the rest of the world as fat and lazy, American have developed destructive habits at home that may be contributing to rising numbers of children in danger. For example, when a child performs well in school or behaves properly at the store, parents often use food as a reward. This teaches children that food, especially sweet, fattening foods, are emotionally fulfilling. Instead, parents should respond by rewarding the child with a small toy or a special privilege. Recent data finds from the journal Pediatrics also linked adequate sleep, limited television watching, and regular family meals eaten at the dinner table to a 40% lower prevalence of obesity in four year olds.

Parents play a key role in making healthy choices for their children — and also teaching their children to make healthy choices for themselves. Children aren’t programmed to understand healthy eating habits, or the health benefits of an active lifestyle. Much more than simply telling a child what not to eat, parents must lead their children into a healthier lifestyle by setting a positive example. Save soda for special occasions, eat the foods you expect your child to eat, and rather than telling them to go outside to play, get out there with them to kick around a soccer ball or ride bikes together around your neighborhood.

According to Jennifer Rupert, M.D., who specializes in obstetrics and gynecology in Portland, children who walk and bike to school have higher physical activity levels throughout the day, helping them meet the minimum 60 minutes of daily activity recommended by the CDC.

Of course, parents cannot always be with their children, and they rely on schools and other community functions to help set the standard by which a child should learn to live a healthy lifestyle. As families work to ensure children eat healthfully and have active play at home, kids must also have access to healthy meals and sufficient physical activity at school.

“Schools and parents have to work together to model healthy eating for children, because what children eat in their home environment affects their acceptance of fruits and vegetables and whole grains in the cafeteria line,” says Shannon Stember, Portland Public Schools’ assistant director of nutrition services. “Portland Public Schools has introduced students to many new and unfamiliar foods through programs like our Harvest of the Month, and we encourage families to talk with their children about the options and add these new foods to menus at home.”

On the heels of Michelle Obama’s February 2010 announcement launching the “Let’s Move!” campaign to combat childhood obesity, and the increased attention being paid to America’s healthcare crisis, more attention than ever has been focused on the epidemic that today affects one in every three children. With the campaign spearheaded in our nation’s capital, it’s time to examine the lives of our children, determine the factors that contribute to the frightening epidemic of childhood obesity, and form sustainable solutions that will be effective for keeping obesity and other related health risks at bay.

Together, parents and children can make significant changes with these tips:

• Set a positive and healthy example. If you want healthy children, it helps to be healthy yourself.

• Increase physical activity. Even if your child is not athletically inclined, young people can always find fun, physical activities within their capabilities. Activities done within a supervised group provide constant encouragement and a sense of obligation to participate on a regular basis.

• Limit the time spent on solitary, sedentary activities, other than schoolwork. Set a daily limit on electronic games, watching television, surfing the Internet, texting, etc.

• Increase social time not centered on food by participating in more after-school activities and social events at places where physical activity is the focus, such as the park or a roller skating rink.

• Make eating FUN! Cook meals with your children — they’re more apt to eat what they’ve helped prepare.

• Learn what makes up a healthy diet. Then take steps to replace unhealthy foods with those that offer better nutrition and lower calories. Eat the healthier, low-calories foods first, helping dampen the appetite for other foods. Find socially acceptable substitutes for what your friends are eating: for example, cut-up vegetables (instead of chips) with dips, fruit instead of high-fat and high-calorie desserts. Limit portion size by using smaller plates and sharing off-diet foods with friends. Replace soft drinks with seltzer flavored with lemon, lime, or even some cocoa.

• Educate and encourage your family to shop wisely. Learn to prepare tasty, healthy alternatives to fattening foods, and keep healthy, low-calorie snacks readily available.

• Focus on good health, not a certain weight goal. Teach and model healthy and positive attitudes toward food and physical activity without emphasizing body weight.

To help America get off literally on the right foot, Mrs. Obama, a mother herself, offers these motivating words, “This isn’t the kind of problem that can be solved overnight, but with everyone working together, it can be solved,” she says. “So, let’s move!”

When she’s not writing articles, Erin Griffin can be found spending time with her husband, Ryan, playing soccer, baking, and planning for the arrival of their first child.

For more information about improving your child’s health and reducing his or her risk of childhood obesity, check out these additional resources for parents and kids:

• Nutrition for Kids
www.nutritionforkids.com

• Portland Public Schools Nutrition Services
www.nutrition.pps.k12.or.us

• Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH)
www.catchinfo.org

• Shaping America’s Youth
www.shapingamericayouth.com

• Alliance for a Healthier Generation
For parents: www.healthiergeneration.org
For kids: www.empowerme2b.org

• American Heart Association
www.americanheart.org

• Let’s Move!
www.letsmove.gov