"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn."
--Benjamin Franklin
It is parents we must
educate about what real food is: fruits, vegetables, whole grains, and legumes. Parents make decisions about what
foods to buy for their children. They decide whether to cook at
home, eat in a restaurant or drive through a fast food place where foods are
high in calories, saturated fat, salt, and sugar. Parents are the
ones who can decide if their kids should go outside and
play. Parents can choose whether to buy sodas loaded with high
fructose corn syrup and no nutritional value or serve water as the primary
beverage. Kids six years and older should be getting 60 minutes a
day of physical activity.
It is our communities we
must educate about providing families access to real foods. Where
there are food deserts, we need to create solutions. Food deserts, often found in low income neighborhoods, contribute to poor health outcomes
such as obesity and diabetes. Schools, afterschool programs, and preschools can
choose to provide foods that will make kids healthy or fuel diseases.
Childhood obesity is a national epidemic fueled by the convenience of cheap and highly processed foods.
Added sugars in foods marketed to kids such as sodas, energy drinks, and breakfast cereals plus USDA-subsidized dairy and meat products in public schools are poisoning our
children's health.
What will you choose for
your kids? Will you dare to care enough to be the parent your
children need so they can access real food like fruits, vegetables, legumes,
and whole grains instead of foods filled with sugar, salt, and saturated fat?
With love,
Nancy Heinrich, MPH
Founder and Wellness Architect
Growing Healthy Kids, Inc.
