It is important to stay physically active, eat healthy during busy fall

Erin Kennedy plays tag with her daughters Reagan, 3, left, and Cheyenne, 10, Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008, outside their home in Bloomington. (The Pantagraph/CARLOS T. MIRANDA)

Sunday, August 31, 2008 10:39 PM CDT

By Paul Swiech
pswiech@pantagraph.com

BLOOMINGTON -- Even with another busy school year underway, families can remain physically active and eat healthy.

That’s the message from several health and fitness professionals and parents who have been part of The Pantagraph’s Fit Kids project, whose goal is to identify and promote common-sense approaches to preventing childhood obesity and developing healthier lifestyles for children and their parents.

“If you started your own family ‘Fit Kids’ program, it needs to continue as a family ‘Fit Kids’ thing,” said Terri McCulllick, a physical education teacher at Unit 5’s Pepper Ridge Elementary School. “It takes effort on the part of the parents and the kids, but it’s worthwhile.”

As the Fit Kids project winds down and as families get swamped with school-related activities, health professionals urge parents and kids to take what they’ve learned about exercise and nutrition in the past nine months and continue to make it a priority.

Fit Kids began in December after the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated that one in three Americans is overweight, prompting CDC to declare obesity an epidemic. About 19 percent of children are overweight, a nearly threefold jump since 1990, said the CDC.

A McLean County survey revealed 35 percent of county adults are overweight and 21 percent are obese. While there is no data for children and teenagers, Bob Keller, director of the McLean County Health Department, thought the percentages similar among young people.

A New England Journal of Medicine study released in December concluded childhood obesity increases a child’s risk of heart disease, diabetes, sleep apnea, eating disorders, depression, anxiety, poor self-esteem and social isolation.

After nine months of doing the right thing, the danger now is for families to take a “been there, done that” attitude toward exercise and healthy eating, said health experts.

“When you develop changes in nutrition and activity, habits are formed,” said Kim McClintic, a registered dietitian with the Center for Healthy Lifestyles at OSF St. Joseph Medical Center. “The ultimate goal is that this becomes a lifestyle change for kids and their parents.”

Erin Kennedy, an exercise specialist and director of the Center for Healthy Lifestyles, agreed. “Just because summer is over doesn’t mean that kids’ bodies stop growing and maturing,” she said. “You need healthy muscles to grow and help you to perform well during the school year” — in academics, athletics and extracurricular activities.

“You still need that family time to play and eat healthy. Good routines start in the family,” Kennedy said.

Fitness schedule

The key to doing that during the busy fall semester is making a family fitness schedule and sticking to it, said Dale Brown, an Illinois State University professor of kinesiology and recreation.

“On certain nights, make a family activity or exercise the main priority,” said Brown.

That might mean playing games in the yard, driveway or at a nearby park, walking or biking on Constitution Trail or exercising together at a fitness center.

“You can still go to the backyard and play tag, you can still go to the park, you can still go swimming,” Kennedy said. “You can dance in your living room and be as crazy as you want to be. No one sees you, but your major muscle groups are loving you for it. The important thing is to move.”

For families with a child in a fall sport, other family members can use those practice times to get in a walk, perhaps doing laps around the football or soccer field, McCullick said.

But don’t push your children into a sport or activity they’re not interested in, Kennedy said. “Do something that your child wants to do,” she advised.

But what about the kids’ homework, or the nights when mom and dad need to bring work home?

“What we forget about health and fitness is that we’re doing it so we can do a better job in other aspects of our lives,” said Cheryl Richards, an exercise physiologist at BroMenn Regional Medical Center.

“The better we are, the better we can meet the demands of our daily lives,” she said. “If you’re tired, you’ll probably feel more energized if you play outside for half an hour and will have more energy to do your homework than if you stayed inside and watched TV.

McCullick agreed. “When your body is active, your mind is active,” she said.

Fall weekends and fall weather offer a lot of opportunities for movement.

“This time of year, there’s always something to be active in,” Kennedy said. In addition to sports, there are all sorts of family walks and runs to raise money for organizations.

Instead of going to a movie or watching television, go ice skating at the Pepsi Ice Center or take a fall hike, Richards said.

“I love going to the pool during the summer,” she said. “But I also love putting on my sweatshirt, going for a fall walk and looking at all the leaves and pine cones. You can go to Starved Rock just as easily in October as you can in August.”

Healthy eating

Regardless of the time of year, one thing is certain: Eating healthy doesn’t take more time than eating poorly, McClintic said.

“It takes the same time to peel a banana as it does to open a Snickers bar,” she said. “It takes the same time to pour a glass of milk as it does to pour a glass of Pepsi.”

Have fruits and vegetables cleaned, cut and ready for snacking, McCullick said. Parents and kids who don’t want to mess with cutting vegetables can consider pre-cut salads and frozen and canned fruits and vegetables.

The key to healthy eating and focusing on vegetables and fruits during the busy fall semester is the same as remaining physically active: plan ahead.

Parents who have more time on weekends can prepare healthy meals then and put them in the oven on those busy weeknights, Richards said. Putting meat and vegetables in a crock pot in the morning before work and school means a hot, healthy meal will be ready whenever everyone is ready to eat at night.

“Planning is important,” Richards said. “It’s hard to make a good decision when you’re hungry.”

Making children part of the meal planning and preparation increases the odds of them eating healthy food.

The benefits of eating healthy and exercising together go beyond parents and kids reducing their risk of various diseases, controlling their weight, increasing their energy, boosting their mood, and improving their strength, endurance, flexibility and sleep, Brown said.

The parent-child relationship can benefit as well.

“You keep a family together when you share those things,” McCullick said.

Fit tips

Here is a sampling of family fitness and nutrition tips from the dozens of adults and children interviewed during the Fit Kids project:

-- Make physical activity a family priority

-- Keep it fun: do exercises and activities you enjoy

-- Get out of the house and outside as much as possible

-- Exercise can be as simple as walking, playing tag or riding bikes

-- Quench thirst with water first

-- Plan meals and grocery shopping together

-- Eat together as often as possible

-- Focus on vegetables, fruits, whole grains, fish, lean protein, and low-fat or fat-free dairy products

-- At restaurants, avoid fried foods, share your entree or bring leftovers home