Whether your child is overweight or not, exercise is one of the best activities your child can engage in to grow up healthily. Encourage your child to practice sports and better yet, have fun together practicing any sport as a family.

Exercise for everyone

Exercise is an effective way for your child to stay at a healthy weight during his development. Nevertheless, the enjoyment of any physical activity as with eating habits is something learned. If your family activities generally involve watching TV perhaps your child won't take to exercising as much as you'd like him to.

Exercising doesn't mean that your child has to go to the gym regularly or take swimming lessons (although if he likes it, that’s great!). Playing actively can help him burn calories too. If he joins a local team to practice a sport, the benefits will be even greater.

But where your child is mainly going to learn about physical activity is at home. Doing outdoor activities regularly with your children on weekends or just walking around the park or your neighborhood everyday with the whole family will show him that exercise is something fun. It's also a relaxing time with the family in which you can bond with your children.

Exercise and Video games

In the last decade, when video games were nonexistent, and women hadn't joined the workforce, children played outdoors more. Exercise was a natural part of a child's activities.

But nowadays children spend long hours at home, not only because they are attracted to video games but for safety reasons, since parents work long hours at the office and it isn't safe for the children to be outdoors on their own. For this reason, exercise is something you have to program.

Children must exercise at least an hour a day, besides playing outdoors as much as possible. A way to do this is to avoid having a TV in their room and limiting the time they spend playing video games or using any electronic devices.

When they play video games, choose those that require them to move when playing. These games make you move in order to control what is happening on the screen. But you don't have to spend a fortune on the latest video games. Dancing to upbeat music is just as good.

The key to success

Besides video games and family activities, the key to success is to find a physical activity he loves and have him practice it as much as possible.

Maybe what your child likes is to take family walks in the afternoons, but he may also love to become part of a soccer team, or better yet, a team where parents and children play together. Or your daughter might like modern dancing, salsa or even ballet.

Try all the activities your child may be interested in and participate as much as you can in them. Go together to buy the necessary equipment and attend all the games and practices you can. There's nothing like having his mom or dad watching.

If your child is overweight, avoid those sports that might be difficult for him to do. Running may be more difficult, but swimming or riding a bicycle may be easier for him because of the extra weight he is carrying.

Above all, don't force your child to practice any sport, because this tactic will only make him hate it more. Try to find natural ways to exercise with them (walking, swimming) so that little by little they come to accept physical activity.

But remember that these strategies require that you actively participate in them too for them to be effective. If you can't take part in them during the week, at least try to have weekends be a time to exercise together.

Obesity in children is a problem that affects the Hispanic community especially. But although it's a health issue which must be addressed as soon as possible, obesity in children cannot be treated in the same way as adult obesity since children are growing.

Special precautions with diets.

Obesity in children is something that is developed through time. When overweight children start school and are subjected to teasing by their school mates, that’s when many families decide to address the problem.

The worried parents´ first reaction is to make the child go on a diet or to restrict the amount of food he has access to. This method brings about other problems for several reasons. On the one hand children are growing and to continue their development they need to have a series of essential nutrients which certain foods provide. On the other hand, restricting your child’s food intake or having him eat different meals from those the rest of the family eats isn't usually very effective, because it causes anxiety in the child and it emphasizes the problem.

If you think that your child is overweight, the best thing to do is to see the doctor and have him evaluate your child's health and check whether he has started to develop any illness related to being overweight. If the pediatrician cannot offer detailed nutritional advice, as for example how to create a food plan to improve your child's nutrition, ask him to refer you to a nutritionist who can work with you directly to be able to meet your child's needs for better results.

Obesity in children is a family issue

It's difficult to change nutritional habits once they have been established for years, and it's even more difficult to change them for the child alone. This is why if you want the changes in your child's nutrition to be effective, this must be considered a family issue. After all, improving your child's diet will also benefit the whole family.

Ideally, the way to address obesity in children is not to have your child go on a diet, but to maintain his weight with a healthy diet hoping that in his next growth spurt his weight and height will balance out.

