5 Healthy Habits To Curb Childhood Obesity
Written By Savvy Auntie Staff Writers
By Katie Riley, www.aota.org
Founded in 1917, the American Occupational Therapy Association (AOTA) represents the professional interests and concerns of more than 140,000 occupational therapists, assistants, and students nationwide. The Association educates the public and advances the profession of occupational therapy by providing resources, setting standards including accreditations, and serving as an advocate to improve health care. Based in Bethesda, Md., AOTA’s major programs and activities are directed toward promoting the professional development of its members and assuring consumer access to quality services so patients can maximize their individual potential. For more information, go to www.aota.org.
Advice for families to influence a lifetime of healthy decisions
While obesity is a concern at any age, eating and leisure habits developed as early as Pre-K are often precursors to lifelong patterns. The family is a key contributor in promoting physical and mental wellness to prevent obesity through healthy routines.
Obesity can affect children’s self-esteem and participation in daily activities. Children who are overweight are more susceptible to bullying, anxiety, and isolation; can have difficulty choosing healthy meals; and could face a lifetime of challenges with healthy sleep patterns.
The American Occupational Therapy Association offers the following tips for establishing and maintaining healthy habits that will last a lifetime:
1. Increase physical activity.
Reduce screen time (computer and TV) and encourage more physical activity including recreational sports. Join a dance or yoga class with your nieces and nephews to get in more qualAuntie time! Encourage them to go for walks or ride their bikes in the afternoons now that they’re out of school. When you’re out together, look for opportunities to take the stairs instead of the elevator or escalator.
2. Make activity a family routine.
Activities as a family not only promote physical fitness but strengthen emotional bonds. Can you replace an hour of TV time at the end of the day with a walk, hike, or game of basketball? Play Wii games that involve movement like tennis or even snowboarding. Play in teams and hold tournaments if you have many nieces and nephews, and get their parents in on the fun!
3. Make family mealtime a priority.
Organized meals are an opportunity to gather as a family. If your nieces and nephews are spending the night or staying with their favorite Auntie for the weekend, cook together to remind them of what they are putting into their bodies. To incorporate a lesson on where food comes from, plant a summer garden and enjoy its vegetables and herbs. Share your favorite healthy food with your niece or nephew so they have a variety to choose from.
4. Make healthy lifestyle choices.
Set aside time every week to eat a healthy breakfast or brunch, or have a nutritious picnic with the kids on the weekends. Talk to your nieces and nephews to make sure that they have a good balance of both sedentary and physical activities. Substitute stickers, hugs, and praise as rewards, rather than food whenever they make healthy choices.
5. Build community awareness.
Involve their parents and find out ways to build safe playgrounds in your community. In order to promote physical fitness and mental well-being, occupational therapy practitioners use everyday activities to help children and youth participate in the things they want and need to do. Help your nieces and nephews find fun and safe volunteer opportunities or local clubs that encourage healthy lifestyles.
“We know that obesity presents challenges for both physical and mental health. As activity experts, occupational therapy practitioners recommend the ‘just right fit’ to reduce stress, increase socialization, and increase physical activity and leisure,” says AOTA’s Pediatric Coordinator Sandy Schefkind, MS, OTR/L.
Click here to view or download the American Occupational Therapy Association’s tip sheet on childhood obesity.
Photo: photostock
Published: June 12, 2013