Number four on our list of Top 10 culprits responsible for childhood obesity is... hurry, hurry, hurry up and tell me! I am rushing out the door! Why are you making me wait! Spit it out already! I haven't got all day, you know! ...
Ok, well, here it is... we seem to be ALWAYS in a hurry! Rush to work, rush to church, rush to school, rush to music lessons, rush to soccer practice, rush to this, that and the other, .. oh, yeah, and grab a quick bite to eat on the way... The rushed and hurried lives of both parents and children today result in less fresh, healthy home-cooked meals at the dinner table with the family and ingestion of higher calorie-dense fast foods. Not to mention the lack of ability or energy to squeeze in just a bit of exercise in a day. Where is all of this rushing around taking us? Stated bluntly, an early grave ...
- "Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits, and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents." —U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, March 2004
- In a recent article presented by CNN Health, more than 50 obesity studies involving nearly 90,000 people were analyzed and the conclusion is that 'obesity shaves two to four years off the average lifespan, while being very obese can shorten your lifespan by 8 to 10 years...' -- Anne Harding
So, what can we do to help this situation? Here are some tips:
- Make a conscious, concerted effort to slow down. Make plans to slow down.
- Start by eliminating one event or one hour's equivalent in everyone's day -- you will certainly start feeling the difference if you take that time to calmly go to the park and take a walk or stroll, or just take the time to relax reading a good book.
- Try to not multitask too much -- although you may feel that you are accomplishing less, your mind will actually be able to get some rest and when you do get to the work that needs to be done, you will find that you can accomplish it better and more thoroughly. Decide what truly needs to be done as a priority and what can wait to be done another day or not.
- Focus in and on whatever it is that you are doing. "Stop and smell the roses" type of thing where you actually take in the present and enjoy it to the fullest.
- Eat more slowly. It takes the body about 15 minutes to sense that it is full, so take smaller bites and chew your food thoroughly. If it take you a shorter time to eat than this, you are most likely overeating, not allowing yourself to listen to your body and hear its cues.
- Chill out! Why stress about things that cannot be controlled? It has been shown that the more stressed out you are, the more you are likely to be overweight -- not only because of the obvious worse eating habits, but there is an alteration in the stress hormones in your body causing your body to gain weight 'unknowingly'.
- Sleep more -- Adults should be aiming for 7-8 hours of good sleep every night and kids or teens at least that much minimum and likely closer to 8-10 hours per night. Recent studies have shown that the less you sleep, the more you are likely to be overweight or obese. And, by the way, whatever happened to good ol' nap time?
Even making one change in your current hurried schedule will start a positive trend for you and your family. Remember that your example is key -- your kids will thank you for it!
Picture by Laser, PhotoXpress
For more info: American Academy of Pediatrics stress management for teens, my training zone
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