Children and Water: Fighting Obesity

How many parents remember growing up drinking Kool-Aid, soda, or other sugary drinks?  Many parents think such sugary drinks are innocent and since most young kids are active they will simply burn off the extra calories.  And how much sugar could good old lemonade mix have anyway? And if it was good for me as a kid, and for my parents as kids it’s good enough for my kids! Well for one thing there is way too much sugar in most drinks.  Another thing is that times are changing.  The age of sitting in front of a computer or video game has arrived.  Kids are not as active as they once were.

Sometimes kids do burn off extra calories if they are very active.  The hidden truth is that they can never burn off the lasting impact it will have on their entire lives.  According to the Pediatric Dentistry Association, when it comes to quenching thirst most bad habits are developed with in the first three years of life.  So at age twenty the child will drink just as much, if not more sugary drinks, and be far less active.  Children who grow up drinking sugary drinks are proven to have an increased chance to be obese and stay obese through adulthood.

One out of every five calories we consume comes from liquid.  In an average glass of lemonade, there are over 200 calories and 25 grams of sugar. How many glasses do your kids drink on a hot day? As they get older their glasses are filled more often and they don’t use sippy-cups any more, they drink full eight ounce glasses.

Who is to blame?  Most parents blame McDonalds, or Coca Cola, or other snack food distributors.  But last we checked, kids can’t drive to McDonalds and they don’t have money to buy soda and sugary drinks at young ages.  It is up to parents to set a positive example from the moment kids come into this world.

Is obesity a big problem? Absolutely yes, it is.  According to the Mayo Clinic, over the past 30 years, the rate of obesity in the United States has more than doubled for preschoolers and adolescents, and it has more than tripled for children ages 6 to 11.  Obesity is nearing topping smoking as the #1 killer in the US.  Obesity can lead to diabetes, heart disease- which can start as a child and carry on through adulthood.  A study of 548 school-age kids over two years found the soda-drinking kids had a .18% increase in body mass index.  The truth is that excess calories cause weight gain.  If your child is overweight and takes in thousands of excess calories from sugary drinks this is a huge contributing factor to the cause of the weight gain.  Studies show that overweight teens have a 70% change of becoming overweight adults.

Honestly the only way to cut the calories from sugary drinks (not to mention reducing tooth decay) is to replace their drinks with filtered water.  Be a positive role model! Drink water yourself and set a good example.  There is another huge benefit besides stopping bad habits and obesity… SAVING MONEY!  You will quickly see how much money you save when you use water you have right at home. To take in all of the benefits that water offers, make sure your water is filtered with a home filtering system. 

WAYS TO MAKE DRINKING WATER MORE FUN:

-         Use a colored sippy-cup

-         Use a plastic re-useable swirling straw

-         Add some lemon and orange slices to a pitcher of water

-         Squeeze fresh fruit juice and add it to the water for flavor

Use colored reusable ice cubes

 Jennifer Karkoska, Armelin Media LLC