I was sitting in a networking session today talking about what I do for a living, when someone who overheard my conversation, approached me. He was self employed like me, and offered interactive family activities for events. So I asked, "the entire family"? And he responded by saying that this is what is required to get kids moving and away from computers and a sedentary lifestyle.
Sedentary lifestyle. That's not a term that I am used to hearing in the same sentence as "kid". Sad, but true. Kids are becoming more and more inactive with computers leading the trend followed by unhealthy lifestyles, resulting in over weight children. Did you hear that our generation is going to be the first one to actually out live our kids? Children are now being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes; a disease once only related with over weight adults.
So how can we help? Well I have one suggestion. About six months ago I heard on the radio, that research is trying to find out whether there is a connection with the amount of weight gained during pregnancy and chilhood obesity. James Clapp, a foremost reasearcher in exercise in pregnancy has already found that babies of exercising mothers tend to be leaner with a higher percentage of muscle mass. So if this is true, what could be said for their non-exercising counterparts? Now I am no doctor and certainly not a scientist, but you are what you eat, and if you're growing a person inside of your body, shouldn't exercise and healthy eating be a part of that? That's not to say that if you do gain an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy, that you're destined to have an over weight child. There's still plenty of time.
Once the baby comes, you are now a full fledged expert. Your baby looks up to you for everything; from what to eat, wear and do. You can do no wrong. So why not set the stage from that point on? If you weren't physically active during pregnancy, now is a perfect time to start. By being physically active on a regular basis, you are setting the stage for health and wellness for your little one. You are now a role model. This baby will grow to simulate learned behaviour because they do what they see. Give them a good foundation and they will follow your lead.
Sedentary lifestyle. That's not a term that I am used to hearing in the same sentence as "kid". Sad, but true. Kids are becoming more and more inactive with computers leading the trend followed by unhealthy lifestyles, resulting in over weight children. Did you hear that our generation is going to be the first one to actually out live our kids? Children are now being diagnosed with Type II Diabetes; a disease once only related with over weight adults.
So how can we help? Well I have one suggestion. About six months ago I heard on the radio, that research is trying to find out whether there is a connection with the amount of weight gained during pregnancy and chilhood obesity. James Clapp, a foremost reasearcher in exercise in pregnancy has already found that babies of exercising mothers tend to be leaner with a higher percentage of muscle mass. So if this is true, what could be said for their non-exercising counterparts? Now I am no doctor and certainly not a scientist, but you are what you eat, and if you're growing a person inside of your body, shouldn't exercise and healthy eating be a part of that? That's not to say that if you do gain an excessive amount of weight during pregnancy, that you're destined to have an over weight child. There's still plenty of time.
Once the baby comes, you are now a full fledged expert. Your baby looks up to you for everything; from what to eat, wear and do. You can do no wrong. So why not set the stage from that point on? If you weren't physically active during pregnancy, now is a perfect time to start. By being physically active on a regular basis, you are setting the stage for health and wellness for your little one. You are now a role model. This baby will grow to simulate learned behaviour because they do what they see. Give them a good foundation and they will follow your lead.
