Creating Healthy Lifestyles and Preventing Childhood Obesity

1. Creating Healthy Lifestyles andPreventing Childhood Obesity Jamelynn Evans, LCSW Exercise Physiologist

2. Outline • Background Information • Introduction • Purpose • Exercise • Nutrition • Hydration • Sleep • Stress Management • Mythbusters

3. Background Information • How to use this presentation: • You do not have to view this presentation all at once. In fact, it might be best to break it up…as long as you are going to come back to it. • Although this presentation is designed with information to help your child with creating a healthy lifestyle, some of the information may seem like it is intended for you, the parent or guardian. That is because it is. • *Before beginning an exercise program, always be sure to talk with your doctor about recommendations and limitations.

4. Introduction • As we are all well aware, childhood obesity is on the rise. • Childhood obesity does not simply stand for children who are overweight • A child who appears thin can end up suffering from adverse health reactions due to poor nutrition or a sedentary lifestyle just as much as a child who appears overweight. • So what can we do to help? • We can all take an active roll in preventing childhood obesity by taking the time to educate ourselves.

5. Purpose • This presentation is designed to give you knowledge and tools to help in the fight against childhood obesity, as well as to simply help you and your family achieve a healthy lifestyle. • There is a lot of information provided here; however, the information has been broken down with the hope that it will be easy to follow and understand.

6. Creating a Healthy Lifestyle

7. What is a healthy lifestyle? • A healthy lifestyle may have different meanings for different people. For many, it means living life in a way that creates physical, mental, and emotional well-being.

8. How to Achieve a Healthy Lifestyle • Find time to exercise • Make healthy food choices • Get enough sleep • Manage your stress • …and find time for fun!

9. Building a healthy lifestyle involves both choices and actions. A healthier lifestyle can be accomplished with the choices and actions that you make each day.

10. How can you help your children, friends, family, neighbors, community, and others to create a healthy lifestyle?

11. Modeling, Modeling, Modeling,Modeling, Modeling, Modeling… • Have you ever noticed your kids copying what you do or say? • Kids observe everything their parents do. • Your kids watch your eating & exercise habits more than you think. • Because of this, it is essential that you be a role model for healthy eating and exercise! • In case it is still unclear, modeling a healthy lifestyle is one of the most important factors!

12. Exercise

13. Exercise • Believe it or not…exercise can be a fun activity. • Many people think that they must be dripping in sweat and completely out of breath to be getting in a workout; however, this is not true. • Exercise is basically as easy as…. just get moving! • Being consistent with exercise is what is most important. Keeping that in mind; however, some exercise is always better than none. So, even if you have not been consistent, a ten minute walk one day is still much better than choosing not to move.

14. Physical Activity • Physical Activity Suggestions • It is recommended (by the Surgeon General) that adolescents accumulate at least 60 minutes of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Even greater amounts of physical activity may be necessary for the prevention of weight gain, for weight loss, or for sustaining weight loss. • A physical activity program should include: cardiovascular exercise, strength training, & flexibility

15. What should a Physical Activity Program include? • Cardiovascular Exercise • Strength Training • Flexibility Training

16. What is Cardiovascular Activity? • Cardiovascular Exercise – also known as, aerobic exercise, can be thought of as any type of exercise that increases the work of the heart and lungs and sustained for a certain period of time. Cardiovascular exercise makes your muscles use oxygen more efficiently and strengthens your heart and lungs. • Examples: walking, running, swimming

17. Benefits of Cardiovascular Exercise Exercise can: • Be fun! • Improve mood • Increase self-esteem • Strengthen your heart • Boost energy levels • Help you sleep better • Improve mental focus • Increase strength and endurance • Reduce depression • Decrease stress • Enhance coordination and balance • Improve posture • Improve digestion • Help with weight loss or weight control • Help prevent or manage: blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, osteoporosis, cancer, and other diseases. • * These are just a few of the many benefits of exercise.

