Female Speaker: They're everywhere you turn food and beverages that provide nothing more than empty calories to children. With the increased availability of these nutritional zeroes in school vending machines, at malls and at home, our children are continuously challenged to eat right. Along with poor eating habits, a lack of exercise is also significantly increasing the rate of obesity among today's youth. 14 year old Dan Stachura knows all about being overweight. He's been heavy as long as he can remember and the memories haven't always been pleasant.
Dan Stachura: I'd always be like a lot bigger than the other kids, like they'd be real skinny and I was like really big and so that kind of made me feel bad.
Female Speaker: Adopted as an infant, Dan's parents say their son was always a big child.
Rick Stachura: All the way through elementary school he was always a chunky kid, hefty kid.
Female Speaker: Rick and his wife felt their son would grow out of his weight problem. But as Dan grew older, his activity level decreased, and his weight increased. Then, just two 2 years ago, as a consequence of his weight, Dan was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes. It was then his parents knew something needed to be done.
Rick Stachura: Once he was diagnosed with diabetes, this really brought it home, it's like we have to do something because now it's a major health issue.
Female Speaker: Dan and his family are not alone. It is estimated that one out of four children in the United States is obese or 20-percent above their desirable weight and the numbers continue to grow. There has been almost a 40-percent increase in obesity among adolescents in the past fifteen years. Obesity puts our children at higher risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, low self-esteem, and social rejection. However, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics, it's important never to put your child on a low-calorie, deprivation diet, especially during critical growth periods. This could interfere with his or her natural growth process. Instead, promote gradual weight loss by eating right. You and your child can refer to the Food Pyramid to create a balanced daily diet, including whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and dairy products such as milk, cheese and yogurt. In fact, there may even be reason to believe that eating three servings a day of dairy can help manage your child's weight.
Dr. Michael Zemel: As part of a balanced diet, there is an abundance of evidence that now indicates that increasing dairy product consumption within the framework of controlling calories of consuming an appropriate number of calories will help prevent overweight and obesity in both children and adults.
Female Speaker: Pediatrician Doctor Robert Murray suggests children drink fewer beverages containing empty calories, such as sodas and artificial fruit juices that may crowd-out nutrient-rich beverages like milk.
Dr. Robert Murray: Each can of coke has 10 teaspoons of sugar, so this has been directly linked with obesity and it's a big, big problem.
Female Speaker: Doctor Murray also encourages parents to become a part of the solution, by becoming active role models. Research shows children love to imitate their parents, and learning good eating patterns by example is no exception. It seems to be a successful strategy for the Stachura family.
Rick Stachura: Do as I do is much more important than do as I say in most cases like this and working with the child gives them the impetus to continue on and learn that better habit.
Female Speaker: And don't forget the importance of daily exercise! Dan's parents have found activities that interest their son to help manage his weight loss and boost his self-esteem.
Dan Stachura: Taekwondo is like, it originated from Korea and that's where I'm from, so it kind of helped me to do something that like, it's part of my like heritage. All the teachers like help you and try and build your confidence to help you along.
Rick Stachura: The idea of getting out and being involved with his friends and doing activities has boosted his confidence and showed him he can actually do things and accomplish things.
Female Speaker: And that sense of accomplishment is helping Dan win the battle with his weight. So how can you help your child maintain a healthy weight? Here are a few tips according to the surgeon general. Increase the availability of nutritious foods in your home, help control portions of foods and beverages, decrease the time your child spends watching television, promote family weight management activities, like meal planning and group exercise and encourage your child's school to provide healthy food alternatives to empty calorie foods, most often found in vending machines.
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