When I was a kid

My dad was a health nut. He took vitamin and nutritional supplements long before it was trendy. Prevention magazine was the bathroom literature of choice. My dad made me eat cereal that resembled twigs and tasted just as good. He bought me carob bars, which resembled Hershey's chocolate but tasted nothing whatsoever like it. He did isometric exercises using a weird stretchy contraption. He could walk for miles, and continued this practice well into his later years.
The guy lived to be 86 years old and throughout his whole life, took no prescription medications. He never suffered from heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol or diabetes.
What's my point? Well, as a kid I learned from my dad the importance of taking care of my health. Mind you, this was the sixties, when we played kickball, tetherball, tag, hide and seek. We rode our bikes everywhere. We only watched television when it was raining outside. No computers, video games, or texting our friends. We'd walk, yes walk, to our friend's doors and yell "Judeee, Billee!" If you're over a certain age, you'll know what I'm talking about. And we walked to school, since many of us were one-car families.
Our lifestyles have changed. We are now two- or even three-car families. We have fast food restaurants on every corner, and our portions are supersized. Our kids hang out in front of the tv or computer, playing video games or "socializing" on MySpace.
Is it any wonder that more and more of our kids are getting Type 2 diabetes, which usually strikes adults? And according the the Shaping America's Health website (http://www.obesityprevention.org)
20% of our children are overweight, which can lead to high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
Parents can help; by being good role models and helping kids make good food choices. They can make family fitness a priority in their lives. The KidsHealth site (www.kidshealth.org) provides some great links to topics such as nutrition, fitness, recipes, and more. The American Heart Association (www.americanheart.org) has a link for kid's health which shows some fun ways to learn about heart health, and a link to the What Moves U Website, giving kids ideas on how to get active.