A world with more birthdays: one vegetable at a time.
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Now that we’re in full holiday furor, I’ve been thinking a lot about nutrition and how much our healthy habits change this time of year. I don’t know about you, but I’m in full indulgence mode and I don’t see a light at the end of the healthy tunnel for a few weeks. I’m being dramatic of course, but given how much women focus on their personal health—especially when it comes to weight—this time of year seems a little bit off the charts.
As I was pondering the best way to get back on a nutritious track, I was reminded of some statistics I heard recently about the impact of obesity on America. The National Institute of Health estimates that the annual cost of treating obesity-related conditions is about $120 billion. That’s big money, but it gets worse. Studies conclude that 1/3 of the children in this country are either overweight or obese, and a full third will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lifetime because of it. The numbers are even higher among African American and Hispanic kids.
As adults, we make our choices based on what we believe the relevant facts to be. But I wonder, do our children have that luxury? When it comes to understanding good nutrition and the importance of maintaining a healthy weight, do they have the information they need? My guess would be no, and that their food choices and consumption levels are dictated in large part by adults.
Obesity, beyond the dollars and cents it costs on the economic scale, is also a major factor in cancer diagnosis. The American Cancer Society estimates that 1/3 of cancer deaths that could be prevented result from poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and obesity. If you just want to talk obesity, it would be about 14-20 percent—that’s a major barrier to creating a world with more birthdays!
For years now, kids have been taught that smoking leads to cancer and that ultimately smoking kills, but do we view obesity in the same way? That’s why today, I’m sending a big more birthdays “thank you” to the First Lady and the newest White House chef, Sam Kass, for using their influence to spotlight the importance of good nutrition for our youth and for helping make obesity education a national priority. Whether encouraging people to plant their own gardens, thinking green and local, requesting more healthy school lunch choices, encouraging kids to exercise more every day (you may remember the First Lady’s hula hooping demo!), or fighting to make good-for-you foods more accessible in low-income and isolated communities, their efforts will surely help make our kids more aware of the benefits of good nutrition and the genuine dangers of obesity. Perhaps if kids are learning this early enough, they can all make better choices that will lead to a world with less cancer and more birthdays.
Now, if I could only figure out the best strategy for avoiding sugar cookies at holiday parties…
This weekend, my 12-year old daughter and her friends are hosting a surprise birthday sleepover for one of their friends whose mother lost her very short battle with lung cancer this past July. Each year, her Mom would have a huge sleepover birthday party for her which all the girls looked forward to. This will be the first birthday she will have without her Mom and it will probably be difficult for her and her Dad and brothers.
