The rates of obesity and overweight children have tripled in the past 30 years and currently 19.6 percent of children in America can be classified as overweight or obese, notes the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Having this many children who are overweight means the development of more heart problems and at earlier ages.
Basics
Educating children on how to be heart healthy can play a significant role in their healthy growth and development. Also, an education on heart health will follow children into adulthood. When educating children it is important to keep in mind their specific age, level of development and family background. The educational material should be tailored to the specifics of the child.
Specifics
The educational material needs to talk about the benefits of eating a diet rich in a variety of fruits and vegetables. Children should be made aware of how much exercise they need to fit into one day. Teach about how too much time in front of the television or computer can negatively impact their heart health. It is important to teach children how diets high in cholesterol and saturated fats, generally found in animal meats and animal by-products, can contribute to an unhealthy heart. Educate children on how even small amounts of trans fats can have a detrimental effect on their heart. Also, children should learn how smoking increases their risk of heart disease and drinking can have a negative effect on the health of their heart as well.
Benefits
Educating children on how to be heart healthy also needs to teach children about the benefits of being heart healthy. If children understand that exercising and eating right will reduce their risk of heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure and a shorten life span they may be more likely to follow a heart healthy diet. Emphasis needs to be placed on the significant risks associated with an unhealthy heart. According to the "Journal of the American Heart Association," in America every minute that passes results in one more death as a result of a heart problem.
Considerations
When teaching children about how to be heart healthy it is important to give them specific options for how they can increase their heart health. Children are not always able to convert what you have told them into actions they can undertake in their life. Therefore, it is important to practice with children specific ways to be heart healthy such as what exercises to do, where to buy heart healthy foods, how to incorporate heart healthy foods into their diet and specific foods they should avoid.
Tips
There are specific things that you can do to help children fully understand how to be heart healthy. Take the children to the grocery store and point out specific heart healthy foods, such as fruits, vegetables and whole grain products. Give the children ways to keep track of their exercise such as a stop watch or a pedometer. Work with the children to compare their level of exercise with the exercise needed to be heart healthy. Give children specific items to eat at a fast food restaurant that are healthier. Talk about how drinking calories in the form of soda or juices can have a negative effect on their weight.