18. Cardiovascular Exercise Precautions • Start your exercise session with a warm-up (easy exercise), and finish your session with a cool-down (easy exercise) • Wear appropriate clothing and shoes • Start slowly and progress gradually • Know your own personal limits & listen to your body • Exercise when you are feeling well • Stop exercising if you do not feel well

19. What is Strength Training? • Strength training involves using your muscles to work against some type of resistance. This resistance may be in the form of free weights, weight machines, your own body weight, resistance bands, and many more.

20. Benefits of Strength Training • Better Posture • Injury Prevention • Strengthens Bones • Increased Metabolic Rate – this causes the body to burn more calories throughout the day • Increased Muscle Strength, Power, and Endurance • Improved Balance, Flexibility, Mobility and Stability • Enhanced Performance in Sports or Exercise • Improved Self-Esteem • Increased Self-Confidence

21. Strength Training Precautions • Warm up properly • Wear protective gear for hands/feet • Start slowly; progress wisely • Understand each exercise • If you are unsure, ask someone who knows! • Use proper form/technique • Use proper breathing • Include all major muscle groups • Use a spotter when necessary • Be sure that spotter knows what to do • Stretch after your workout • Avoid lifting the same muscle groups on consecutive days • Don’t forget to focus on your core!

22. What is Flexibility? • Flexibility training stretches and elongates muscles. • Flexibility training includes stretching exercises for the purpose of increasing a person’s range of motion.

23. Benefits of Flexibility Training • Flexibility exercises help stretch muscles, protect against injury and allow the maximum range of motion for joints. • The benefits of greater flexibility include not only physical improvements, but can also help with stress reduction and the promotion of a greater sense of well-being.

24. Flexibility Training Precautions • Prior to flexibility training (stretching), a warm up should be performed at a low intensity for 5-10 minutes. • This increases the blood flow to muscles, increasing elasticity in the muscles once they are warmed up, and therefore decreasing the risk of injury. • Stretch after warming up the muscles and joints. • Stretch slowly and smoothly only to the point of mild discomfort; avoid bouncing. • Focus attention on the muscle being stretched; try to limit movement in other body parts. • Never stretch through pain. • Always maintain normal breathing throughout each stretch.

25. American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) Guidelines for Flexibility Training • Activities: Perform a general stretching routine following exercises that have warmed-up the body, targeting the major muscle and/or joint/tendon groups using static (non-bouncing) techniques. • Frequency: At least 3 days per week • Intensity: Slowly stretching to a position of mild discomfort • Duration: Hold stretch for at least 10 seconds, working up to 30 seconds • Repetitions: Perform each stretch 3-5 times

26. Exercise is not always easy. Here are some “tools” to help you along the way. Keep in mind, tools do not work if you do not use them. Example: A vacuum does not clean a rug if you do not pick it up, turn it on, and use it, right? Well, the same is true with the following tools.

27. “Tools” to Use…if you do not use them, they will not help you • Start now & make better habits for life • Avoid looking for an overnight change • Try something new • Set a goal to include one new activity, food, meal, or recipe each week • Discover new favorites to incorporate into your exercise routine & menu • Take the time to try new activities & foods • Make Exercise a Priority / Daily Routine • Schedule your exercise into your day • You would not miss a doctor’s appointment if it meant costing you $100 right? Your exercise session each day is invaluable, be sure to fit it in. • When you fit your exercise in, you will feel better, you will have more patience for your loved ones, you will be more productive at work/school, and so on… • Limit TV Time – mysteriously we often find time for TV, but can never find time for exercise • Set Goals & Make a Plan

28. Take a nature hike Go to a park / playground Go to a local/public swimming pool Play hide & seek (outside) Play catch Incorporate physical activity into chores Family membership to a local gym Relay races Scavenger hunt Yoga Strength training Running / jogging Walking Bicycling Rollerblading Go to the batting cages Go bowling Skating Basketball Baseball Football Karate Enroll kids in exercise classes Join a sports team Horseback riding Walk the dog Table tennis Air hockey Nerf basketball (indoors) Exercise videos Video games (Wii) Kayak Skateboarding Freeze dance Exercise Ideas

