An Apple A Day: Childhood Obesity

I literally eat an apple everyday. Yup, that's right, every single day. (at my old job, my co-workers laughed that you could set your clock by my apple snack time) Whether its my morning snack or a part of my lunch, I adhere to the old adage, you are what you eat. I've not always been a huge health, but, for the most part I was a good, healthy eater as a child. Even when we did not have much money, my mom had to feed my fruit and veggie habit (I was the child who could eat a whole can of green beans for dinner). So, it shocks me when I see children today hopped up in caffiene, sugar, and fast food.

In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese, and the number is growing. This is evidenced by my recent early morning coffee run where I witnessed two teens order something akin to a milkshake paired with muffins and cake. Seriously, their dailey caloric intake was right there disguised as coffee. Not only was I annoyed by the amount of time it took them to decide what they wanted and realizing it had coffee in it, and "oh I don't like coffee..." (THEN WHY ARE YOU HERE!!!! I screamed in my head), but I was shocked that a parent would allow their child to eat this crap. I mean its one thing if you as an adult eat it, but your kid has a chance!

Children and adolescents who are obese are likely to be obese as adults and are therefore more at risk for adult health problems such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, several types of cancer, and osteoarthritis.  One study showed that children who became obese as early as age 2 were more likely to be obese as adults.

Overweight and obesity are associated with increased risk for many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

I was again shocked this weekend while judging a competition. Here are athletes, honing their sport, while chugging down sugary sports drinks, redbulls, and pretty much junk food! I have never seen more candy bars, energy drinks, and inhalation of stuff in my life. How are you supposed to fuel your body to perform your sport if you are feeding yourself junk? Crap in, crap out.... (no pun intended).

Now, I'm not saying that we need to teach our children or teen girls that they need to be on a constant diet and starve, but they do need to be taught to eat healthy. They need to learn that eating right now, makes it easier to eat well later and avoid those pounds when your metabolism slows down. It may seem easy to pull through the drive-thru or microwave dinner, but what are you teaching your kids? I know its hard, I know kids are picky, and stubborn, and would rather die than eat something green, but something has to be done.

Eating right, and healthy can be just as tasty as fast food, and you feel much better after an apple than an apple pie! Eat right, get fit, live longer. ~The Illegal Blonde