For all you parents out there (especially parents of children under the age of 10), one of the most important reasons for you to improve your eating habits and exercise habits is so that your kids will live longer lives and better lives. Because of the growing epidemic of overweight and obese people, the younger generations are predicted by experts to have shorter life spans (unless we collectively make changes).
Obesity and being overweight are known scientifically to be risk factors for a number of serious chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, stroke, various types of cancer, and others.
Take the case of the woman with diabetes who’s lost her eye sight and had her toes amputated or the man who is paralyzed in half his body after a stroke. We all know similar tragic cases like these, either within our families or from families of friends. Most of these cases are of patients above 50 years of age. However, it is highly likely for your kids to become these cases by the time they are in their thirties if you don’t get them to pick up healthier eating habits early on.
If you change your own eating habits, having good healthy foods like fruits and vegetables available in the house and making unhealthy foods like pastries and candies unavailable, you can prevent tragedy for your kids (and yourself) years down the road. However, you have to start now.
I don’t think that you have to be an expert to know that parents have great influence on their children before age 9. Teenagers on the other hand are another story. Parents have almost no influence on their teenage kids, but parents are at the mercy of the influence of their teenagers’ peers. Therefore, it is important for parents to influence the eating habits of their kids before age 9 or 10. The way to do this, again, is to change their own eating habits. Kids don’t do what you say; they do what you do. This is probably more true when it comes to eating habits than anything else.
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2 comments:
Parents have the greatest influence on their children's eating habits. From a very young age kids are fed junk food at McDonalds, who likes to see a toddler being fed hamburger and french fries?
Luckily I have a teenager who does care about what he puts in his mouth..He does not eat junk food whatsoever. Fast food outlets are a no brainer, you don't go. He is 6'4 16 years old he works out at the YMCA on a regular every other day basis. He has maintained good physical health and has barely been ill growing up. Having been a single mother fast foods were not in my budget and vegetables, fresh fruits were. Coming from an Eastern European background (Polish) you ate well.....
It is not difficult Food is to be enjoyed , not to kill ourselves with
Alli....xx
Thanks for your comment, Alli. When I was a teenager, I was just like your son in eating healthy and hitting the gym 5 days/week. It's best to start them young. Because of starting early, I aged slower throughout the years. Now in my thirties, most people can't believe it. They think I am in my early thirties. The funniest incident was when they hired a new nurse at my doctor's office. He looked at me and at my report. He asked, "Are you 35 or 25? Is it a typo?" Also, my blood report is impeccable; all values are within normal range.
My point - it's good to start them early in good eating and exercise habits. Your son is on the right track.
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