29. Helping Your Kids to Effectively Exercise • It is never too late to teach your kids about creating a healthy lifestyle • First, do it yourself! Show them how important it is by finding time to fit in your own exercise routine. • Next, spend time with your child • Be attentive – children value their parents encouragement and attention • Find out what your child likes and dislikes • Find out your child’s strengths and weaknesses • Brainstorm, write things down that you might both like to try • Come up with a list of incentives* (i.e. at the end of the week, six days of exercise might mean a trip to the nail salon with mom) • Incentives should be individualized and specific to your child’s interests. • Incentives do not have to mean spending money…you may find that one of the biggest rewards is for your child to spend quality time with mom or dad. • Be creative with your incentives • Use positive reinforcement – always encourage your child and let them know when they are doing a good job, this can be one of the most effective ways to keep them going • Formulate an exercise plan* (to be discussed soon) • Set goals* (set short and long term goals) • *Download handouts for: formulating an exercise plan and calendars to track your workout goals.

30. The Benefits of Formulating an Exercise Plan • Formulating an exercise plan: • allows you to set goals to work toward. • provides encouragement for you to be able to look back and see your progress. • will help to keep you accountable to do the things you have committed to do. • will become the basis for rewarding yourself when you accomplish the goals that you set into your workout plan.

31. Formulating an Exercise Plan • Utilize calendars & other tools to create and implement your plan • Set short & long term goals • Short term goals are goals that you will achieve in the near future (i.e. in one week, one month, etc.) • Example: For the next two weeks, I will exercise 2 times per week. • Example: By the end of this month, I would like to be able to walk 3 miles, and I will slowly increase the amount I walk until I reach this goal. • Long term goals are goals that you will achieve over a longer period of time (i.e. after 3 months, or after one year) • Example: For the next three months, I will gradually increase the number of days per week that I exercise. • Example: Six months from now, I would like to finish a 3 mile road race. • Goals should be specific to your own interests. • Goals should be realistic and attainable. • Do your best to include cardiovascular, strength, & flexibility training into your exercise plan.

32. Helpful Instructions for Formulating an Exercise Plan • Try to choose about three short and long term goals. • Do your best to include cardiovascular, strength, and flexibility training. • Be sure to set realistic and attainable goals. • Put your Exercise PlanWorksheet in a place where you can review it often. • Be sure to review your goals: set a date to review your ExercisePlan; the date you choose should give you enough time to start achieving some goals, but it should not be so long that you forget about them. • Create a new worksheet when some goals have been attained or when goals change. Your new worksheet may have the same long term goal with different short term goals.

33. Example for Formulating an Exercise Plan

34. A calendar can be a helpful part of a workout plan.

35. Example of a Calendar to Utilize for Tracking Fitness Goals

36. Instructions for using your calendar: • 1. Be creative & have fun! • 2. Print out your calendar and fill in the dates. • 3. Decorate your calendar if you would like. • 4. Figure out what works best for you: • having your workouts pre-set in the calendar and checking them off as you go. • writing your workouts in after each day of exercise. • 5. Check off each day you exercise with a pen or marker; or find some stickers to keep track of your workouts.

37. WHAT COMMUNITIES CAN DO – According to the Center for Disease Control (www.cdc.gov) • Provide quality, preferably daily, K-12 physical education classes and hire physical education specialists to teach them. • Create opportunities for physical activities that are enjoyable, that promote adolescents' and young adults' confidence in their ability to be physically active, and that involve friends, peers, and parents. • Provide appropriate physically active role models for youths. • Provide access to school buildings and community facilities that enable safe participation in physical activity. • Provide a range of extracurricular programs in schools and community recreation centers to meet the needs and interests of specific adolescent and young adult populations, such as racial and ethnic minority groups, females, persons with disabilities, and low-income groups. • Encourage health care providers to talk routinely to adolescents and young adults about the importance of incorporating physical activity into their lives.

