A Mantra to Keep Kids Healthy: 5-2-1-Almost None
Five-two-one-almost none.
Introduce your family to this catchy phrase, and you'll help your kids create life-long, healthy habits to replace some of the unhealthy behaviors we've adopted today. The American Academy of Pediatrics developed the 5-2-1-almost none mantra as a simple way to remind your family how to eat and play healthy.
Five stands for 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day. Packed with disease-fighting nutrients, nature's fresh produce is a great source of natural energy. Try all different colors. Dip them in low-fat dressings. Toss fruit or veggies on pizza. If your kids just won't eat them, try again and again, but don't get into a power struggle over food. Look at it from your kids' point of view: they want sugary snacks. If there are only healthy snacks available, however, kids eventually will find something good to eat. Skip the fast-food dense calories and opt for more home cooking.
Two means no more than 2 hours of screen time a day (TV, video games, texting, computer time). Be a role model. Limit your own electronic face time and replace it with a family activity like cooking or active games. Keep the TV in a central location and out of the kids' rooms. It seems as if advertising is always telling us how hungry we are. Don't let the TV become background noise. Have a TV-free dinner around the kitchen table.
One is at least 1 hour of physical activity each day. This gets hearts pumping to maintain healthy weight and strong bones. However, we don't need to be drill sergeants. Sport teams aren't for everyone. So whether it's a rousing romp with the dog in the yard or a scouting program with outdoor activities, anything that gets you and the kids off the couch is good. Make it fun. Ten minutes here and there of dancing, jump rope, or playing in the leaves, quickly adds up to an hour of moving that promotes a more active lifestyle.
Almost none means giving up sugary soft drinks, sports drinks, or fruit juices that aren't 100% fruit. Some fruit and vegetable juices are the equivalent of 1 serving of the whole food, but you don't want to make your 5 servings a day from juice. You'll miss all the fiber of the real food. Drink water (with lime or lemon), low-fat or skim milk and 100% juice yourself. Children will learn from you.
If both parents are obese, there's an 80 percent chance their children will also be obese. We're seeing more kids with adult health issues like high cholesterol, fatty liver changes, and insulin resistance. More kids also will develop type 2 diabetes in their late teens and 20s rather than later in life. That's why 5-2-1-almost none could help you stop obesity before it starts. Start early to show your kids the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, and it'll soon become second nature to them.