Amy Stevens
Nutritionist
Public Health District of Southwest Georgia

Q: What exactly is childhood obesity? What are the causes?

A: Childhood obesity is considered to be a medical condition that affects children and adolescents. Overweight is defined as having excess body fat for a particular height and becoming overweight or obese can be a result of caloric imbalance- calories expended by activity are much less than the amount of calories consumed.

Q: Is there any particular demographic that is at the highest risk for childhood obesity?

A: Low-income families are at the highest risk for childhood obesity due to food and insecurity. Research has shown that African Americans as well as Hispanics in particular are affected more by childhood obesity.

Q: What role does nutrition play in childhood obesity?

A: Nutrition plays a major role in childhood obesity. As stated previously childhood obesity can result from a caloric imbalance and research has shown that adolescents that consume sugar-sweetened drinks such as sodas, fruit drinks, and sports drinks drink an average of 356 calories per day along with calories consumed from food eaten. It would require at least 1 hour of jogging or 3 hours of walking to expend the 356 calories consumed from sugar-sweetened drinks. Children in today’s society are spending much of their time being sedentary rather than active.

Q: Does childhood obesity manifest into adult obesity?

A: Childhood obesity can manifest into adult obesity. Children and adolescents that are overweight or obese are likely to be overweight or obese as adults. They are also at greater risk for adult health problems. Children that are overweight or obese are being diagnosed with diabetes at early ages.

Q: How can childhood obesity be prevented or treated?

A: The prevention of childhood obesity starts with healthy lifestyle habits that includes, healthy eating and increased physical activity. Changing lifestyle habits as a family will be most effective in preventing obesity in children.

Financial literacy is taught today at the high school level, but if you ask the average high school student about managing money, you soon realize that they’re missing some big pieces of the puzzle. Just like everything else in life, to become proficient one has got to practice. Indeed, even the bible says in Proverbs 22:6: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I am a firm believer that money management should be part of the package that we deliver as we train up our children. The earlier a child is exposed to money and learns how to manage it, the better prepared they will be to deal with all that adult life has to offer. In fact, best practices dictate that as soon as children can count, it is important to introduce them to money; and the necessary words and concepts.

One should always communicate with children as they grow about values concerning money: how to save it, how to make it grow, and most importantly, how to spend it wisely. Having a child participate as you put together a grocery list or create a monthly budget can go a long way to instilling in them the basic principles of money management. This would also act as the perfect time to teach a child the difference between wants, needs and desires, and the setting of priorities where these are concerned. When you present your kids with an allowance approach it from the perspective of a salary. Using this approach, introduce them to the concepts of taxes, gross income, net income and discretionary income. Next, move again to budgeting but focus this time on ensuring that a percentage of their salary (allowance) goes toward savings. (Saving $5 a week at 6 percent interest compounded quarterly will total about $266 after a year, $1,503 after 5 years, and $3,527 after 10 years!). Take your child to a credit union or bank to open their own savings accounts. Beginning the regular savings habit early is one of the keys to savings success.

Setting goals is integral to learning the value of money and saving. Young or old, people rarely reach goals they haven’t set. Let every toy or item for which a child asks become the object of a goal-setting session. Such goal-setting helps children learn to become responsible for themselves and develop the discipline to achieve success.

If anything, this recession has put caused us as individuals to re-evaluate our money management habits. Caution has become the norm, savings rates are up and individuals are no longer complacent about money related matters. The lessons we’ve learned need to be translated to the generations to come. I learned under the skillful watch of wise parents and took that discipline to college where I was able to create the stable financial foundation that I stand on today. In today’s tough economic environment, many adults find themselves in the sandwich generation where they’re taking care of both their kids and parents. In other situations, children have returned home after college unable to secure jobs worth their degrees. A tough environment demands that we are diligent and disciplined where money is concerned. As a result, teaching your kids how to manage money is fundamental to your own financial future.