38. School Fitness Programs • Children should be learning how to create a healthy lifestyle, since this information can be used for life. • School fitness programs should include training and information about cardiovascular exercise, strength training, flexibility training, and nutrition. • These programs are missing from most schools. • What can you do to help? • Contact your legislature.

39. Nutrition

40. Basic Nutrition Information • Label Reading • Fats, Carbohydrates, & Proteins • Healthy Eating Tips

41. Label Reading • Familiarize yourself with labels; knowing this information will be helpful for life

42. Label Reading • Serving Size • Servings per Container or Package • Calories and Calories From Fat • Percent Daily Value • Total Fat • Cholesterol and Sodium • Total Carbohydrate • Protein

43.  Label Reading  • Serving size - A certain amount of food, such as 1 cup of cereal, two cookies, or five pretzels that is specific to the nutrition information provided in the label. Looking at the label to the right, the serving size is 1 cup, which means that all the information following (calories, total fat, cholesterol, etc.) is specific to 1 cup of whatever type of food the label happens to represent. • Servings per container – the number of helpings per package • Percent Daily Value – percentages that are based on recommended daily intakes; the amount of nutrients a person should get each day. • Cholesterol & Sodium – The label tells you how much cholesterol and sodium (salt) are in a single serving of the food. They are included on the label because some people should limit the amount of cholesterol and salt they have in their diets. 

44. Quiz Question • How many calories make 1 pound of weight? • 3,500 calories add up to about 1 pound • If you eat 3,500 calories more than your body needs, you will put on about 1 pound. If you use up 3,500 calories more than you eat, you will lose about 1 pound in weight.

45. Calories • 3,500 calories = 1 lb. • 7,000 calories = 2 lbs. • Weight loss should not be greater than 2 lbs. per week • Weight loss > 2 lbs. means that more than 1000 calories are restricted per day…and this greater restriction is likely to slow down one’s metabolism

46. Weight Gain vs. Weight Loss • Consuming more food/calories than is required in a day = excess calories are converted to fat for storage. • Energy stored (fat) = Energy In – Energy used • Consuming less food/calories than is required = body fat is converted to energy for the needed calories. * Weight loss = eating fewer calories per day and/or exercising so that your body needs more energy and uses up more calories.

47. Gram-Calorie Equivalents • At the bottom of most nutrition labels you will find the gram-calorie equivalents for fats, carbohydrates, and protein. • 1 Fat gram = 9 calories • 1 Carbohydrate gram = 4 calories • 1 Protein gram = 4 calories

48. Fats, Carbohydrates, & Proteins

49. “Good Fats” Foods high in mono-unsaturated fats: olive oil avocado nuts (macadamia, peanuts, almonds, pecans, pistachios) Peanut butter “Bad Fats” Foods high in saturated fats include:  animal products such as butter, cheese, and cream coconut, palm, and palm kernel oils. Sweets – ice cream, cookies, cakes, etc. Examples of: “good” fats vs. “bad” fats • *Although these are good fats, be careful with portion sizes! Fats aredense in calories. • Typical Serving Sizes of Fats: • Oils (olive, canola, peanut, sesame) – 1 tablespoon • Flax seeds – 2 tablespoons  • Avocado – 1/2 avocado • Nuts (almond, cashews, walnuts) – 2 tablespoons

50. Carbohydrates: Simple vs. Complex • Carbohydrates provide most of the energy needed in our daily lives, both for normal body functions such as heartbeat, breathing and digestion and for exercise. • Simple carbohydrates are digested quickly; contain refined sugars and few essential vitamins and minerals. • Examples: fruit juice, milk, white bread, yogurt, honey, candy and sugar • Complex carbohydrates - take longer to digest and are usually packed with fiber, vitamins and minerals. • Examples: whole wheat breads, healthy cereals, whole wheat pasta, & vegetables It’s best to choose most of your carbohydrates from complex carbs!