This past Tuesday, November 2, our class was visited again by three senior nursing majors from Springhill College. They were building off of our conservation about Childhood Obesity with our previous guests. Before they began their presentation, they showed us a fascinating and informative video about meat in relation to health. The video explained how meat has many properties that are essential to the function of our bodies (proteins, mineral, and vitamins), but we cannot rely on meat alone as a healthy eating choice. In moderation, meat is a must in our diets. Processed meats should be eaten at an extreme minimum, if at all. These meats can cause diabetes, cancer, and even premature death. Our guests then being their presentation in obesity and health. Studies have shown that 39 million children ages 0-5 and 340 million children ages 5-9 are obese. An alarming 1.9 billion people ages 18 and older face obesity as well. There are 5 major factors that contribute to obesity:
Genetics
Poverty
Physiological Influences
Sedentary Lifestyles
Lack of Sleep
Our guests then told us about 6 settings for obesity intervention in children.
Schools: healthier lunches and snack options
Home: more, healthy, home-cooked meals
Primary Care: giving advice on healthy eating to parents
Child Centers: influence of friends to eat healthier
Community based: health-conscious restaurant options, more recreational centers for play, and more farmers markets.
Consumer Health: giving information from the media on how to practice better eating habits
Next, our guests spoke about My Plate, a visual aid on how much of each food group one should being eating during major meals created by the USDA. The model shows fruits, vegetables, grains, protein, and dairy.
Before time unfortunately ran out on our class, the guests showed us some healthier alternatives to foods we already eat!
Frosted Wheat--------Plain Wheat
Soda---------Sparkling Water
Butter----------Vegetable Oil
Yogurt----------Low-Fat Yogurt
These guests were extremely kind, entertaining, and informative. I now realize I need to practice much better eating habits, though!
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