The role of first lady is whatever she wants to make of it. Some prefer to stay pretty much invisible, while others like to take proactive roles with issues they are passionate about.
One of Michelle Obama’s passions in the first year of her husband’s term is promoting healthy eating… something that has become a sort of national emergency. Now she’s concentrating on childhood obesity.
“Nearly a third of all children in this country are overweight or obese… and a third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lifetimes,” Mrs. Obama said in a speech at the Department of Health and Human Services.
“It is a major public health threat right now, so just imagine what we’re going to be facing in 20 or 30 years if we don’t get on this issue.”
Have our weight problems really come to this? Are parents of morbidly obese children guilty of child abuse on the level that it warrants them losing custody?
It’s not just in the U.S. – this is a worldwide debate. A Scottish couple lost custody of two of their six children because they failed to reduce the kids’ weight following warnings from Scottish social services.
In another case, a South Carolina mother lost custody of her 14-year-old son in May – he was 555 pounds. Jerri Gray didn’t help her case when she missed a court date to examine whether she should retain custody. The boy is currently living with his aunt. His mother, who was arrested, is facing criminal child-neglect charges.
Recently I wrote about how the lack of home-cooked meals has led to bad food choices for families. Now comes a study from The Institute of Child Health in the UK that found families with working mothers tended to more often have unfit children.
The study examined more than 12,500 five-year-olds and found that those who had working mothers were less active and more likely to eat unhealthy food.
An estimated 60 percent of UK mothers with children up to five-years old work. Those children whose mothers were employed, even part-time, were more likely to consume sweetened drinks between meals.
A little effort goes a long way when it comes to weight loss. And that goes for your kids, as well. A new study examined the consequences of family health programs on very obese children. They found that even modest weight loss had significant health benefits.
According to the researchers, there hasn’t been much research done on these kinds of programs for severely obese children.
“Modest weight loss is associated with real health benefits. That’s the take-home message, it’s worth doing,” says Dr. Marsha D. Marcus of the University of Pittsburgh, one of the authors of the study.
Being a busy mom, I find that mornings are especially chaotic and not friendly to a leisurely, home-cooked breakfast. Not only that, my kids’ favorite breakfasts involve foods that are high in fat and calories and not healthy choices. One of the best breakfast options out there is cereal. So many cereals on the shelf are full of sugar, high fructose corn syrup, artificial colorings and lacking in protein – but appealing to kids, thanks to colorful pictures, candy-like flavors and cartoon characters. It’s hard to find a cereal that pleases both children and parents, but it is possible. Here are some guidelines that I try to follow when I’m shopping for cereal. (Psst – I never bring the kids.)
- Keep the sugar low - I remember when I was a child my mom always told me never to buy cereal with a sugar count over the magic number of “10.” Ten grams of sugar means that the box is 10% sugar, and that’s high enough for it to still be tasty.
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