Fueling our kids’ bodies for health!
By JoAnne Pastel, President and founder, Farmer’s Hat Productions co-author Bur Bur and Friends book series
Is anyone else bothered (i.e., concerned) by all of the recent press and reports regarding childhood obesity and inactivity? Or the concept of soda machines in schools? Or all of the hidden sugars in today’s food products?
Here are just a few of the headlines and findings that have caught my eye lately:
• “Sugary drinks tied to extra pounds in preschoolers,” by Amy Norton, Reuters Health, June 8, 2007
• Roughly one in four American children – or 23%- are overweight (Source: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Tooth decay is on the increase in young kids’ baby teeth, caused by too much sugar in their diets. A study by the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (April 2006) found that tooth decay increased to 28% in kids ages 2-5 from 1999-2004. This was up from 24% in 1994.
The sugary drinks article was one that has had many of my mom friends talking upon realizing how much juice their kids are chugging down each day – and the implications of that.
Basically, a study by Canadian researchers found that: “Preschool children who are regularly given sugary drinks between meals are more likely to be overweight than their peers before age five.” (Findings are published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association). The research did not include children who drank only 100% pure fruit juice.
Tonight, I think my son and I are going to the park – armed with lots of good old H2O and ready to run and play!
Seed Newsvine
