How Healthy Are Our Children?
A lot has changed about our lives in the last Century; from fashion and music through to technology and transport – never in the history of humankind has man revolutionised itself so much, in such a short space of time.
However, while many of these changes have served to improve the way we live from day to day, there is one change that arguably hasn’t – our diet.
Today, junk food is everywhere. In town centers, on street corners and in office vending machines. But most worryingly of all – it’s in the hands of our children.
Few of today’s children understand food. They know little of where it comes from, what it does to us and what we should and shouldn’t be eating. Instead, much of our next generation is feasting on sugary snacks, fizzy drinks and fatty junk foods.
A study commissioned by the British Heart Foundation found that 29% of teenagers are eating chocolate, crisps or sweets three or more times a day.
Despite the best efforts of celebrity chef Jamie Oliver, a fifth of British children have a chocolate bar at lunchtime, while a third chow down on a packet of crisps.
Yet it’s not only the diets of our sons and daughters that are affecting their health – they’re living increasingly sedentary lifestyles too.
Children of the sixties, seventies and eighties had little choice when it came to indoor entertainment – a few television channels and some very basic video games were pretty much their lot.
Today’s children are swamped with entertainment that requires no movement or effort to absorb.
What impact is this having on their health?
Twenty years ago, diabetes was a disease exclusive to the middle-aged and beyond. Today, children as young as 14 are being diagnosed with this debilitating illness.
Obesity levels are rising, with overweight children turning into dangerously obese adults. Many of these overweight children suffer with high blood pressure and high cholesterol levels, placing them in great danger should their diet and activity levels remain the same.
Yet there’s more than meets the eye. A poor diet doesn’t just affect a child’s health – it affects their learning too.
Sugar, and the chemicals added to many junk foods are bad for the brain. They affect concentration and inhibit its development. Many believe that simply changing their diet could cure a large number of children placed on drugs due to ‘attention deficient’ problems.
So what can we do?
Changing your child’s diet isn’t easy unless you are knowledgeable about healthy eating yourself. Get educated. Learn to cook. Find a passion for good food that you can pass onto your offspring.
Stop keeping junk food in your cupboards. If it’s there, they and you will eat it.
Last of all – give your child a packed lunch rather than giving them money to buy school dinners. Even if the food served by their school is worthy of a Michelin Star – you don’t know that they’re spending their money on it. Don’t give your child the freedom to choose their food and you won’t give them the option to choose poor health.
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