Prevent the sugar addiction like a boss

This is somewhat of a followup to the childhood obesity post I wrote a few weeks ago.

It's hard to break a habit, whether it's biting your nails or eating junk food every day. It takes self-determination, will power, and time. If you think it's hard for adults, it's even harder for kids. They don't have the same self-determination adults do and time is the enemy of all children. What 5-year-old is going to make a goal to keep his hand out of the cookie jar? And for many children, the only concept of time they understand is the present. Seeing how bad habits will affect their future is not exactly a strong-suit of theirs. While it might sound like I'm bashing children, I'm just explaining characteristics that make them kids. And it's not always a bad thing. I can't imagine what I would do if my already-trouble-making toddler suddenly got a super burst of extra willpower. My point is that if you think as an adult it's hard to break a habit, it's going to be even harder for a child to do it alone.

So what should parents do? We prevent the bad habit from forming.

The bad habit I'm referring to is sugar addiction. I'm not a parenting expert (if that were so, I'm sure I wouldn't have woken up to a cup of red Gatorade spilled on my floor this morning). I'm not judging other parents. I simply have some experiences with healthy eating and children that I want to share with you all. Maybe it works for you, maybe it doesn't. All I know is that the steps I took with my child to prevent him from becoming addicted to sugar has made a profound difference in our lives.

I started worrying about sugar addiction before Cage was even born. That's really saying something, since I was eating ice cream every night during his pregnancy. It started one day at church. I was in my third trimester. And with our church meetings being 3 hours long, it meant I was using the bathroom at least 6 times. On one of these bathroom trips, I saw a parent in the hall with their toddler. The child was screaming, "I WANT A DOUGHNUT! GIMME A DOUGHNUT!" Oddly enough, it wasn't the yelling or rudeness of the child that bothered me. It was the content of his yelling. Kid was going ballistic because he needed a doughnut. And the mother just sighed and handed over a bag of doughnuts she had brought with her. Now, maybe I just caught these two on a bad day. But regardless, that scene had a lasting impression on me. When I returned to the church pew, I couldn't stop thinking that I didn't want my child to be that way. I didn't want to bring bags of sugar-filled treats with me everywhere. And I most certainly did not want my child so addicted to sugar that he couldn't go a few hours without it. So Dave and I started doing some serious thinking.

Then we remembered our friends Matt and Diane from Florida. They had an unusual rule for each of their children- no sugar until they were 2. Dave and I kind of though that was crazy at first, until we spent more time with their family. Their 2 boys preferred bananas over cookies. When they tasted soda, it was so sugary they didn't want to drink it. They were constantly asking for apples as a snack- not Twinkies! It didn't take long before we decided that we wanted our boy to have the same experience. So we set the rule. Cage would not have sugar until he turned 2. Now, I realize that there's pretty much "sugar" in everything- fruit, breads, cereals, etc. And we weren't going to stop the kid from having things like pasta. By "sugar", we mean any kind of sweet treat or dessert that was mostly processed, refined sugar. No cookies, no cake, no ice cream, no soda, no chocolate pudding, you get the picture.

I will tell you that we were mocked RELENTLESSLY for having this rule. We heard every possible negative statement- "That's ridiculous" "Do you really think you can keep that up for 2 years?" "Having sugar is just part of being a kid", etc. But guess what? We did it. Yup, the whole two years. Let me tell you about the results.

Cage has now been allowed to eat sugar for 6 months. He eats more produce than any other kid I know. When we visited my family for Christmas, he sat down with a bowl of carrots while we all had popcorn. By his own choice. He loves green beans so much that we use them as bribery so he'll eat his dinner. He will eat apples and oranges all day long if I let him. At his second birthday party, he wanted watermelon instead of cake. We have a shelf full of water bottles in our fridge and he, on his own, will drink 1-2 of those a day. I'll let you be the judge-- was it worth it? Absolutely. Are we going to do it again with our second kid? You bet.

My boy is down with some celery and peanut butter

Now, does Cage even like sugar? Oh yes. He's a boy after my own heart. In fact this morning he asked me to make cookies (instead I made oatmeal). But is he addicted to sugar? No. He doesn't ask for candy all day long. He won't throw a hissy-fit if I tell him "no" when it comes to ice cream. In fact, he'll gladly take the strawberries instead, even prefers them sometimes. Part of it could be that I just have a really easy going kid. Part of it could be that it's in his genes to like healthier foods. But you know what? Part of it could be that he didn't eat sugar for two years.

