We all know that habits and patterns developed early on in life tend to stick with us throughout adulthood. These are generally harder to change the longer we’ve been doing them. This seems especially true for bad habits!
As a child it was snacking for me. Cheese and crackers, potato chips, pretzels and Twizzlers were all staples in our house (my Mom will kill me if she reads this). I can vividly remember standing around the island in our kitchen aimlessly eating while we caught up on the news of our day. Often we would polish off a whole bag or box without even realizing it! This is a habit that I’ve fought hard to overcome in adulthood, but it still gets the best of me from time to time.
Recently published research in Pediatrics reveals that “sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs)” like soda and sports drinks, are becoming an “increasingly large part of children and teens’ diets”. It’s estimated they consume about 350 (empty – meaning no nutritional benefit WHATSOEVER) calories a day from SSBs and “growing evidence indicates that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in children and teens may be contributing to rising obesity rates in the United States”. I don’t know about you but this really concerns me (and I know my fellow blogger Renee would agree with me as this is one of her hot buttons)!
It’s no secret that being overweight as a child increases your risk for being overweight as an adult. This in turn increases you risk for developing a number of chronic conditions like diabetes and heart disease (not to mention the development of bad habits I talked about above).
The point I’m trying to make here is that we need to stop for a second and think about the habits we are teaching or enabling our children to develop. The study showed that kids are “consuming these beverages in a variety of locations – homes, schools, fast food establishments, and other restaurants”, but the majority “55 to 70 percent” happens in the home. Yikes!
Set a good example for your children by drinking a variety of low-sugar, healthy beverages such as water, tea or low-fat milk. And since it’s summertime, why not make a big pitcher of unsweetened iced tea with lemon or try Josee’s natural soda recipe for something different. I also love to add flavor to my water by using a variety of all natural fruit juices like cranberry or orange (no pulp please!). About ¼ fruit juice is enough to add flavor without all the calories. I also keep a bottle of lemon juice handy to add to my water if fruit juice isn’t available. Just 1 or 2 teaspoons does the trick!
Have any other great ideas? We’d love to hear them!
- Lauren
Visit Physorg for article referenced above.
Other Related Articles:
Sensei Talks: TV Food Ads…Going to “Waist”
Weighty Matters
Labels: Childhood Obesity, Diet, food for thought, Health, Lauren, Lifestyle Change, Mindful Eating, Recent Research, sweeteners
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