According to a study by the British Heart Foundation (BHF),
roughly a third of children polled didn't know the main
ingredient in French fries.
And, about 10 percent of them thought fries were mostly made of
oil; others suggested eggs, flour, and even apples.This may be
part of the reason thatan estimated half-million children in the
UK will become obese or overweight over the next two years.
Food4Thought
In hopes of scaring kids away from fast food, the foundation
launched Food4Thought yesterday, a national campaign including
billboards and posters of hamburgers, hot dogs and chicken
nuggets as they would appear before their common ingredients are
melded and processed into the food you see at the grocery
store-- gristle, bones, and connective tissue.
The campaign is primarily an attempt to engage children on the
subject of why certain foods are less healthy than others, and
encourage them to become interested in what they are eating.
Targeting Children, Parents, and Society
But the BHF is also targeting the government, food industry,
local authorities, schools and parents to get involved. The BHF
has identified three critical areas for change:
- Stop the
marketing of unhealthy food and drink products to
children
- Ensure that nutritious food is affordable,
accessible and appealing for children and parents
- Provide
children with opportunities to learn practical cooking
skills
British Heart Foundation November 7, 2005BBC News November 7,
2005
Dr. Mercola's Comment:
No matter how smart your children are,
when it comes to fast food most are clueless about
the damage they do to their little bodies. This simply do not
understand that these foods arehighly processed and damagedfuel
that's worsenedthe obesity epidemic throughout the world.
Folks, it's up to you to make a difference. Just think about
it, ifyou ignore this trend andfail toaddress these issues with
your kids, theywilllive shorter lives than you will. I'm
absolutely convinced that collectivelyyou can make the necessary
changes before your kids have serious health challenges.
Like most problems in life, preventing childhood obesity is
far easier than treating it, although much of the success of
prevention depends on parental involvement, and
communication is the key.
You will not only need to set appropriate guidelines and talk
to your children about nutrition and why what they are doing is
so important, but you will need to take the time necessary to
create nutritious meals and snacks for them to eat.
Perhaps even more importantly, you will need to act as a good
role model for them. After all, it is completely unfair to your
children to ask them not to eat things they later see you
eating.
A great way to get started: Review the list of seven
risk factors for childhood obesity I posted earlier this
year:- Early size
- Early body fat
- High birth weight
- Having obese
parents
- Quick growth from ages 1-2
- Watching more than eight hours of TV a week
- Getting less than 10.5 hours of sleep at night
And here are some quick recommendations to help avoid or
eliminate childhood obesity that will make an immediate
difference:- Replace the sugary fruit juices
and soft drinks they drink with clean water.
- Reduce their TV time and move "the
Glow Box" out of their bedroom today.
- Get your
kids moving off the couch and onto the playground where they can
build better bone mass.
About the author:
This article is reprinted from Mercola.com, the world's #1 most
visited and trusted natural/alternative health website. For a
limited time only, you can take the FREE "Metabolic Type Test"
to help you learn the right foods for your particular body type
so you can achieve optimal fitness & health. Just go to
http://www.mercola.com/forms/mt_test.htm right now to take this
quick test!