But we didn't just hit sugar mode full-on once he turned 2. His sugar content is still moderated and limited, like ours.He gets dessert twice a week with me and Dave, no more. We don't keep sugary junk food in our house, so those options aren't even there to tempt him. He eats pretzels and celery sticks for snacks. And when he does get something sweet, he sees it for what it should be-- a special treat that you get to have every once in a while. Not something Mom carries around in her purse everyday.

Ok, so you might be thinking that I really am crazy for depriving my child of sugar for 2 years. Let me remind you that this is simply the road I chose to take with my child. You don't have to have the same rule I did. It's the principle that matters- do something to prevent your children from becoming addicted to sugar. I started from birth with Cage because it's easier to limit a 1 year old's sugar content than a 10 year old who's had a soda a day since he was 5. And I truly do think that there is an addictive quality to processed sugared foods. If your children become used to the taste of sugary foods when they're little, they aren't going to want less sugar, but only more. Because that's what they're taste buds register as normal. If all their taste buds know are fruits and veggies, that's what they'll want and a cupcake will be overload!

You can take simple steps to prevent a sugar addiction before it gets bad- don't keep junk food in the house, have plenty of fruits and veggies on hand, limit dessert nights at your home. My sister-in-law has 6 children and I haven't once seen a cookie jar at her house. All her jars contain nuts and goldfish, and she has always has a bowl of apples on the table that her children eat at will. She didn't have a "no sugar" rule like I did, and yet, she taught her children good habits by giving them healthy options for snacking.

I think prevent our children from having a sugar addiction not only encourages them to eat healthier younger, but it gives them a huge advantage over childhood obesity. I hope that my experiences haven't irritated you, but have encouraged you to make a change in your home for your kids. And there is a wonderful thing that happens when you throw out the soda and zebra cakes-- your kids change their habits and you do too!

Do it for your kids like a boss

This subject is very near and dear to my heart. When I did nursing clinicals in the hospital, 90% of the adult patients I saw were there for a problem related to their obesity. I saw Type II diabetes, strokes, malignant hypertension, foot ulcers, lung disease, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks etc. All these conditions have a preventable factor and that is obesity. Seeing those people in the hospital suffering and knowing that something could have been done to prevent their pain is heart-breaking to me. But what breaks my heart even more is when we see it happening to a 5, 10, or 18 year-old.

1/3 of the children in this country are overweight or obese. They're catching up to the adults (7 in 10 obese) in that statistic, and it's downright terrifying. Who is to blame? Most people say the parents. That's partly true, but partly not. What truly loving parent would intentionally put their adult child in the hospital or on medication by creating bad lifestyle habits for them as kids? Not one. Parents want what is best for their child and will do anything to keep them from being in danger. But while teaching your kids to "look both ways before crossing the street" is critical, saving their life by teaching them healthy habits is just as important. You heard me right- you are SAVING THEIR LIFE. But we've established that parents wouldn't intentionally harm their children, so why is childhood obesity grow worse and worse every year? Two big reasons:
Reason #1)  Parents don't know what healthy habits are. In most cases, this isn't their fault. No one has taught them the right habits. Most parents don't even know that there's anything wrong with the way they cook or eat. So how can they fix the problem if they don't even know there is one?!
Reason #2) There have been several studies shown that 75% of parents don't know that their child is overweight. Once again, you heard me right. Seventy-five freakin percent. But can you honestly blame the parents for this? Since the moment our children are born, we love them unconditionally and are blinded by this love (as we should be, by the way). But blinded by love means that, once again, parents don't see a problem to be fixed.

So the most criminal offender is really us, as a society. We don't talk about obesity openly. It's a "sensitive subject" and who really wants to tell their friend, "Hey, you and your kid look like you should hit the gym"? The only people we hear it from are doctors. And honestly, how many of you do exactly what your doctor says? The time has to come to be honest, because we are potentially saving a life. Let's teach parents healthy habits that they will in turn teach their kids. And parents, when you learn what good habits are, don't just sit on the couch and tell your kid to go run a mile. Get up and run it with them. Don't make pies in the kitchen, but tell your child to eat the salad in the fridge. Make it family salad night! Children look up to their parents and if they don't see you making a change, they won't either. Plus, as they get older, kids have a natural tendency to be rebellious, so if they sense any hypocrisy on your side, you can bet they won't listen to what you say.

