The Bronx Health Link

Monthly Newsletter

MAY 2007

B eing overweight or obese is a serious health concern for chil-dren and adolescents. Overweight means having a “body mass index”—a rough measure of body fat based on height and weight—higher than 95% of children of the same age and gender. Obese means extremely overweight. Research by the government shows that the problem of excess weight has increased a huge amount over the years. This has affected kids of all age groups, from as young as 2 all the way up to 19 years of age.

Overweight children and adolescents are at risk for health problems during their youth and as adults. For example, they are more likely

Keeping Kids Healthy: Overweight, Nutrition & Physical Exercise

Keeping Kids Healthy

1

Consequences of Excess Weight

2

Making Weight Loss a Family Affair

2,3, 4

Causes of Excess Weight in Kids

3

Helping Your Overweight Child

4, 5

Healthy Recipe 6

Inside this issue:

Special points of

interest:

� Some of the risks of

being overweight

� Tips on preventing

excess weight in kids

� How to include your

whole family in keep-

ing healthy

� Avoiding excess weight

with healthy recipes!

than other children and teens to have risk factors for heart and artery diseases (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes).

Overweight children and adolescents are also more likely to become obese as adults. For example, one study found that around 80% of children who were overweight at ages 10 to 15 years were obese adults at age 25 years.

Healthy eating and physical activity habits are key to your child's well-being. Eating too much and exercising too little can lead to excess weight and re-

lated health prob-lems that can fol-low children into their adult years.

You can take an active role in help-ing your child—your whole fam-ily—start healthy eating and physical activity habits that can last for a life-time.

Information compiled from: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/childhood/index.htm

Consequences of Excess Weight in Kids Excess weight in children can lead to many health problems. Over-weight children and adolescents are at risk for different types of problems now and may be at risk for health problems as adults.

Some of these problems are so-cial. Other kids often make fun of overweight children and refuse to play with them. This can cause stress and low self-esteem, which can disturb a child’s performance in school. These problems may last into adulthood.

Overweight children and teens can be at risk for heart or blood vessel disease, including high cho-lesterol levels and high blood pressure.

Less common health conditions connected to increased weight include asthma, hepatic steatosis, sleep apnea and Type 2 diabetes:

• Asthma is a lung disease that can make it difficult to breathe. Studies have shown that a child’s excess weight can be one factor in causing asthma.

• Hepatic steatosis is the fatty breakdown of the liver. Losing weight can help this condition.

• Sleep apnea is a disorder

where a person stops breath-ing for at least 10 seconds sev-eral times while sleeping. This causes loud snoring and difficult breathing and can be dangerous to the child’s health.

• Type 2 diabetes has recently become more common in overweight children and ado-lescents. In the past, this con-dition was mainly seen in adults. Diabetes in children and adolescents can result in serious illnesses such as heart and blood vessel disease and kidney failure.

Information complied from: Centers for Disease Control, www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity y/childhood/consequences.htm

Change family behaviors

Many behaviors can lead to child-hood overweight. Examples are the time spent in front of the TV or computer or the types and amounts of food eaten. These be-haviors or habits are hard to change. Here are some helpful hints:

It is not a race. It takes time and dedication to learn new healthy behaviors.

It takes an entire family to prevent or reverse excess weight in chil-dren. Kids cannot change exercise and eating habits alone. They need the help and support of their fami-lies.

Most children become overweight by eating too much and exercising too little. So creating new family habits around healthy eating and increased exercise can help a child lose weight and also improve the health of other family members.

Think small. Small changes are easiest to follow. And small changes can make a big difference over time. For example, take a walk after dinner or serve water instead of soda. Set individual and family goals. Set specific goals for each child (like eating healthier snacks) and

Continued on next page . . .

Making Weight Loss a Family Affair

Page 2 The Bronx Health Link

Other kids often make fun of overweight

children and refuse to play with them.

it alone, and anyway there is no way to prevent heredity.

No single behavior is the “cause” of overweight, but here are some that are known to play a role:

• Food and drink: Large portion sizes for food and beverages, eat-ing meals away from home, snack-ing on fatty and sugary foods, and having drinks high in sugar all re-sult in taking in too much energy.

• Exercise: It is important for children and teens to exercise. It is good for their weight, blood pressure and bone strength.

Children who are active are more likely to remain active as adults.

• Too much sitting: Children spend lots of time watching TV, videos, DVDs, and movies. One study found that kids between the ages of 8 and 18 watch more than 3 hours of TV a day. This has been found to increase weight in chil-dren because it may: • cause kids to spend less time in physical activities, • lead to extra snacking and eating meals in front of the TV, and it may • influence children to make unhealthy food choices be- cause of commercials.

