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Source:
Sandy Procter, 785-532-1675, procter@humec.ksu.edu
Bronwyn Fees, 785-532-1476, fees@humec.k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Michelle Hall, 785-532-6415
Thursday,
June 19, 2003
WHAT
YOU CAN DO AT HOME -- AND WHAT K-STATE IS DOING -- TO ENCOURAGE
HEALTHIER, MORE ACTIVE LIVING
MANHATTAN
-- Sandy Procter, coordinator of the Expanded Food and Nutrition
Education Program in the department of human nutrition at Kansas
State University, emphasizes that a child being overweight is never
just the child's problem -- it's always a family problem, she says.
She
recommends parents with children whose weight, activity level or
general health has become a problem, ask themselves the following
questions:
*
Am I serving good food at home?
*
Am I encouraging my child to exercise?
*
Am I setting a good example through my own eating and exercise habits?
"Parents
may be telling themselves, 'I'm too busy to think about this,'"
Procter says. "But you can't not think about it -- it's too
important. You are very much their role model, whether or not you
are making conscious choices."
If
you are noticing that a more active change needs to be made in your
family's lifestyle, Bronwyn Fees, an assistant professor in the
School of Family Studies and Human Services, says it's important
to visit with your children about the change you want to make, set
new parameters, follow through with them and be consistent.
"This
will not happen overnight," she says. "And make sure the
active alternatives are appropriate for the age of the child."
Procter
agrees that changing your family's lifestyle will be an effort at
first, but will be worth it in the long run.
"You
have to model that active lifestyle for your kids," she says.
To
help children become more active, Procter recommends limiting screen
time at home -- setting time limits for the computer and the television.
"It's
up to parents to perhaps go against the grain and make active choices,"
she says. "Emphasize how exciting it is and how good it feels
to be active."
Fees
says it's important to think about why you allow your children to
watch television: Is it to gain knowledge, entertain? She says the
choices parents make on time and content will be directed by the
determined purpose of television watching.
"When
you think about time limits, also think about what your children
are not doing while they're watching TV," Fees says. "They're
giving up other opportunities for social interaction, exercise."
Procter
also emphasizes getting involved in various groups and activities,
such as Parks and Recreation sports, 4-H or the Boy and Girl Scouts.
She cites a friend as an active example: She takes her 4-year-old
daughter to K-State women's basketball games where her daughter
sees positive, active role models in the players and the cheerleaders.
The child is then excited to run, jump and move, just like she saw
at the game.
"Getting
involved is key," Procter says. "Find ways in your family
to stay active: Do yard work or walk the dog. Limit places where
inactivity will occur. Expose your kids to many activities. Find
what you enjoy as a family and keep it varied and fun."
Fees
says getting children active involves providing them equipment that
is age appropriate, as well as the space to engage in activities
with the equipment.
"Engage
with your child," she advocates. "It's much more fun to
play with someone."
Fees
encourages setting aside at least one or two nights per week to
do activities with your child. And if it's not safe to play outside
in your area, "there are still many active things you can do
inside," she says. Fees recommends becoming creative with hula
hoops, soft balls -- even just a line on the floor can turn into
a balance beam, a hurdle to jump or a goal, for example.
"You
don't have to have a lot of equipment to get them physically engaged,"
Fees says. "Music is another wonderful tool that children can
dance to or march to."
The
U.S. Department of Agriculture included exercise in their 2000 Edition
of Dietary Guidelines for Americans for the first time -- and now
it's a main point they make. It's also an important principle of
nutrition education programs in K-State Research and Extension.
They feature a curriculum that highlights children's books with
nutrition messages and activity components, for example.
Fees
recently helped revise a curriculum created in the mid-'90s by the
Kansas Nutrition Network and Kansas Child Care Training Opportunities,
which is affiliated with K-State Research and Extension. The revision
adds dental and physical health to the program, called "Nutrition:
Good For You."
"We
have encouraged children to sit down and be quiet," Fees says.
"We need to encourage them to be more active. Children like
to be active and learn through physical activity." The curriculum
reminds childcare providers to encourage physical activity in the
children they care for.
One
of the lessons in the curriculum, which is taught to child caregivers,
is "Let's Move, Learn and Have Fun." Fees and her colleagues
added a training video to this chapter to provide information, examples
and resources to show childcare providers and caregivers how to
provide young children the opportunities to move and play while
learning. They videotaped activities at three area daycare facilities.
"The
idea is to engage children, families and the community in activity,"
Fees says.
The
video won the annual Kansas Public Health Association's materials
contest in 2002, and Fees says childcare providers who have used
physical activity in lessons say children were more attentive to
the activities that followed, in addition to enjoying the exercise.
Fees says with some prompting, the children recognized the connection
between body health and exercise.
Procter
summed up the message in all of these lessons:
"Children
need to develop a love of movement early on."
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