To effectively start your family out on a healthier diet, do it gradually. Eliminate problem foods first, such as sweets, sugared sodas, sugar-laden cereals and slowly substitute them for healthier foods. Start cooking foods differently, like steaming or grilling to eliminate fats, and introduce more fruits and vegetables little by little.

You will find this approach more effective than to suddenly eat differently altogether because this could make everyone reject the change. It's much more effective to introduce one healthy change a month, which once and for all becomes accepted and adopted as an eating habit, than to start with a dramatic "new way of eating" only to go back to the old eating habits in a month.

Make your child participate actively in the process of adjustment.

If your child is made part of the decision-making so that his meals and way of life are healthier, it will be easier for him to accept them because he will not feel pressured.

Take him with you to the supermarket, cook together, set the table together, and talk about the foods and the benefits of healthy eating. Don't refer to foods as fattening or non-fattening because this might trigger an eating disorder. Talk to him about healthy foods and healthy habits, or not so healthy ones.

Also work together with your child to introduce exercise in his life, to do on his own or as a family. The results you achieve from these changes will encourage you to keep going, since teaching your child to live a healthy lifestyle is one of the best things you can do for him.

Healthy nutrition for children is a diet containing a variety of foods with all the nutrients they need to grow and develop. This is usually easier said than done because children, especially the youngest, often don't want to eat the healthy foods we want them to. But following are some tips that may help.

The foundation of a healthy diet

Establishing a healthy diet for your family is one  of the best things you can do for the future of your children. If you manage to get them to like fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, lean meats and fish, dairy products, you will have won 80% of the battle.

These foods must be the foundation of all your meals. They can have precooked meals, sweets, sodas with sugar and so on, but it is important that your children understand that these are an exception and only reserved for special occasions, celebrations, holidays or when the family eats out. If your child sees that you eat healthy foods regularly, sooner or later your child will try to do the same.

A strategy for every age

Offer your baby in his first months of life creamed or mashed foods and gradually introduce solid foods in little pieces so your baby can chew them without choking. But even if he rejects the food multiple times, keep offering it to him. Some studies show that a child rejects a food up to eight times before trying it (as in Dr. Seuss's story "Green Eggs and Ham”).

Have older children participate in the process of preparing family meals. Take your child along to the supermarket and choose fruits and vegetables that he might like to eat, and cook some dishes together. Allow him to be creative and invent some. This will make him more likely to want to try certain foods.

For all ages

It doesn't matter what age your child is, don't keep sodas at home. Reserve sodas for very special occasions. Every sugared soda has from 10 to 12 spoonfuls of sugar and every additional soda multiplies the amount of sugar he eats.  Try to also avoid drinking boxed juices, especially those loaded with sugar. Instead, drink natural juices.

One of the meals you must insist upon is breakfast. Your child will benefit from having a nutritious breakfast and it will improve his performance greatly at school. Also by packing him a nutritious mid morning snack, like a fruit or a whole-wheat sandwich, you will be providing him with all the beneficial nutrients he needs and energy to enable him to perform better at school.

And above all, be patient and of good cheer. Think that teaching them to eat healthily is another educational task like potty-training or letter-writing. Don't turn meals into a battlefield and make them as fun as possible so that family meals are something children will look forward to. 

The first step to prevent obesity in children is to become aware of the fact that it is a very serious problem which is affecting Hispanic children.  It's important to know the consequences of obesity on your child's future and to act on it before it becomes a problem because once your child is overweight it is very difficult to treat.

Prevention starts in pregnancy

Although it may seem surprising, some studies show that a mother's nutrition and weight during pregnancy may affect the child's development of obesity in the future. This is especially true in mothers who suffer from diabetes and pregnancy diabetes and Hispanic women are at a higher risk of developing this illness.

Starting out your pregnancy at the appropriate weight and following a healthy diet during this time will prevent your child being from being born overweight. The myth about eating for two during pregnancy has long been dismissed.