Information compiled from: Centers for Disease Control http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/childhood/contributing_ factors.htm

Children become overweight be-cause they eat and drink more calories than they use for normal growth, metabolism (converting food into energy), and physical activity. This problem can be caused by several factors — some that you can control and others that you cannot. For example, it is

known that certain genes that a child inherits from a parent may increase their risk of becoming overweight. But this does not do

Children who are active are more likely to remain active as

adults.

Factors Leading to Kids’ Excess Weight

Volume 1, Issue 1 Page 3

Making Weight Loss a Family Affair Continued from previous pg. . .

for the whole family (like only eat-ing out at a fast food place once a month).

Plan family life to support the goal of healthy weight

As you work for healthy habits and behaviors, make plans that supports these efforts: Serve fruits and vegetables with meals. Make exercise and physical activity part of each day's routine. Suggest that kids to play outside — ride their

bike or play a basketball game with friends, for example. Have the family walk to the library or play at a park.

Parents can also limit the time kids spend watching TV or playing video or computer games. This makes it easier for children to find more active ways to have fun.

As your family establishes healthy behaviors, be sure that all — including parents — stick to the plan.

Be a positive role model

The best way to get your child on board with the new, active type of life is to make the changes your-self. Here is how you can be a positive role model: • Eat more healthy, nutritious

foods. • Control your portion sizes. • Limit the number of treats and

high-calorie snacks you eat. • Be physically active every day.

Continued on pg. 4 . . .

How Can I Help My Overweight Child? It’s best to involve the whole family in building healthy eating and physi-cal activity habits. That benefits everyone and does not single out the overweight child. Don’t put your child on a weight-loss diet unless your doctor tells you to. If children don’t eat enough, they may not grow and learn as well as they should.

Be supportive

Tell your child that he or she is loved, is special, and is important. Children's feelings about them-selves are often based on their parents' feelings about them. Accept your child at any weight. Listen to your child's worries about his or her weight. Overweight chil-dren probably know better than anyone else that they have a weight problem. They need support and understanding from parents.

Encourage healthy eating habits

Buy and serve more fruits and vegetables (fresh or frozen, not canned). Let your child choose them at the store.

Buy fewer soft drinks and high-calorie snack foods like

chips, cookies, and candy. These snacks are OK once in a while, but keep healthy snack foods on hand and offer them more often.

Eat breakfast every day. Skipping it can leave your child hungry, tired, and looking for less healthy foods later.

Plan healthy meals and eat together as a family. This helps kids enjoy a variety of foods.

Eat fast food less often. When you visit a fast food restaurant, try the healthful options.

Offer your child water or low-fat milk more often than fruit juice. Fruit juice (not fruit drinks, which are high in sugars) is a healthy choice but is high in calo-ries, so dilute it with seltzer water or spring water.

Continued on pg. 6 . . .

Page 4 The Bronx Health Link

Making Weight Loss a Family Affair

Continued from pg. 3 . . .

• Limit the amount of time you spend watching TV or playing computer games.

Reward successful changes

Rewards for successful behavior changes keep your family moti-vated and more likely to stick to the plan. Make a list of how your family has succeeded in changing certain eating and activity habits. Then celebrate your success. Re-wards should fit with the goal and be given daily or weekly.

An easy way to celebrate success is to offer your child praise and attention. Another good option is to plan an activity the family likes to do together, such as skating or swimming. But don't use food as a reward or punishment—it will lead to battles later.

Making changes can be difficult, especially when today's families juggle busy schedules, too little time and money, and other de-mands on daily living. But if your family works together and sup-

ports each others' efforts, then success is more likely.

Over time, the changes will be-come part of your family's every-day life and will just be the way things are done. Once these good habits become routine, your family will be well on its way to having healthy weight and improving everyone’s health.

Information taken from: Mayo Clinic, www.mayoclinic.com/ health/childhood-obesity/FL00058

How Can I Help My Overweight Child? Continued from pg. 4 . . .

Don’t give up if your child won’t eat a new food the first time it’s served. Some kids need a new food served to them 10 times before they will eat it.

Try not to use food as a re-ward. For example, if you promise dessert to a child for eating vegeta-bles, it sends the message that vegetables are less valuable than dessert. Kids learn to dislike foods they think are less valuable.

Start with small servings and let your child ask for more if he or she is still hungry.

