The Road to Heart Disease (3)

Last week we looked at the 2018 Healthy Active Kids of South Africa Report Card to assess how well South Africa is doing at childhood interventions in terms of activity promotion and adequate nutrition within the community.  These are such important components of long term health outcomes as the children become adults.

ALSO READ : Turning the Tide – Dealing with the main lifestyle-related conditions in South Africa (Part 11)

This week we will look at some practical interventions recommended by Diabetes South Africa. . Following is an extract from this very helpful article.  I would strongly recommend you read the whole article.

So, how do parents prevent children from becoming obese?

• Firstly, we need to lead by example. Parents are the single biggest influence on their children. We need to make healthy food choices as often as possible.
• Don’t keep high sugar and fat foods at home. Let your children learn that there are healthy everyday foods. These should be readily available where possible.
• Then, there are ‘sometimes’ foods; these should not be kept at home or readily available. Be aware of the foods that are being advertised on TV and social media. Children are susceptible to this conditioning.

Packing lunch boxes

When packing a lunch box, make one swap a week to replace the unhealthy options until eventually you have a nutritious box packed. For example:

• Swap dried fruit, which is high in calories and sugar and easy to over consume, for a fresh fruit.
• Add a crunchy vegetable; they add colour and are high in nutrients.
• Replace a cold drink with water. Flavour it by putting in a few berries or cucumber and mint.
• Let your child experiment. Shift from white bread to whole grain.
• To keep your child interested, try to vary between rolls, pita and regular bread.
• Change the filling from jam or chocolate spread to a protein, such as cheese, egg or a nut spread (or hummus or mashed lentils or tasty beans with thinly sliced cucumber or tomatoes)
• If you are unable to make school lunches at home, get involved with the school tuck shop. Even if you are physically unable to help out, make suggestions of foods that should be offered and those that should not be.

Do not use food as a reward

Praise your child when making healthy food choices. Do not use food as a tool to bribe, punish or reward behaviour. It can cause an unhealthy relationship with food.

Eat as a family at a table

Where possible, sit together as a family to eat. Avoid eating in front of the TV or computer as this leads to mindless eating and often over eating.

Encourage activity

Encourage your child to take part in sport. Activity is of paramount importance in preventing obesity.

Obesity is preventable and it is a parent’s responsibility to assist in preventing it.

I wholeheartedly endorse the above suggestions by Christine Manga, who is a diabetes nurse educator. 

One of the suggestions I find particularly useful is the gradual introduction of healthier options.  It may be a good idea to have a family council and discuss your family’s health.  Sometimes the illness or death of a friend or family member may be a good opportunity to bring up healthy-living issues.  Get kids to participate in food choices – with some guidance.

Here are some wholesome plant-based ideas without the pictures!:

I would welcome feedback and suggestions that you have found to improve the health of your children.

To fun with your kids in vibrant living in the week ahead.

Dave Glass

Dr David Glass graduated from UCT in 1975. He spent the next 12 years working at a mission hospital in Lesotho, where much of his work involved health education and interventions to improve health, aside from the normal busy clinical work of an under-resourced mission hospital.

He returned to UCT in 1990 to specialise in obstetrics/gynaecology and then moved to the South Coast where he had the privilege of, amongst other things, ushering 7000 babies into the world. He no longer delivers babies but is still very clinically active in gynaecology.

An old passion, preventive health care, has now replaced the obstetrics side of his work. He is eager to share insights he has gathered over the years on how to prevent and reverse so many of the modern scourges of lifestyle – obesity, diabetes, ischaemic heart disease, high blood pressure, arthritis, common cancers, etc.

He is a family man, with a supportive wife, and two grown children, and four beautiful grandchildren. His hobbies include walking, cycling, vegetable gardening, bird-watching, travelling and writing. He is active in community health outreach and deeply involved in church activities. He enjoys teaching and sharing information.

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