Breastfeeding and cereals

A mother's milk is the best source of nourishment for her child when he is born. Besides studies that show that it may prevent obesity, breastfeeding has many more benefits for your child's health, such as protecting it from infections, diarrhea and other problems.

Nevertheless, due to the fact that breast milk cannot be measured as you can measure formula in a bottle, some mothers become anxious thinking they don't have enough milk or that their baby isn't eating enough.

Before you start giving your baby formula or adding cereal to his milk (which isn't advisable until they are 4 to 6 months) you should ask your pediatrician. If your baby is developing as it should, there is no reason to worry.

Remember that adding cereals to the milk bottle, besides the possibility of your child developing allergies in the future, is a source of extra calories for the baby. If you can, keep breastfeeding your baby for a year, as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and longer if possible.

Nutrition at home.

A healthy diet for a child must include five daily small servings of fruits, vegetables, grains, cereals, lean meats, fish and dairy products.

Nevertheless, trying to have your children follow such a diet makes little sense if you eat different meals. To prevent obesity it's important to have a family awareness of what eating healthy and being fit entail.

You must focus on healthy habits and not on looks. This means that things are healthy or unhealthy but not referred to as fattening or not. The latter type of thinking may develop into an eating disorder.

Watch out for any weight changes and in your child's eating habits to be able to get help from a nutritionist or your pediatrician if it were necessary.

Child obesity is a very serious problem which affects Hispanic children especially. The consequences of obesity in children go beyond "looks". There are certain diseases adults suffer, some of which are irreversible that children are already suffering from as a consequence of obesity.

Health risks for children
Due to the epidemic of obesity which is affecting the United States, you might have heard about the dangerous consequences adults face: from diabetes to the risk of suffering a heart attack or problems with their joints.

Nevertheless, what has surprised researchers in the child obesity field is that many children are also suffering these types of health problems. There are children with diabetes, problems with their joints and with very high levels of cholesterol.

These are some of the most common problems among Hispanic children:

• Insulin resistance. Insulin is a hormone that the pancreas secretes and which acts as the key which allows the opening of a door in cells so that they can absorb the glucose that comes from food. Since it cannot enter, it remains in the blood, causing diabetes. When there is resistance to insulin cells don't respond to it. The pancreas secretes more and more in an attempt to make the process work. In a few years the pancreas starts to deteriorate due to this exertion.
• Metabolic syndrome. This syndrome is a combination of symptoms such as abdominal obesity, low HDL cholesterol and hypertension, which puts children who suffer from these more at risk of developing heart disease. Nine out of ten Hispanic children with parents or grandparents with diabetes have at least one of the symptoms of metabolic syndrome.
• Type 2 diabetes. This type of diabetes develops as a result of obesity. Hispanic children are disproportionately affected by this disease due to the genetic tendency for diabetes and the high incidence of obesity in this population group.

Other physical symptoms are sleep apnea, irregular periods in girls or orthopedic problems due to the excess weight on the joints.

Psychological consequences on a child
Obesity is not socially accepted, but if it's suffered by a child who is just starting to develop his or her self-esteem, the psychological consequences are serious.

Studies show that overweight children have low self-esteem or a poor concept of themselves. In general, Hispanic girls have lower self-esteem and adolescents with this problem may isolate themselves, smoke, drink alcohol or engage in other negative behaviors. Sadness and feelings of loneliness are brought on by the lack of acceptance from their peers and this may drive them to depression, with the added health risks this entails.

If your child is having problems fitting in at school, take it seriously, and don't say: "It will go away". Get professional help from a psychologist if necessary because the development of his or her self-esteem now will affect the rest of his or her life.

Obesity in children is not a problem that happens overnight, it's something that is developed throughout the years. Observe your child closely and watch out for any physical changes he or she is experiencing and step in taking him or her to the pediatrician or nutritionist before he or she becomes overweight.

It's not the same to suffer from this disease in adulthood than when a child is getting started out in life.

