Good news, bad news...

While child obesity is actually declining in much of U.S., Illinois is still not doing so great...

Here are the scary numbers.

1 in 8 preschoolers nationwide is obese, and therefore 5 times as likely as their peers to become overweight adults. However,  numbers declined in 19 of 43 states from 2008 to 2011. These numbers appear the latest indications that Americans are becoming healthier - a trend continuing after the Center for Disease Control reported in 2003 that obesity rates were finally stagnating after decades on the rise

Good news for the most of the States. But not Illinois. According to CDC, obesity rates did not change between 2008 and 2011 in 21 of 43 states, including Illinois. 30 percent of Illinois preschoolers were overweight or obese in 2012 (to find out  definitions and the difference between the overweight and obesity in children go here http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/patientinstructions/000384.htm).
Also, our home state reports higher than median rates of high-schoolers who consume at least one soda a day and watch at least 3 hours of TV a day. Vegetable consumption is also lower than recommended - 88 percent do not eat vegetables with every meal.

Sad statistics, parents...

So, there are two questions here:

1.What Is Chicago Doing?
In some neighborhood grocery stores, it’s difficult to find fresh vegetables and far easier and cheaper to eat what’s highly caloric. It can even be too dangerous to play outside, which leads to children being sedentary in their homes. Thankfully, CLOCC (the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children - www.clocc.net) and the city of Chicago have been incredibly proactive over the last decade.

With the creation of Healthy Places—a joint partnership between the Chicago Department of Public Health and CLOCC—the city is working to “implement sustainable policies, systems and environmental changes that address obesity in Chicago by creating healthier environments where Chicagoans live, work, learn and play,” according to CLOCC.

Chicago is increasing access to fresh and healthy foods through healthier vending-machine options throughout city parks; mobile produce carts that bring in affordable, fresh fruits and vegetables to lower-income areas; community gardens; and corner stores with healthy options. The city has also stressed the importance of physical activity by designing street and sidewalk access for bikes and walking paths as well as safe access to parks.

Chicago Public Schools are also on board with healthy food options on their menus and an increase in physical activity during school and after-school programs. Nutrition and wellness education is stressed not only in schools but citywide.

2. What Can You Do? (and this pretty much what my blog is about)
Although an epidemic as large as childhood obesity can be overwhelming, taking small steps to begin living a healthier lifestyle can make it seem more approachable.

When it comes to how many calories a day a child should consume, there is no straight answer; that it is different for every child, depending on the child’s current body size, activity level, metabolic rate, and where each child is at in the growth spurt.

Instead of limiting calories, allow healthy snacks, avoid sugary sodas and juices, practice portion control, and cut out the oil and butter when cooking, keep screen time (which includes television, video games and the computer) to a minimum—it’s not only easy to eat more while sitting in front of a screen, but watching aggressive and tantalizing marketing ads for foods on TV can also be a problem.

Simple steps to childhood obesity prevention include:

- Rethink drinks. Nix sugary beverages, such as soda and juice, from your child’s diet—it’s an easy way to carve 400–500 calories off the daily caloric intake.  Add a 16-ounce Snapple Lemon Iced Tea from the vending machine for an afternoon thirst quench, and you’re up to 440 calories in one day, with just two drinks. And while most of us know that soda is chock-full of calories, many of us are unaware of the calories in juice. A 20-ounce glass of 100 percent orange juice contains 280 calories, and a 20-ounce glass of 100 percent apple juice contains 300 calories, although numbers vary brand to brand.

- Practice portion control. The average restaurant meal is about four times the size that it was back in the 1950s. The CDC recommends splitting meals when you eat out or taking some home with you for another meal. To keep kids from overeating at mealtime, let them eat a healthy snack, like a piece of fruit or small salad, before dinner. The CDC also recommends dividing up the contents of one large package, like a bag of pretzels or crackers, into several smaller bags to help avoid overeating.

 - Get physical. According to the 2012 CDC Illinois State profile survey, 24 percent of kids were physically active for a total of at least 60 minutes per day. That means 76 percent(!) were not. Get kids to play, and get their adrenaline pumping for an hour each day. Whether it’s inside or around your home, be active with your kids. Also, minimize television-viewing time. According to the CDC, about 36 percent of kids watched television three or more hours per day on an average school day. CLOCC recommends two hours or less of screen time a day, which includes TV, playing on a computer and video games.

While, all these steps may seem like a common sense to most of the parents, sometimes maintaining a healthy lifestyle and keeping up with a busy schedules and running multiple errands during the day, can be quite overwhelming.
I hope my blog can be useful for you, dear parents. Here you can find some ideas of outdoors and indoors activities with kids, quick and easy recipes for busy adults (and maybe some more sophisticated ones ;)), reviews of  places to go and  local happenings, farmers markets, etc, and some useful links and articles on the topic of the healthy families lifestyle.

Welcome and have fun!