Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - St. Anthony - (Page 36)

“But the good news is that we can do something about it,” Andersen says. “That’s the most important thing for parents to realize.” Here are five steps parents can take right now to step up to the plate and reverse the trend by helping their children live healthier lives. For parents, understanding diabetes is an important first step. Diabetes involves high blood glucose (sugar) levels that result from the body’s inability to produce or use insulin, a hormone that regulates glucose in the blood. Previously known as juvenile diabetes, type 1 diabetes affects 5 percent of individuals with diabetes. In those who have type 1, the body doesn’t produce insulin. The most common form of the disease is type 2. The body either doesn’t produce enough insulin or the cells ignore it. This can lead to high blood glucose levels, which, left unchecked, can cause serious complications such as nerve disease, kidney disease, heart problems and more. The primary risk factor for type 2 diabetes is being overweight. Other risk factors include inactivity and a family history of the disease. Plus, type 2 diabetes is more common in girls than in boys and in children of certain races, particularly blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders. Symptoms include frequent urination, unusual thirst or extreme hunger, unusual weight loss, fatigue, frequent infections and blurred vision. If you notice these symptoms or are concerned about your child’s weight, talk to your child’s pediatrician about testing for diabetes. But it’s important for parents to also know that a child can have diabetes without showing symptoms. LEARN MORE ABOUT DIABETES. “Type 2 diabetes is one of the many problems that you can help your child prevent with healthy eating habits, by being physically active and by keeping a healthy weight,” says Hope Warshaw, a registered dietitian and certified diabetes educator and author of Diabetes Meal Planning Made Easy and Real-Life Guide to Diabetes. One of the best ways to encourage your children to do this, Andersen suggests, is through your own healthy behaviors. “The parents are the role models,” he says. “The mom holds the purse strings, and she buys the food that goes in the house—not just from the standpoint of what they’re feeding their kids, but also what they’re feeding themselves. … The parents can’t be eating fried chicken and telling the kid to eat carrots.” Warshaw, who is a mother, understands the challenges. “You’re constantly modeling,” she says. “Raising kids with healthy eating habits is a tough, endless job. It requires daily vigilance. Parents give in a lot on food because there are so many challenging situations. … I encourage parents to hang tough.” MODEL HEALTHY BEHAVIORS. “When the child is home, they can only eat what’s in the house,” Andersen says. If the pantry or fridge is stocked with whole milk instead of skim or chips instead of apples, kids don’t have much choice when they get the munchies. “The modern world makes it very easy to out-eat exercise and nearly impossible to out-exercise overeating,” Andersen notes. “The thing for parents is to focus on the energy-in side of the equation.” He offers this example: If a child goes on a moderately fast bike ride for an hour, he will burn about 300 calories. If he had been sitting at home for that hour, he would have burned 60. The net loss is 240 calories. But an order of french fries has 230 calories. The point, he says, is not to rely on exercise to counter everything your child eats. By focusing on what kids are eating—from at-home meals to making healthy lunches—parents can make a difference. When you’re ready to create a healthy home environment, get a big plastic bag and throw away anything that has more than 10 ingredients in it, Andersen says. Then, replace those foods with whole, real foods like lean meats, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. CREATE A HEALTHY ENVIRONMENT. PHOTOGRAPHY BY GETTY IMAGES

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - St. Anthony

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - St. Anthony
Contents
Opening Thoughts
Community Connections
Stroke of Genius
A Full Spectrum of Caring
The Breakfast Club
Arthritis Answers
A TV Guide to Radiology
Take Aim
It Might NOT Be Cancer
Colin Firth
Step Up to the Plate
Life After Cancer
Get Dad to the Doc
Virtual Health
All Eyes on the Future
One Summer’s Day
A Family Affair
A New Home for Care
Measuring Up
Ask the Experts

Vim & Vigor - Summer 2012 - St. Anthony

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