September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness
Month We’ve heard a lot in the past
several years about the “epidemic” of childhood obesity. Recent data shows that 1 in 8 preschoolers in
the U.S. are obese. Children who are
obese are 5 times more likely than children of normal weigh to be obese or
overweight as adults. Additionally,
obese children are at higher risk for illnesses like type 2 diabetes, high blood
pressure, and even heart disease.
As child care providers, we can have a major impact in
children’s health; many are with us for large parts of the day, 5 days each
week. We often feed children 2 meals and
2 snacks daily, meaning that we may be responsible for nearly 50% of their
weekly meals and snacks. Making sure
that those meals and snacks are healthy will not only provide good nutrition,
but also help teach children how to follow a healthy diet. Part
of that is modeling a healthy diet ourselves, which begins with staff training
on nutrition. Menu development is
critical in planning healthy meals and snacks.
Appropriate menus will include a variety of fruits and vegetables, whole
grains, low-fat milk, and limited fat and sugar. The USDA Child and Adult Care Food Program
provides guidelines for appropriate child nutrition, including portion sizes.
We also have the children in our care long enough each day to
ensure that they have the opportunity for regular physical fitness. Again, if we provide 60 minutes of physical
activity for children each day, we can make sure that they get 70% of their
weekly recommended exercise. Ideally,
part of this activity time should be structured and some should be
unstructured. Additionally, children
should have limited screen time and not be sedentary for more than 60 minutes
at a time, with the exception of nap time.
If you don’t already have a system in place for tracking
meals and snacks and planning portion sizes, check out our Meal and Snack
Planning and Consumption Worksheet.
Misty
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