LifeNuts
  • LifeNuts
    • What is a LifeNut?
    • Origin of LifeNuts
    • LifeNuts Levels
    • What is a LifeNuts Community?
    • Why LifeNuts Works
    • How to Get Started
    • Current LifeNuts Communities
  • Founder's Story
    • Speaking
    • Credentials
  • Stress
    • Concepts of Stress
    • Diseases of Stress
    • PNI
    • The Relaxation Response
    • Psychological Stress Management
    • The Faith Factor
    • Relationships
  • Health
    • Nutrition
    • LifeNuts Fitness
    • Supplements
    • Sleep
    • Excuses
    • Time Management
    • Children >
      • Childhood Obesity
      • LifeNuts for Kids
  • Financial
    • Financial Stress Management
    • Transitioning
    • Goal Setting
  • Blog ...
    • LifeNuts in the News!
    • Blog
    • Are You Faster Than a 91-year-old Challenge
    • FAQ
    • Contact Us
    • The LifeNut Forms

Will we have to bury our children?

9/17/2012

0 Comments

 
An article in today’s Wall Street Journal explored the sodium consumption of children and teens and found that they are, on average, consuming 3,387 mg of sodium a day. Combine that intake with obesity and you’ve got a significant risk of high blood pressure. In a child!! Good grief, you’re thinking. And it’s not all that salty taste – sodium is used as a preservative as well as a flavor in most processed foods. Read the labels. Do you know what the recommended daily sodium intake is? It's about 2,300 mg, though it’s much less (1500) for people with high blood pressure.

            Our president’s wife is supposedly fighting the national epidemic of childhood obesity but she’s losing the battle. Why? Children often regard their elders as role models. Look around. Do you see any adult males without a rubber tire bulging over their belt? Walk into a fast food restaurant and observe the hips, thighs, and bellies of the patrons. Then watch what they order. The Journal points out that 75% of the average American’s food comes from processed food or from restaurants – according to CDC.

            A child reasons that being fat must be OK if mom, dad, uncle Joe and aunt Sally, the newscasters, the mayor and city council folks are all overweight or obese. Kids aren’t dumb and they often imitate adults.

            The next time you’re in a restaurant, look around and you might notice that some kids and parents are either texting or checking out their apps on their phones or tablets. Silence prevails as they are glued to electronics. What? Go for a family walk after dinner? No way. I’d rather text my friends and sit on my butt. A huge percentage of a teenager’s time is devoted to the sedentary pastime of electronics. This increasing trend of little exercise and fatty foods has given us a startling statistic: 34% of US children are overweight or obese – again, according to our friends at CDC.

            For the first time in a century, the youngest generations of Americans are predicted to have a shorter lifespan than the older generations. Yes, some of us may end up burying our children, not a happy thought.

            Why does America have this problem? We love to eat, a fact that doesn’t escape authors (cookbooks are often best sellers) or diet proponents. How many people do you know who lost 10, 20, 30 or more pounds on a trendy diet and put the weight back on two years later? Diets don’t work. Lifestyles do.

            How can you help? Become a fit LifeNut, a role model for children.  Get rid of that belly fat. Get off high fat foods and switch to fruits and vegetables. Exercise daily. Yes, people may thing you're weird and call you "skinny." Get the LifeNuts program going in your community – which may be difficult if your mayor and city council people are overweight. If everyone around you is fat, it’s easy to blend in if you have a big belly. If everyone around you is thin, it’s more difficult.

            Next up. Weight Watchers and its new CEO.

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Author

    Dr. Bob Kroeger is the founder of LifeNuts. He's also proud to be a LifeNut.

    Archives

    September 2022
    July 2022
    October 2020
    August 2020
    May 2020
    February 2020
    September 2019
    August 2019
    February 2019
    August 2018
    July 2018
    May 2018
    March 2018
    September 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    January 2017
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    June 2012

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Photos used under Creative Commons from USACE Europe District, GerryT, uyeah, thelesleyshow, Elvert Barnes, phalinn, achimh, lilli2de, SCA Svenska Cellulosa Aktiebolaget, Serge Melki, Ryan Somma, CitySkylineSouvenir, Kyle Taylor, Dream It. Do It., Iman Mosaad, Skånska Matupplevelser, Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation RI, SteakEat, Spirit-Fire, rexipe, Mark Z., db Photography | Demi-Brooke, Official U.S. Navy Imagery, whistler1984, sillygwailo, paddling, USACE Europe District, smith_cl9, emilio labrador, Kevin M. Gill, Kai Brinker, Victor Olausson, Joe Shlabotnik, cNathanielw, treehouse1977