Being in good shape not only means being able to run a marathon. It also implies being able to do daily chores without feeling wiped out. An active lifestyle is the best complement of regular exercise. But even if you can’t follow an exercise routine as often as you’d like, you can try to increase your activity and incorporate it into the simplest tasks and chores.

Small changes, big results

When it comes to keeping in shape, small steps taken consistently over time are usually a lot more efficient than big changes that only last a few months. Among other reasons, because it is difficult to modify habits. There is a saying that goes: “it’s easier to switch religions than to change a habit” and for some people that may be quite true.

However, some small adjustments in your daily behavior in the short term may bring you considerable results in the long term. If you have a stable diet, burning 100 to 200 calories a day may not mean much in any given day, but kept up over time it will show.  

Some tips to increase your activity

You spend many hours at home and there are many chores you do there. Taking advantage of these daily chores to burn a few extra calories will help you keep in shape and, in the long term, may even imply losing weight. Following are some tips you may want to try:

• Ask someone in your family to hide the TV remote. Standing up to switch channels or to increase the volume will help you move a bit more during the sedentary activity that watching TV is.  

• Do the dishes by hand. Besides adding exercise to your day, you may benefit the environment if you don’t use too much water.

• If you have a backyard and are able to do so, line-dry your clothes. You’ll save energy and your clothes will smell clean, while you get some exercise when hanging out the laundry and taking it down.

• Take out the garbage yourself. Volunteer to take out the garbage to the container and then take a short walk.

• Go up and down the stairs to get something you forgot. Sometimes we do without what we needed, to avoid this extra effort.

• Park your car a little farther from the house and walk that distance to the house.

Have fun cleaning

One of the things that most motivates us to dance is music: salsa, rock or any other genre that you enjoy. Take advantage of our natural tendency to dance to music, while you go about your daily chores. Choose a CD that you know will help you move. If you don’t know which to choose, then buy a CD designed for exercising.

Pump up the volume and dance! Shake your body while you dust or make the beds. Express yourself freely. Not only will this be a great calorie-burner but it is also wonderful stress and tension-reducing therapy.

Everyone feels stressed at some point in life. Stress is a part of the lives of millions of people. It is beneficial to a certain extent, because it makes us react in potentially dangerous situations, both physically and emotionally. But too much stress can overload our body and have negative consequences for our health.   

Your type of exercise

There are many ways of managing the effects of stress. From getting proper nutrition to finding internal emotional balance by using techniques such as meditation and relaxation, but one of the most effective ways is to exercise regularly on a daily basis.

In order to obtain the benefits of exercise on stress it is not necessary to get involved in an Olympic sport, nor embark on specific sports such as running or weight-lifting. The most important thing in this case is to be consistent with the practice of that physical activity.

Choosing a physical activity with which you feel completely at ease and that is also pleasant is the best way to guarantee that you will practice it regularly. You may enjoy taking walks in the park to look at the birds, or rowing across the lake, or perhaps letting off steam with a punching bag after a long day at the office. Taking dance classes, skiing, swimming or roller-skating can all be beneficial and stress-reducing. Practicing an activity at least 30 minutes, five days a week is a fantastic way to keep stress at bay, as well as improving other aches and pains.

Practice with a strategy in mind

The aim of physical activity against stress is to liberate your body and also your mind, of all the negative effects. If you work in a crowded office, or you have to talk and interact with people all day, choose activities in which you can have time to be by yourself. Signing up to a crowded aerobics class may not be too relaxing, but walking at a brisk pace around the park may be.

On the contrary, if y0ur job implies a certain extent of isolation or if you work from home, make your exercise time serve as social time. Make a commitment with a neighbor, friend or your significant other to take a brisk walk together or sign up to a class in which you can socialize with other people.  

