Tuesday, March 23, 2010

Statistics

There are 12.5 million obese CHILDREN in America!

According to the CDC National Center for Health Statistics, Obesity rates in children are as follows: Ages 2-5 12.4% (not just talking baby fat here), ages 6-11 17% and ages 12-19 176%.

Studies show that obese children are more likely to become obese adults. In 2008 the US Department of Health and Human Services found that the rates of overweight people in North Carolina are 27.1% and in South Carolina are 30.1%.

Obesity leads to many health problems; cardiovascular disease, cancers, type 2 diabetes and asthma to name some. This is not where we want our nation to go! We can stop this. My generation is now having children! It begins with us and leads into our children!

Below is a food pyramid for a child. See how you shape up to it! I have also included a vegan food pyramid!


4 comments:

  1. Hey Mary, I too am fascinated by what parents feed there children. I have been studying this for a long time. My husband and I eat very little meat. We are not exactly vegetarians but we are on that path. Childrens' health is an important topic. So many children are becoming diabetics at an early age. Diabetes is what caught my interest in this subject. I too became overweight as an adult and like you I was raised to eat healthy but over time I became lazy and my eating habits became horrible. Five years ago I was diagnosed as a diabetic. I have now lost 70 pounds and the diabetes is pretty much reversed. One thing that I have been studying is fructose. Studies have shown that this one ingrediant is a major problem. It is in everything and is horrible for anyone.

    Your blog is great and keep it up. People need to be aware of what is going on. The generation of children of children that is being raised will have a lifespan that is less than ours for the first time in history. How sad.

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  2. Yes, High Fructose Corn Syrup is now being proven to be unhealthy! (I mean, like we didn't already know that). Anything artificial and made in a lab, your body doesn't recognize and can't use for the good! But thanks to those AWFUL commercials that the HFCS companies paid a lot of money for, people think it's ok to eat it. I am not saying that I have never eaten it, obviously, but when you have a choice to feed your child a juice with HFCS or a natural juice, why would you choose the artificial?! It is amazing what advertising on the TV can make you think! That is why we have to be smart enough to weed through it!

    Congratulations on your sucess! You look great from your pictures I have seen! And you have reversed your diabetes! WOW! Congrats! So you are not on any medications right?!?! You should write a blog about that. Too many people just say "oh well, I can get on a pill to fix it" instead of the hard work you put into yourself!

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  3. I also think this problem has ALOT to do with kids not being active. Weren't we always playing something outside when we were young? I remember watching a movie every now and then (Michael W Smith videos...ha ha)but not during the day. Brian and I really want to teach Olivia that the fun of riding bikes or going for a walk is way better than being entertained by the tv!!!

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  4. Yes! I will write about fitness and play as well! It is different! We were outside ALL the time and I am glad for those times. We still don't watch a lot of TV and we still love outdoors as much as possible. Teaching Olivia those things is the best! It's way more fun then being inside in front of TV. (Unless it's a Michael W. Smith video..and we didn't just watch it, we acted those out!) :)

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