Healthy snack foods to try: • Fresh fruit • Fruit canned in juice • Small amounts of dried fruits

(raisins, apple rings, apricots) • Fresh vegetables (baby carrots,

cucumber, zucchini, tomatoes) • Reduced-fat cheese or a small

amount of peanut butter on whole-wheat crackers

• Low-fat yogurt • Graham crackers, animal

crackers, low-fat vanilla wafers.

Encourage daily physical activity

Like adults, kids need daily physical activity. Here are some ways to help your child move every day:

Set a good example. If your chil-dren see that you are physically active and have fun, they are more likely to be active and stay active throughout their lives.

Encourage your child to join a sports team or class, such as

soccer, dance, basketball, or gym-nastics at school or at your local community center.

Be sensitive to your child's needs. If your child feels uncom-fortable participating in activities like sports, help him or her find activities that are fun and not em-barrassing.

Be active together as a family. Assign active chores such as mak-ing the beds, washing the car, or vacuuming. Plan active outings such as a trip to the zoo or a walk through a park.

Because his or her body is not ready yet, your pre-adolescent child should not participate in adult-style physical activity such as long jogs, using an exercise bike or treadmill, or lifting heavy weights. FUN physical activities are best for kids.

Kids need a total of about 60 min-utes of physical activity a day, but this does not have to be all at one time. Short 10-minute or even 5-minute activity times throughout the day are just as good. If your children are not used to being active, encourage them to start

with what they can do and build up to 60 minutes a day.

FUN physical activities to try: • Riding a bike • Climbing on a jungle gym • Swinging on a swing set • Jumping rope • Playing hopscotch • Bouncing a ball

Discourage inactive play

Set limits on the amount of time your family spends watching TV and videos, and playing video games.

Help your child find FUN things to do besides watching TV, like acting out favorite books or sto-ries, or doing a family art pro-ject. Your child may find that creative play is more interesting than TV.

Encourage your child to get up and move during commercials and discourage snacking when the TV is on.

Be a positive role model

Children are good learners and they learn what they see.

Choose healthy foods and active pastimes for yourself. Your children will see that they can follow healthy habits that last a lifetime.

Information compiled from: Weight-control Information Network (WIN), part of the National Institutes of Health, http://win.niddk.nih.gov/ publications/over_child.htm

Page 5 The Bronx Health Link

ture on top. Add a layer of zucchini. Repeat layering. Add a thin coating of sauce. Top with noodles, sauce, and cheese mix. Cover with aluminum foil.

5. Bake 30 to 40 minutes. Cool for 10 to 15 minutes. Cut into 6 portions.

Recipe from: National Heart Lung and Blood In-stitute http://hp2010.nhlbihin.net/NHBPEP_Kit/recipes.htm

1/2 pound cooked lasagna noodles (in unsalted water) 3/4 cup mozzarella cheese, part-skim, grated 1 1/2 cups cottage cheese, fat free 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated 2 1/2 cups tomato sauce, no salt added 1 1/2 cups zucchini, raw, sliced 1 clove garlic 2 tsp basil, dried 1/8 tsp black pepper 2 tsp oregano, dried 1/4 cup onion, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with vegetable oil spray.

2. In a small bowl, combine 1/8 cup mozzarella and 1 tbsp Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese with all the cottage cheese. Set aside.

4. Combine tomato sauce with remaining ingredi-ents. Spread a thin layer of tomato sauce in the bottom of baking dish. Add a 1/3 of noodles in a single layer. Spread half of the cottage cheese mix-

A Healthy Recipe: Zucchini Lasagna

Our Mission

The Bronx Health Link, Inc. (TBHL) is a Bronx-wide network of diverse service providers, organizations, coalitions, agencies, commu-nity stakeholders, residents, and students. We serve the Bronx and NYC in various ways, including as a clearinghouse for information and referral, providing technical assistance as needed, and broadcasting information through the TBHL Email Communication Network, which has over 500 subscribers. The free daily E-Comm provides e-mail messages on a wide scope of information, including grant and job opportunities (Mon.), public health and medical access news (Tues.), community and provider events and resources (Wed.), medi-cal research and safety alerts (Thurs.), and news on maternal, infant, child, adolescent, and women’s reproductive health research, news, and resources (Fri.). [You can subscribe at our website.]

Our mission is to improve community health by:

• identifying emerging community health issues;

• increasing communication to better serve the community;

• providing information to providers and community residents on

services and resources; and

• increasing access to available services and programs.

Monthly Newsletter

T H E B R O N X H E A L T H L I N K, INC.

851 Grand Concourse, Rm. 914

Bronx, New York Phone: 718-590-2648

www.bronxhealthlink.org

We’re on the Web!

www.BronxHealth

Link.org