By Kakie Fitzsimmons, Vice President and founding partner, Farmer’s Hat Productions co-author Bur Bur and Friends book series

Obesity in kids is a national epidemic. I was a heavy as a child and know the emotional scars that come from it lasts a lifetime. In elementary school, I remember dreading gym class because when the teacher let the kids pick who would be on their own teams; I was always one of the last two or three. I knew it was because of my weight and this is just one memory of many.

Looking back on my situation, there was a combination of factors that led to this. My mom was a single mom with very limited resources. She had to work and there were times when we were on our own between school and the time she got home. It was easy to spend that time in front of the TV, playing video games and eating to pacify myself or to cure boredom.

A new study recently came out for the first time that tracks childhood obesity by state. That study came from the website of The Trust for America’s Health, which is the organization that published the study. I first read about this in an article titled “Americans are tipping the scales” in the Minneapolis Tribune. .

Just a few years ago, the surgeon general had a call to action to prevent and decrease obesity in America’s kids and had a number of suggestions that could be part of the solution. The choices and tools that we give our children will last a lifetime. And the consequences for not doing so could lead to heart disease and other diseases that will affect their health forever.

Part of our goal in publishing the Bur Bur and Friends book series was to encourage children and their parents to have active lifestyles. Our hope is that it has an impact because we believe early education and being role models ourselves plays a key role in nurturing healthy kids. There is an interactive video game around the food pyramid and tips for parents posted by the United States Department of Agriculture. It is a place to start.

So how can we take some personal responsibility to combat this epidemic in America?

Here are a couple of ideas: My sister used to have a poster of the food pyramid hanging in her kitchen when the kids were younger. She used it as a tool to teach them about the food groups and why it is so important to eat balanced meals. I thought that was very productive and a step in the right direction.
I have friends who limit TV time, video games and snack times each day. It is a fabulous opportunity for more child/parent socializing. Most importantly, be a role model and promote active exploration and play!

Please add to the comments below and give us your thoughts on this topic.

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This entry was posted on Friday, August 31st, 2007 at 8:26 pm and is filed under Community Board. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.