1. Be a ‘healthy’ role model. The number one thing that parents can do is to be a good role model for their children, Parents so often unknowingly set their kids up for failure.  If there are chips, cookies and Twinkies and no fruit or vegetables when your kids look for snacks, how can they succeed?  Line your refrigerator and cabinets with fresh fruits, nuts, low-fat cheese, easy things for kids to snack on besides ‘junk food’.

In a 2000 survey conducted by the CDC, close to 80% of adults reported eating fewer than the recommended five or more servings of fruit and vegetables daily — not good role-model behavior.

2. Be positive. Don’t tell your child to ‘lose weight’ say, ‘Let’s be healthy and start taking care of our bodies’. Focus on the foods you can eat, not the ones that you should limit eating. Say, ‘Let’s go pick out fruits and make a fruit salad,’ not ‘Don’t eat this or that.’ Instead of saying, ‘We have to exercise,’ say, ‘Lets go to the park.’ Use positive words and phrases when talking with your kid.

3. Make healthy eating a family affair.  Create family meals together and for the entire family. Do not single out an overweight family member with special diet food.  Your entire family can benefit form healthy eating regardless of weight.

A family that eats together, eats better, according to a recent study in the journal Archives of Family Medicine. The study showed children who report frequent family dinners have healthier diets than their peers who don’t.

4. Avoid portion distortion. When serving food you must use portion control, buffet-type or family-style situations tends to promote overeating.  Fill up on salads and cooked vegetables  at meals and always wait 10-15 minutes before having a second helping.  Second helpings should only be taken if truly hungry.

5. Start the day off right with a good breakfast. A bowl of low-sugar cereal with low-fat milk, low-fat yogurt with a granola or breakfast bar, or an English muffin with peanut butter, rather than a doughnut or muffin. A healthy breakfast will put your family on the healthy track for the rest of the day.

6. Make time for physical activity. Make physical activity a family activity. Every night after dinner in the summer, go for a half-hour walk and make it an activity that kids look forward to. If you can afford it, enroll your kids in dancing or a sporting activity that they enjoy because they need to enjoy it to keep doing it. Or just turn on some dance music and have a dance party around the house.

7. Try again.  Weight loss and healthy eating is not easy.  There will be times when you and your family will struggle with this new lifestyle.  It is important to keep trying.  Failure is certain if you are not trying.

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Type I diabetes, also known as adolescent diabetes, differs from Type 2 in that the body stops producing insulin altogether.  Type I diabetes is generally diagnosed in children or young adults.  Type 2 diabetes is usually diagnosed in older adults, however, it is becoming substantially more prevalent in the younger population.

With the onset of diabetes, whether it be Type I or Type 2, we lose our ability to adequately utilize sugar.  When this occurs, blood sugar levels increase due to the body’s inability to transport sugar into the cells and out of the blood stream.  Sugar is very important in that it is the basic fuel source for the cells in our bodies.  Insulin is necessary for the transport of sugar from the blood and into the cells.

Diabetes is a serious condition and can lead to many other health problems.  Some problems that diabetics commonly encounter are an increased risk for heart and circulatory problems, high blood pressure, visual problems and blindness, nerve damage, and kidney damage.  With the diagnosis of diabetes, it becomes extremely important that blood sugar fluctuations are tightly controlled.  With good control of blood sugar levels and the prevention of prolonged periods of elevated blood sugar, people with diabetes can live long and healthy lives.

Fortunately for the newly diagnosed diabetic, there are more and more tools available to help monitor and control the condition.  Glucose meters are becoming smaller and easier to use.  Blood samples necessary for glucose meter use are much smaller than in the past.  Painful finger pricks can now be avoided with blood samples being able to be taken from alternate, less sensitive areas, such as the forearm.  In the relatively near future, there will be non-invasive glucose monitoring devices not requiring a sample of blood at all.

A simple blood test, known as the A1c test, can measure the average blood glucose levels over the previous three months.  This test is a very good way to monitor and critique how effective current treatments, diet, medications, etc. have been recently.  This test is now available for home use and as such does not even require a visit to the doctor.

Type 2 diabetics have more options available to them for blood sugar control than do Type I diabetics.  Not only are there oral medications, often eliminating the need for insulin injection treatment, but other methods that may eliminate the need for medications altogether.

Type 2 diabetics should look to multiple sources of information in order to determine the best methods available to deal with their condition.  A good start is a physician specializing in the treatment of diabetes.  Most physician specialists will have nutritional counseling available to help understand the relationship of various food items with blood sugar levels.

Additionally, diabetics should become very familiar with vitamin, mineral, and herbal options to improve blood sugar metabolism and control.  A few examples of supplements that are well known to help in this regard are chromium, magnesium, and vanadyl sulfate.  Various natural glucose transport factors can be very helpful in aiding the body’s transport of glucose from the blood and into the cells.  Vanadyl sulfate has been shown to improve glucose sensitivity and decrease insulin resistance.

Various herbal preparations have been shown to significantly improve blood sugar levels, sugar metabolism, and reportedly even improve the function of the insulin producing cells in the pancreas.  Notably, Gymnema sylvestre, known as “sugar destroyer” in Sandskrit, has been shown to have positive effects and benefits for diabetics.

Along with proper nutrition, appropriate supplements and vitamins, other important considerations are weight control and exercise.  Excess weight tremendously increases the burden on the pancreas as fat requires much more insulin than lean tissue.  Exercise not only helps control body fat and reduce weight, but additionally aids the transport of sugar from the blood and into the cells.

Diabetes is a very serious condition, but proper diet, glucose monitoring, and exercise can substantially improve our ability to control the condition.  We should attempt to educate ourselves not only in the importance of tight blood sugar control, but also the various methods and options available to help in this regard.  By utilizing good judgment in diet, weight control, exercise, and appropriate supplementation, diabetics can markedly reduce complications and lead long and healthy lives.

For further information and valuable diabetes resources, please go to http://www.diabetessites.com

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As the government becomes more aware of the problem of childhood obesity, schools in the UK are now planning to weigh and measure all children at the ages of 4-5, when they start primary school and again at 10-11, when they are about to leave for secondary education. This is something which is already being carried out in the US, but how effective is it?

There are arguments that children will be stigmatised and that this will increase bullying, as well as leading to an increased number of children suffering from eating disorders in the future.  In addition, many people feel that parents should be able to tell that their child is overweight and that the money could be put to better use by doing something to help change the situation.

As a parent, what can you do to help your children keep their weight under control?

It is important to be aware of children’s feelings – if they are being bullied at school, parents need to be sure they aren’t feeling “got at” at home by nagging parents, which will only increase feelings of isolation and failure.

Parents can set a good example by providing healthy meals and not eating junk food themselves, but it’s important to allow some treats, as being over strict is likely to cause friction and could be counterproductive. If the whole family learn about healthy eating and try cooking new healthy recipes together, kids won’t feel they are being singled out.

It is also important not to focus too much on food. Although it is an important part of life and can’t be avoided, it should not be made the main topic of discussion in the family. If children are constantly reminded of their weight and what overeating can do to them, they could develop an unhealthy attitude towards food. So be sure to focus on other things, particularly areas of life which are not stressful and which your child enjoys.

©  Waller Jamison  2006

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