Sunday, August 3, 2008

Asthmatic kids face obstacles to getting fit (Reuters)

Students exercise during a ballet class at the Vietnam Dancing School in Hanoi, August 30, 2007. Children with asthma face a number of barriers to participation in physical activity, from family beliefs to school disorganization to their own misperceptions about their symptoms, the authors of a new research review say. (Kham/Reuters)Reuters - Children purchase wholesale shark cartilage asthma face a number of barriers to participation in physical activity, from family beliefs to school disorganization to their own misperceptions about their symptoms, the authors of a new research review say.

You are helping your children develop food habits every day. These habits will help determine children's health as adults. A typical American diet is generally well above healthy levels for dietary fat intake.

For children under the age of two years, fat intake should not be restricted at all. After that, parents should gradually change children's diet, so that, by age five, total fat intake is no more than 30 percent of the total calories. While the USDA recommends a maximum of 30 percent fat calories, the American Academy of Pediatrics has stated that children should not eat less than 20 percent of their bulk l-carnitine base in fat.

Remember, fat is found in a wide variety of foods, including nuts and seeds, vegetables such as avocados, and many beans, as well as nearly all meats and poultry. Be sure to include these foods in your determination of the fat in your child's diet. Let's look at some ways parents can reduce the fat in their children's diets.

Choose cooking methods that need little or no added fat. Boil, bake or broil when practical. Saute with non-stick cooking spray instead of oil or butter.

Include fish, lean poultry and cooked dried beans regularly. Non-meat entrees can be much lower in fat than meat. However, limit the amount of cheese and other fatty ingredients.

Processed meats are often very high in fat. Limit the hots dogs and lunch meat. Drain meat after cooking.

Increase vegetables and grains. Add fun seasonings to make them more interesting. More on this in a later article.

Replace sour cream or mayonnaise with low-fat yogurt. Try changing this gradually by mixing the sour cream or mayo with some yogurt. This will get children accustomed to the taste. With some appropriate seasoning, yogurt can make a great dip for fruit or vegetables.

When baking, replace part of the fat in the recipe with applesauce or pureed fruit. Experiment to see how much can be replaced without drying out the product.

Avoid pre-packaged foods when possible. Packaged sweets and snacks are usually high in fat. When you have to buy these foods, be sure the product contains no trans-fats, also labeled as partially hydrogenated vegetable oils. Fortunately, there is a trend away from including trans-fat in packaged foods, but there is still plenty of it around.

Serve low-fat milk. Your child CAN adjust to low-fat milk, if you change it gradually, even to the point of mixing two milks in the glass or in the carton. Don't tell them you are doing this.

Don't put butter on the table. Use low-fat salad dressings.

It is not difficult to reduce the fat in your family's diet. Make it a game or a challenge. It could one of the best things you do for your children's future.

Barbara O'Brien is an author, cook and mother of two young chefs. She enjoys helping other people make the most of time in the kitchen with their kids. Find safety tips, recipes and more at http://kids-cook.com