Medications for Kids – When will adults take responsibility?

A few days ago, a colleague sent a message to my professional listserv, asking for advice. A friend with an obese 8-year-old daughter called her for help because her daughter’s pediatrician just scolded them because of her daughter’s health condition. This 8-year-old is not only obese but has high blood cholesterol and also has high blood pressure. Not only is the health of this child an issue, but a more harmful issue is how the doctor handled the problem. Now the daughter looks at herself and scolds herself for being so fat, and stress in the house has risen to an unhealthy level.

This is a tragedy in many ways. First of all, any female who is made to feel so bad about herself because of her weight is an eating disordered child in the making! Studies show over and over again that this is the ripe age for such problems that could not only last a lifetime, but could SHORTEN this child’s life! Second, now the mother is trying to police what her daughter eats, the father is scolding the mother for not feeding her more fruit and the daughter is mad at her mother because there is so much junk food in the house to begin with.

The third tragedy is that this is an issue at all! Any child of eight years old with weight issues is USUALLY the result of what they are allowed/provided to eat by the parents. The parents set the example! I have seen toddlers drinking sodas and eating French fries MUCH too often! These are not foods young children should even be exposed to!

But then this morning I watched a report stating that the American Academy of Pediatrics is recommending that children as young as eight years old start on cholesterol-lowering drugs!

When will parents start to take responsibility for the health of not only themselves, but of their own children?? This is awful that these ‘adult’ medications should be suggested for children. Apparently it is the Academy’s red flag in trying to slow down the incidence of heart disease and pre-mature death of these young people.

If you have children in your home, what are YOUR eating habits like? What is the health of your children? Are they a bit overweight? Really consider what habits you are teaching your children. Do you want your kids on drugs to treat these lifestyle conditions? Do you want your children to suffer from health problems when they should be enjoying their young adulthood? If not, first look at your own habits, and make decisions to improve what you do at home. Children learn from what we teach them, first. Only when they are older do they learn from their peers.

For tips on obesity and overweight in children, go to this link: http://www.aap.org/healthtopics/overweight.cfm

Potatoes – The Misunderstood Starchy Vegetable

A new report was released, showing that if you cube or shred potatoes before boiling, you can lose as much as 75% of the potassium in an average potato! Now, this is great news for people who undergo kidney dialysis, but for the rest of us, the more potassium we can get in our diets, the better!

People on some of the still-popular fad diets still believe that the poor potato is responsible for obesity in the US. Never mind all the bags of chips and crackers and double cheeseburgers or FRIED potatoes that people eat! However, the potato is still considered America’s most popular vegetable, with the average American eating 130 pounds of potatoes a year!

But what makes a potato so good? First of all, an average potato is low in calories, providing only 100 calories per potato. This means you could bake a potato, you could cut it up and oven fry them, or you could mash it up and it would STILL be less than 12 potato CHIPS. Second, 45% of your daily need for vitamin C can be supplied by just one potato, and that potato also provides as much potassium as a banana. And there’s fiber in a potato, too! One potato, with the skin, will provide 3 grams of fiber, which is as much as some ‘high fiber’ cereals.

So how can you incorporate potatoes into a healthy diet? Easy! Add a baked potato to your lunch, topped by either bean chili or steamed broccoli. A good topping for a baked potato is non-fat sour cream. Don’t squint your nose until you’ve tried it! A popular addition to dinner is to cut up a washed potato into ‘fat fries’, rub them with a little bit of olive oil, shake them in a bag of seasonings, and lay them out on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Bake in a 450 degree oven for about 30 minutes, checking for the doneness you prefer. You actually have a low fat potato dish!

One of my favorite dinners is home-made potato soup. I cut up washed potatoes (with skins), boil them in chicken broth, add sautéed onions, and cook until the potatoes are tender. I then blend some of the cooked potatoes with added non-fat milk to create the desired thickness. Add seasonings and heat up. I love adding shredded cheddar cheese to my soup, but you don’t have to. Serve with some whole wheat roles and a green salad and you have an excellent and complete meal.

For more on potatoes, check out the Washington Potato Commission website at; http://www.potatoes.com/