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Health News
Family dinners promote healthier eating, often with fewer calories, as part of an achievable strategy to battle child obesity
In celebration of National Nutrition Month, there is no better time to make a commitment to eat more meals together as a family.
Family meals offer a great opportunity to not only spend time together and strengthen family relationships, they are also a great time for parents to be good role models for health eating, Angel Ginn, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said in a news release distributed by Newswise, a research-reporting service.
?Research shows that family meals promote healthier eating ? more fruits, vegetables and fiber; less fried food; and often fewer calories,? Ginn said.
Kentucky high-school students rank third in the U.S. in obesity, with 33.4 percent overweight or obese. Elementary and middle school students rank eighth, and pre-kindergarteners rank sixth. Only 11.6 percent of adolescents in Kentucky eat fruits and vegetables three or more times in an average week, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Family meals offer a great opportunity to not only spend time together and strengthen family relationships, they are also a great time for parents to be good role models for health eating, Angel Ginn, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, said in a news release distributed by Newswise, a research-reporting service.
?Research shows that family meals promote healthier eating ? more fruits, vegetables and fiber; less fried food; and often fewer calories,? Ginn said.
Kentucky high-school students rank third in the U.S. in obesity, with 33.4 percent overweight or obese. Elementary and middle school students rank eighth, and pre-kindergarteners rank sixth. Only 11.6 percent of adolescents in Kentucky eat fruits and vegetables three or more times in an average week, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Suggestions to add more family meals to the household routine include:
- Start slowly. Add one more family meal a week to your family's normal schedule. This can be added on the weekends if the weekly schedule is too busy.
- Plan meals together; make sure everyone has something they like at the meal.
- Make a ritual out of setting the table in a special way; for example, using candles or colored napkins.
- Talk to each other, choosing topics that are positive.
- No electronics at the table, and turn off the television. Playing background music is a nice way to create a relaxing atmosphere and also signals that it is time to eat.
Ginn also suggested the website Kids Eat Right ( www.KidsEatRight.org) as a resource to help families get on the path of shopping smart, cooking healthy and eating right.
- As School-lunch Debate Puts Attention On Rejected Meals, We Might Consider A Bigger Problem: Food Wasted At Home
The new nutrition rules for school meals have led some students to throw away food they're served. Schools across the country are estimated to waste $1.2 billion worth of food every year, based on extrapolations from a study the National Institutes...
- Kentucky School Nutritionists Meet Amid Some Opposition To Federal School-lunch Guidelines Aimed At Curbing Child Obesity
Kentucky schools are working to adjust to the federal nutrition requirements for school lunches, but are facing some opposition from students, parents and some school nutritionists. The U.S. Department of Agriculture guidelines, aimed at curbing childhood...
- Christian County Public Schools Ban Brought-in Fast Food As Part Of An Effort To Battle Childhood Obesity, A Big Problem In Ky.
Fast food is no longer a lunch option for students in Christian County Public Schools, Margarita Cambest reports for Kentucky New Era after the Board of Education voted to ban "commercially prepared, restaurant meals" Tuesday. Parents have been bringing...
- Stop "grazing" To Lose Weight
By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom I?m not sure when this change first occurred, but we?ve gone from a nation of structured ?three square meals a day? to grazing all day with small, frequent meals. We do this all in the name of good health and weight control....
- Feeding Your Teen Machine
Bigger appetites, busy lifestyles, mood swings, struggles for independence, peer pressure - they all challenge how and what your teenager eats. As a parent, there are ways you can positively influence the eating habits of your teen. Stock your kitchen...