• Archives

  • Feb1

    Kids on a Diet, and How Parents Can Help

    Posted in: Wellness and Health

    Putting kids on a diet is verboten in medical circles.

    Expert psychologists and physicians explain that kids can’t handle the destruction of self-esteem that being on a diet carries with it.

    Being overweight or obese is hard enough for the 6-11 year old, the argument goes. And as an adolescent…well, forget it. The teasing and ostracizing are unbearable.

    But pediatric obesity is an epidemic. 19 percent of children 6 to 11 years old in America are obese.

    And most parents don’t see it, even in their own family. One study showed that only 27 percent of overweight kids were identified as such by their parents.

    Parents are caught. They never hear the word “Diet” from their pediatrician or family physician, but they do hear it everywhere else. They know diets work for a short while, and lifestyle skills work long term.

    Supposedly, parents provide (the food), kids decide (how much and when to eat). That division can work with younger kids, with real structure, strong parents, and clear meal plans. But without those tools, parents are lost.

    My idea is that Chef Clinic–cooking, healthy eating and fitness lessons–for the parents of overweight and obese kids could help. For the tools. And for changing kids’ food environment at home. And for being clear that the family is on a diet. Irrespective of whether the parent needs it.

    What do you think? Should overweight kids be put on a diet? Would giving their parents new skills help?

  • Dec16

    Give Me the Recalled Flu Shots and I'll Give You Flu Fighting Foods

    Posted in: Wellness and Health

    By now, most people know that nearly 20% of kids’ Swine Flu Shots are less potent than when they left the lab.

    And that 800,000 doses are being recalled, even though most of them have already been given!

    The CDC says not to worry, and not to re-administer. Kids up to 9 years old should get two doses about a month apart.

    But if you’ve been following along, you know there are powerful weapons in your kitchen medicine cabinet that can help you fight the flu.

    Flu fighting foods. Imagine if your kid got a bowl twice monthly of my Simple Sopa Azteca (an easy chicken soup rich with chicken flavor and vegetables, and btw, antioxidants and anti-inflammatories). A meal and just maybe, a medicine too.

    And yes, there’s real research and tastier recipes to boot: check out Epicurious’ feature on flu fighting foods as well.

    Are you using foods to stay well in Winter?

  • Nov4

    Someone’s in the Kitchen With Michelle: The Secret Ingredient Is Politics

    Posted in: Child Obesity

    One of the most powerful messages a country can send to parents is in the organic—and it did not have to be organic–garden on the White House Lawn.

    And of the best ways to find food-interested people is on Food TV: Marian Burros of the NY Times reports:

    “(On January 3, 2010, on Iron Chef America)…Mrs. Obama will also talk about her crusade to reduce childhood obesity through better school lunches, community gardens, farmers’ markets and exercise…

    … Michelle Obama will reveal the secret ingredient that the chefs must use in their televised cook-off: anything that grows in the White House garden.”

    Mrs. Obama said, “And now we’re expanding the tours of the White House Kitchen Garden

    Hughes eli book to any public school children that come to Washington, D.C.”

  • May3

    Computer Games for Cooking and Weight Loss

    Posted in: Obesity and Weight Loss

    When Mike Roizen and I taught nutrition and cooking to medical students at SUNY 6 years ago, we thought we needed to be there.

    But people learn in all sorts of ways. Now Nintendo is out with four popular choices.

    1. My Weight Loss Coach software. A simple stick-figure tool for someone starting out, this is more of an adult health app than a game. It coaches small, bite-size daily steps and reminders: skip the corn chips today. Put the salt shaker in the cabinet. There is a calorie counter and an iphone app.

    2. Cooking Mama. Educational and slightly second-life-ish, Cooking Mama allows you to use the stylus as your ubi-tool (stir, chop, slice, dice, knead) for 70+ largely Japanese-style recipes. Cooking Mama has a bit of Gordon Ramsay, but only a little nicer. When you make a mistake cooking you’re not lambasted, though her eyes can flame. Recipe difficulty varies greatly; with little emphasis on calories.

    3. Cooking Mama 2 can feed friends, and you can customize the kitchen, cookware and Mama’s clothes (nothing too racy, at all). Both Mama games have their adult fans, but cutesy graphics and the simple characters cater especially to preteens.

    4. Personal Trainer: Cooking. Quirky and eclectically international, this is an interactive cookbook. You get detailed guidance for shopping and cooking 245+ recipes from lasagna to bulgogi on two small screens with WiFi. You can select dishes (using voice recognition and touch screens) according to calories per dish.

    Hands-on is still the best way I know to teach healthy cooking. But if private weight loss coaching can work well by email, phone and fax, then this first phalanx of weight loss and cooking games is worth a look.