How to Save Your Family from Obesity.

Posted on 04. May, 2009 by TheCuteKid Photo Contest in Health Tips, Parenting

Fat Families, Thin Families: How to save your family from the obesity trap!

Review by Michelle Bruns

A growing trend among American children is not the latest fashion or a hot new slang word, it’s childhood obesity. This is a syndrome that experts estimate currently affects 25 million children. That’s a statistic that families cannot afford to ignore.

Amy Hendel, author of Fat Families, Thin Families: How to Save Your Family from the Obesity Trap, feels that becoming overweight is a trend that starts with family; a trend that can be broken by taking an active role and setting a good example for good family health.

Hendel bases the strategies in her book on her personal experience as an overweight child and her experience as a registered physician assistant. She has developed a health strategy for herself and her family, and turned it into a career as a family lifestyle therapist to help guide families in developing good eating habits together.

According to Hendel’s book, the eating habits children develop and take with them into adulthood are taught by the parents. The first step is to make the decision to change your family’s way of life. From food choices to exercise, Hendel’s 4 “P” action plan (planning, preparing, portion, and play), is the key to her sure-fire strategy.

Plan Together

One of the most common saboteurs of a successful healthy eating plan is lack of preparation. Making eating choices on the fly or based on convenience provides the opportunity for poor food decisions to flourish. Deciding on menus, creating shopping lists (examples are provided in the book), and hitting the grocery store is a family affair on the Healthy Family for Life (HFL) program. With everyone involved, family members can offer each other support and are personally invested in accomplishing their HFL goals.

Prepare Together

It is all-hands-on-deck when it comes to the kitchen. Scheduling time to prepare and cook meals reduces impulse eating decisions, teaches kids skills they will use for the rest of their life, and gives families time to bond. Whether your meal preparation style is “Quick and Easy,” “Adventure in the Kitchen,” or “One Day at a Time,” taking time to stock your pantry and make a day of preparing the week’s meals is the secret weapon to making your planned eating choices a breeze.

Portion Together

Using small plates and eating more slowly can help put your family in the black with portion control, but changing portion perception is not an overnight undertaking.  Hendel offers that, “It takes time to change any habit, and portion perception is probably one of the toughest.” The promise that your new “feeding habits” will help squash cravings and have you reaching for foods that are better for you can create an optimistic attitude. Switching unhealthy foods for healthier ones doesn’t even have to mean skipping dessert; it simply means substituting olive tapenade for mayo and sorbets for whole milk ice cream. Plenty of small changes like this can have your family leaning toward lean in no time.

Play Together

Eating healthier is only one part of Hendel’s plan. Grabbing your kids and getting active is a vital piece of the pie. Simple activities like planting flowers, playing tag, and walking the dog can burn up the calories you don’t need and boost your metabolism. You’ll not only feel better, you and your family will improve your health. According to the Centers for Disease Control, “about 20 million people have type-2 diabetes, and more than 60 million people are overweight or obese.” If the statistics are not enough to motivate you to move, then perhaps another opportunity for family bonding will.

Make the Choice

Setting realistic goals, avoiding food traps, and creating healthy habits are just a part of Hendel’s lifestyle strategy. Fat Families, Thin Families offers more than guidelines for healthy living; it offers families a chance to learn to become healthy adults together. Packed with sample grocery lists, menu ideas, and tips on supporting one another, Fat Families, Thin Families is your chance to bring your family closer together, beginning at the dinner table.

How do you make eating healthy and fun in your family?

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Tags: advice for parents with obese children, family obesity traits, fat families, healthy eating, How to save your family from obesity., obese family, obese parenting, parent center, Parenting, parenting advice, thin families.