Food for fuel

Teaching kids the importance of eating right today is a key responsibility of being a parent. Current numbers tell us that one in three U.S. adults is obese, two-thirds are overweight, and one in five children is obese! Medical costs related to the disease are estimated to be $80 billion and the overall impact to the economy to be more than $100 billion.

My kids are now 13 and 10 years old and the days when I analyzed and controlled every item of food that went into their growing bodies is long gone. I still scrutinize their food when we sit down to dinner and when they lethargically inhale their breakfasts before school, but they are making lots of choices on their own now. From choosing items at the a-la-carte line at lunch to gnawing on snacks after school, they know what they want to eat and drink and can go for it.

And while not every selection is a healthy one, they do know that they need to use food to fuel their bodies. My daughter is a dancer. My son plays tackle football. And all of us run together, too. (And yes, they both beat me at the last 5k we ran together.)

I’ve been running races for years and my kids have watched me carefully choose my meals before a long run and down chocolate milk when I’m finished. They understand the power of protein and realize that sugar isn’t the way to wake up their tired bodies before a practice. We’ve had a great summer of searching for fresh sweet corn from our favorite farmers at area farmers’ markets and local food stands. And we’ve enjoyed our own harvests of tomatoes, zucchini and carrots from our garden. (And no, the picky eater at my house doesn’t eat most of those things, but we’re working on it…every day.)

No question that obesity is a hard problem to fix as a whole, but not impossible. Not when you break it down. Make sure that you eat more healthy foods such as lean meats, and lots of vegetables and fruits. Build up those bones with milk and dairy. But you can’t simply dictate these instructions and expect them to ‘get it.’ As parents, we need to work to set good examples and teach healthy habits to our kids.

I want my kiddos to be athletic. I’m not saying that my kids and I don’t enjoy ice cream cones or cookies. (We do!! And do so wholeheartedly.) But they also know that if they want to get through rehearsal or practice without running of gas, they have to fill their tanks with the right fuel.

But it starts with understanding how the power of CHOICE (about what you eat and how much you move) will make all the difference. CHOOSE to balance the healthy foods and the snacks at the next meal. CHOOSE to walk the dog every single day! While the kids are at practice, CHOOSE to jog around the park. Don’t just fill up, FUEL up to match your activity and it’ll all balance out.

Written by Heather Lilienthal
Heather is a communications specialist with the Iowa Farm Bureau.

Hot new diet: Common sense

There’s nothing like getting a fresh look at your world, through the eyes of visiting relatives.  In my case, some cousins from Australia have given me a lot to ‘chew on’ (so to speak) when it comes to our relationship with food.  Or rather, who we blame for our ‘super-sized’ waistlines.

I recently went to lunch at a popular West Des Moines chain restaurant last weekend with the Aussie cousins in tow.  They ordered raspberry tea and my daughter and I followed suit.   They were amazed at the size of the glasses and the fact that before the ice even got to melt, the harried server was coming ‘round to refill’.  In Melbourne, where Mandy and Ellie live, the glasses are half that size and there are no ‘free refills’.
Right away, the server brought out bread: huge, thick, white slabs of it.  A bowlful of butter was included on the platter, arranged in a pyramid.  More surprised looks.  “This is free?”

We ordered appetizers; I thought the bruschetta sounded great.  We all split a huge salad.  My order arrived first, as big as a football.  “Good heavens, Laurie, if you can eat all that, we’ll give you a prize!” they laughed.

About that time, a family of four very large people came to the next table.  Right away they ordered appetizers, entrees and asked up-front if the restaurant served milk shakes.   That’s when 18-year-old Ellie, a college freshman in Melbourne who is studying to be a dietician, whispered, “In Melbourne, you don’t see such large servings, or people!”

I leaned in and confessed that here, we’ve gotten used to over-sized buffets and massive menu choices, so it’s not uncommon to see so many folks struggling with their weight.  I also told them that’s why the exercise industry is a multi-billion dollar empire; people are grasping for straws.  In fact, I told them we even have exercise gurus who claim high fructose corn syrup and Iowa corn farmers are to blame. (That last bit made the Aussies laugh even harder than the arrival of my football ‘appetizer.’)

Well, something is going on; the obesity rate has DOUBLED in Iowa the last 15 years.  We are now the 20th fattest state: http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2011/release.php?stateid=IA.

It didn’t used to be like this.  Our grandparents didn’t have to worry about outliving their children because of obesity-related illnesses http://tiny.cc/sgsm0.  Maybe it’s because they walked more, worked harder and had fewer conveniences or entertainment gizmos that kept them seated for hours on end.  There were four TV channels and no internet; no one sat in front of a box all night (especially not to watch a show about morbidly overweight people struggling to lose weight!)  Restaurants were a treat and the servings were modest.   Ironically, it’s much the same today for our Aussie cousins.  Maybe they’re on to something…

We’ve heard that we need to exercise every day, but saying it and doing it are two different things.    And really, that’s just half the story.
Clearly we need to eat less…less of everything!   We also need to spend less time looking for scapegoats (like farmers) to blame, and more time making a lifestyle change.   Skip the appetizers, make water your ‘refill’ and get up from your desk job once an hour and at least walk to the water fountain.  If you can, take the stairs, not the elevator.  But, no matter what you do, lifestyle change needs to start with a long, hard look in the mirror.    And remember, “If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain.”—Maya Angelou

Written by Laurie Johns
Laurie Johns is Public Relations Manager for the Iowa Farm Bureau.