A good way to keep your commitment to exercise daily is to prepare, on your own or with a buddy, for a specific event. This could be a 5k run, a marathon or a bike race. Winning may not be in your agenda, but you can set your own goals: getting through half the race, making it to the finish-line or any other objective. Start a few months before the event and then find another event in which to compete as soon as that is over. You will soon feel the benefits of the physical activity of your choice!

Amongst the most efficient ways of combating stress are oriental techniques such as yoga or meditation, as well as relaxation techniques. These are simple methods within everyone’s reach, and with very satisfactory results.

Escaping stress

Preventing or eliminating the sources of stress in your life is undoubtedly the best way to end it. But this, under the circumstances that most of us live in, is practically impossible.  For that reason, the best alternative is to try and offset the negative effects it has on our body.  

Stress is the way in which your body responds to a situation it perceives as being dangerous.  It is a mechanism that has enabled us to evolve by keeping us safe from predatory animals, but that has now turned against us to a certain extent. When there is a stressful situation, the body cannot distinguish whether we are escaping from a lion, or simply dealing with a driver who cuts us off on the road. The surge of adrenaline causes a chain hormonal reaction that, if repeated over and over day after day, has negative effects on the body.  

A way of keeping the effects of stress in check is to escape from it during certain periods during the day, entering a state of inner emotional calm and relaxation. Meditation and yoga techniques can help you to achieve it.

Yoga

The word "yoga" means “union” in Sanskrit and it refers to the union of the mind, body and spirit. But the most popular in the Western World is the aspect that involves physical postures combined with relaxed breathing techniques.  Each of the yoga postures has specific benefits and these can be done at a faster pace or more slowly.

There are several schools and styles of yoga, and if you decide to start to practice it you will have to research and find which one is more attractive to you.  But for beginners, yoga classes that are described as “Hatha” are the most appropriate because they involve slow movements and postures and simple breathing exercises. But if you enjoy a more active style of yoga, you should try “Vinyasa” yoga.

When you attend one of these classes, speak with the instructor about the reason why you want to practice yoga, and she will most likely recommend the best avenue for you. If there are no classes available in your area, there are many videos and books with which you can get started, although it is always best to have a yoga instructor.  

The benefits of practicing yoga are many, but amongst the most important are increased flexibility, the lubrication of your joints and tendons and a massage of the internal organs.  The result is a reduction in the negative stress charge on your body.  

Meditation and relaxation exercises

Meditation is an Eastern technique to obtain a time of communion with oneself and relaxation and, depending on the type of meditation, with the universe and God. Traditional prayer in the Western World may be considered a form of meditation. There are many religions that use meditation as a part of their practice:  (Buddhist, Taoist, etc.), others that are not affiliated with any religion (transcendental meditation) and some that are offered as simple relaxation exercises.

Some of the benefits of the practice of meditation are lowered blood pressure and lower stress levels. Many people who practice meditation do so as a part of their daily program, and they dedicate ten, twenty or more minutes to meditating.  

Although each school of meditation has its own method, a simple and effective way of starting to meditate is to simple sit on a chair or comfortable sofa with your back straight. Close your eyes and start to breathe slowly, focusing on an imaginary point in between your eyes. Inhale and exhale deeply and try not to become involved with your thoughts, but simply breathe.

It is very difficult not to think about anything or leave your mind blank, as some meditation manuals suggest.  The most effective methods involve observing your own thoughts as if you were observing a fish in a tank, without becoming involved with them.

Concerning relaxation exercises, one of the most effective is to lie down on the bed and focus your attention on one foot, then another, a knee and so on, until each one of them is completely relaxed, as if floating, until you carry the feeling over to the rest of your body. Relaxation exercises are easier to practice individually, and there are many DVDs in the market that will guide you to learn these exercises.

One of the effects of stress is the tendency to isolate, with the negative consequences that both situations have on your health. On the other hand, being subjected to high levels of emotional stress without the proper social support increases the mortality rate, according to certain studies.  