I'm a big fan of the Biggest Loser. I don't always agree with their methods (let's face it, working out for 6 hours a day isn't practical for most of us), but I do love to see the medical results. I don't care as much for how fit they look or how many pounds they've lost. I love to see the doctors tell them, "You're no longer a Type II diabetic" or "Your hypertension is GONE". Every time they say that, I want to jump up and punch the air because, are you freakin kidding me? They got rid of a chronic disease through exercise and eating right. It wasn't the Metformin and Lopressor medications that helped. It was changing their habits and lifestyle. Do you understand now why I want to be a healthy lifestyle coach? Instead of giving out drugs, let's give out good habits!

So anyway, this year on the Biggest Loser, they are focusing on childhood obesity awareness. They chose 3 kids (all teenagers actually) to work with. They didn't do ridiculous workouts with them or put them on a juice-only diet. They simply taught the kids and their parents how to exercise, cook, and eat right.These kids had all sorts of problems before they started this regimen, besides their obesity. One girl had high levels of cholesterol at only 16 years old. The 13-year-old girl they worked with had pre-diabetes when she started. See what I mean? These are conditions already present in children that could've landed them in the hospital in 20 years. But by the end of the season...the high cholesterol and pre-diabetes were gone. One of the boys lost 25% of his body weight. And this all happened because they threw all the junk food out of their house, started eating more produce, and started exercising every day. That's it! That's all it took and these kids just saved their lives! Would you be willing to do that to save your child's life? One of the moms on the show did the right thing and took the challenge with her child. She's lost several pounds and she didn't even have to visit the Biggest Loser Ranch! That's what I'm talking about- doing it FOR your kids and doing it WITH your kids. And let me ask you something- do you think her son was more willing or less willing to change because of her actions? I'll let you ponder on that...

So my diatribe is mostly finished, the problem has been stated, but no solution has really been given. How do we, first of all, get parents to recognize their child's current health problem and then, how do we help them to fix it.

As nurses, we recognize obesity from a simple BMI chart, which is what I would suggest to get started. You simply enter in your child's height and weight to see if they are overweight or not. I have put the link to a child's BMI chart here. So plug in the numbers and wait for the results. On the results page, it will tell you whether your child is of normal weight, overweight or obese. It will then tell you what that really means for your child's health and how you can help him/her. Another simple test that I do is merely through observation. Have your child participate in a physical activity for 30 minutes (a game like basketball or flag football). Is your child unable to complete the activity? Are they out-of-breath only 10 minutes into it? These are indicators that your child may be overweight, or if not, just quite frankly be out of shape.

So once you've recognized that your child is overweight, what are the next steps? Well, being a nursing student, of course I'm going to tell you, "Go see a doctor". Overweight children have a higher risk of developing health problems. Doctors can do simple bloodwork and other tests to see if your child is in danger of any immediate health problems (like diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, high blood fat levels, etc). Wouldn't you want to know if this was the case? So get them checked out and follow the doctor's recommendations.

Lastly, how do you teach your children healthy habits? Well, this question isn't easy to answer and it's not a quick fix. In fact, the answers are in my blog, but spread out over several posts and articles. I'll try to keep it simple though.

1st- Get them eating the right proportions of food via the plate plan.

2nd- Replace their junk food snacks with healthier snack options.

3rd- Get them exercising for at least 30 minutes a day, every day. Get them involved in activities they enjoy.

4th- Get involved yourself. Your child doesn't want you to end up in a hospital or on medication either. They want you to be able to dance, swim, run with them! Those aren't activities easily done on the couch (I swear, if someone makes a smart-aleck comment about WiiFitness here...). And if you think that they won't eat brownies you made simply because you told them not to... well, you'd better invest in a brownie safety vault.

There is a wonderful article about understanding childhood obesity. I have put the link to that article here and hope it is helpful to some parent out there who needs it. Like I said, most childhood obesity cases occur because the parents honest to goodness don't know any better. We haven't been teaching what they need to hear. And sadly, the chances are that the people who really need to read this article, aren't going to. So that's where we needs others (you!) to help them along the way. No parent would intentionally put their child in danger, so let's stop spreading around blame and start helping each other. If you know someone who really needs to read what I or others have said about childhood obesity, I hope you will guide them to the resources I've given you. I hope I haven't said anything too harsh or offensive, but I do try to be honest about these things. This is something I'm incredibly passionate about. And frankly, I think more people need to be passionate about it too.

Cage's grandpa teaching my little boy baseball. What a good example of an active grandparent!