Junk Food Junkies

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Comment by Private Weight Loss Coach Bonnie on July 8, 2008 at 11:06am

HOW FAST FOOD AFFECTS OUR CHILDREN

The staggering effects of fast food were recently released in a National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. More than 9 million children and teens are overweight. Childhood obesity is responsible for 50 % of new cases of pediatric diabetes, sleep apnea, and asthma.

While we are alarmed at the increasing rates of pediatric obesity there are few educational resources aimed at young children. What resources do we have to educate our young children about healthy food choices? What about encouraging them to stay active?

Fast food has taken over the American diet and invades our schools, threatening the health of our children. There is a need for us to teach our kids early about the effects of fast food. We have to fight off the barrage of junk food commercials and sugary cereals. Instead of those kinds of commercials we need to show them that it’s fun to eat right and get to out and play, run and swim.

We must teach our children to distinguish fruits and vegetables from junk foods. They should be encouraged to pursue activities such as riding bikes, swimming and even planting a garden.

Not only are snack, fried and fast foods an ever present danger to our children, but the consumption of sports drinks and soft drinks are taking a toll also. Many of the sports drinks and flavored waters are laden with sugar or sugar-substitutes such as high-fructose corn syrup.

These too can pack on the pounds. School systems around the country are removing these types of drinks from their menus as they begin to come to grips with the effects of fast food on our children. In addition, they are also removing soda machines in an effort to trim down the students.

Bottled water is being targeted as mineral deficient due to the purification process. Signs of mineral deficiencies are showing up in declining cognitive abilities, fatigue, heart function and immune response. Instead of deep, sweet, mineral-rich well water, we are drinking processed water.

Some bottled water industry members are responding by adding sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium to their drinks. The problem is that the body utilizes more than just those minerals. We eat a diet of foods that are mostly grown in mineral deficient soil due to modern farming methods.

Parents have to stay on their toes and guide their children away from the harmful effects of fast food. We are supposed to be raising a nation of healthy and strong men and women. Instead it appears as though we are raising a nation of sick kids.

The debilitating effects of fast food on our precious children have to be brought to a halt. Parents must educate themselves concerning healthy choices. Do you know about giving your child a healthy breakfast? What about supper?