At a recent routine trip to the pediatrician, my child's doctor brought up the Body Mass Index (BMI). The BMI is a calculation that uses height and weight to estimate how much body fat a person has. According to the pediatrician, the primary school years can set the foundation for a lifetime of eating habits. He also said that the main influence on diet and lifestyle in the early years is the parents. If that is true, this will be an interesting one in our family: I am a health-conscious, organic food proponent, and my husband is a busy, on-the-go executive who is used to business lunches, eating out a lot, and chowing down peanut M&Ms and ice cream if he hasn't had a chance to eat anything all day. That said, instead of worrying about obesity and heart disease and other potential health problems, maybe the perspective is that my son will gain a balanced approach to food, i.e., healthy meals for the most part, with an occasional treat. With so much pressure as a mom to make sure that our children are happy and healthy, it can get overwhelming trying to cover all of the bases! But I realized that rather than stress about where my son is on the BMI, I need to put it into context. Medical experts admit that the BMI is not a perfect method, but it is a good barometer to check on how a child is growing over time. Also, as my friend pointed out, kids gain weight at certain times in their development- many times before a growth spurt. If others have any tips for fostering a healthy lifestyle from an early age, forward them here! As many news reports indicate, childhood obesity and inactivity is a major issue in the United States. Eating healthy and making sure my son gets plenty of exercise is the way to go! Seed Newsvine

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