If you are or are planning to become a parent, you can’t help but worry about the childhood obesity crisis. According to the website of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity has doubled in the last three decades; for teenagers it has quadrupled. In real terms, this means that more than a third of children and adolescents are overweight or obese. These are terrifying statistics.
If you want to prevent your children from becoming obese or overweight, an effective way is to cook more meals at home.
Cooking to lose weight:
It might seem counterproductive to suggest that cooking more of the food your children eat can help them lose weight. After all, most weight loss plans have to do with restricting food, right? Well that’s not always the case.
To combat childhood obesity, it helps to understand that it is often caused by children eating too much processed ‘fast’ food (high in calories and low in nutrition) and not enough healthy food. Replacing most of the highly processed fast food we feed our children with nutritious, homemade meals and snacks can go a long way in helping children lose weight or maintain a healthy weight. After all, it is often called ‘junk’ food.
The healthy food movement:
In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama started the “Let’s Move” campaign to help children get in shape. The program includes exercise, but also focuses on healthier foods at home and in schools. His program is still going strong today. In fact, she recently spoke at a health summit, educating people on all the benefits of home cooking.
The immediate benefits of home cooking
The immediate benefits of home cooking for your children may seem obvious when you think about them. The most important is that you can control what your children eat: you can choose fresh ingredients rich in nutrients and limit the amount of additives that are harmful to health. Highly processed foods made outside the home are often full of sugar, salt, unpronounceable additives, synthetic flavorings, and unhealthy carbohydrates and fats.
As a parent, you will also notice another immediate benefit of fighting childhood obesity with homemade food – it can save you a lot of money! Restaurant meals and packaged meals you buy at the store can be very expensive. And think about this, if a packaged meal can feed a family of four for just a few dollars, what will the quality of the ingredients look like? To keep prices low, the quality of the ingredients used has probably been compromised.
The long-term benefits of home cooking:
There are also long-term benefits of home cooking for both you and your children. By cooking at home, especially if it involves children, you will teach them healthy cooking and baking habits that will likely continue throughout their childhood and into adulthood.
In fact, the University of Alberta conducted a study in which they found that children who helped cook at home were 10% more likely to choose to eat vegetables than children who did not. And it all helps when it comes to kids eating their veggies.
Finding time to cook for children can be challenging. With some solid knowledge, a little practice, and the right tools, you can quickly establish a healthy eating environment at home. And don’t forget that not only children will benefit, you will also improve your diet.