Stress and isolation

Stress affects physical and emotional health, but if these consequences are added to the lack of a social network, the physical problems can worsen. In a recent study, 50-year old men subjected to high levels of emotional stress, were three times as likely to die in the following seven years as those people who did not experience the same level of stress. In fact the men who were subjected to the same emotionally stressful events but that had the support of family and friends were not at such a high risk.  

On the other hand, during times of stress, it is frequent for sufferers to isolate, because stress causes the person to focus on the problem that is causing the stress. This in turn generates more stress, and this turns into a catch-22 situation.

Open your lines of communication

Some people, when they are undergoing a stressful problem that has no easy solution, tend o ruminate. Although it is a very human reaction, this type of obsession can increase the feeling of anguish and narrow the person’s perspective.  

Breaking free from isolation and speaking with someone can help you considerable in these moments. Perhaps the person cannot solve your problem, but just talking about it will make you break the pattern of ruminating.  That person may be able to at least provide a point of view you had not thought of. Make it a rule to speak with a loved one or a friend when you find yourself in a stressful situation.

A good place to share your worries and concerns is your church or religious congregation. The people who gather there are usually eager to help in some way and you will find support amongst them.  

Another way to break away from your isolation is to have regular social gatherings at home, under any pretext. You could commit to hold a dinner at your place on the first Saturday of each month, or once every six weeks. Besides the fact that the preparations will take your mind off of your obsession, you will have a steady source of contact with other people.  You may also sign up to a club that meets monthly and in which your involvement is required.

In the event that your source of stress is constant, keep in touch with support groups where people such as yourself may offer solutions. For example, if you are a single mom, you have just divorced, or if you are in charge of caring for an elderly or handicapped person, there are many organizations that can give you information and support for these particular circumstances.

Do not underestimate the power of being in contact with other people although you may think there is nothing they can do to solve the cause of your stress.

If stress is a part of your life, one of the ways to combat its effects is to have proper nutrition. Although the ideal scenario is to eliminate the cause of your stress, that is not always possible. For that reason, taking the necessary steps to offset its effects will be very beneficial.  

Reinforcing the immune system

One of the most common effects of stress on our body is that it weakens our immune system. That’s why during periods of stress, people are a lot more vulnerable to colds and infections that usually don’t affect them. One way of offsetting those effects is to help the functioning of the immune system.  

Vitamin C is an essential component of a healthy diet, especially if you live with stress. Vitamin C reinforces the immune system. The problem is that our body does not produce vitamin C so we have to obtain it from external sources. That’s why it is important to make sure you are eating foods rich in vitamin C in these times. These foods include citruses such as oranges, lemons, kiwis or grapefruits and also beiges such as broccoli, green peppers or cabbage.

Vitamin A will also help you counteract the effects of stress. In general, red, orange or yellow foods, as well as dark-green ones contain beta-carotene, which enable us to synthesize vitamin A. Examples of foods rich in beta-carotene are: red pepper, spinach, broccoli, apricots or tomatoes.

Foods you should eliminate or cut back on

Just like there are foods that help you manage stress, others do not help at all and contribute to make matters worse.  

Caffeine, due to its stimulant action, worsens these effects. Caffeine is not only found in products such as coffee, but also in sodas and Latino beverages such as guarana or mate. Although the natural reaction when one feels fatigued or must be alert is to drink a cup of coffee, it is not a good idea, because you will then need to drink more to get your energy up when the effect wears off.  

On the other hand, an excess of sugar is not recommended for the proper functioning of the body. Foods rich in refined sugars create an exaggerated response to insulin, in order to process them. Sweets, sodas with sugar, or sugary foods cause an insulin discharge or an insulin peak. Although at first it may seem that they provide energy, the sugar levels can decrease sharply and reach below normal levels, thus promoting a feeling of hunger and fatigue.  

It is much healthier to eat food that liberates insulin slowly but consistently. Foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as whole-wheat breads, cereal, fruits and beiges can cause a greater sense of satiety and provide energy during longer periods of time.  

It is also important to space meals properly. Three meals a day with three snacks are the best way of keeping your blood-sugar levels stable.