Three easy steps to improve children’s health
A surprising new study by Ohio State University finds that three simple habits can go a long way in fighting childhood obesity and its related serious health risks. I say the findings are surprising because diet and exercise are not specifically mentioned in the study.
The three habits are things any family can do, and they are things most families are already doing at least some of the time. The healthy habits are “eating dinner regularly with the family, limiting the amount of time spent in front of the TV and getting enough sleep.” None of them are hard to do. They just require a commitment to make them the “new normal” in your home.
As philosopher Bertrand Russell noted: “Nothing astonishes men so much as common sense.” And perhaps that is why the results of this study seem amazing. Common sense tells us that we need to have a little face-to-face family time each day (with all electronic devices off or unanswered), but it is hard to do in our media-saturated world. Limiting television viewing to two hours or less per night makes sense as well. But we do love our programs – maybe more than we love ourselves. We know we should be getting more sleep, but we are so comfortable on our couch or favorite chair that we can’t seem to turn off the TV and go to bed.
Old habits die hard, but these new habits are pretty attractive. After-all, we know how good it feels to connect with family, get a good night’s sleep and get a little exercise (other studies show that when you limit TV, kids will move around a bit). Why not commit to doing them all on a regular basis?
For more information, click here.
Learn more about Rob
For more information about “Character Connections,” click here.
Mar 2nd, 2010 at 11:25 am
[...] Three easy steps to improve children’s health [...]
Mar 9th, 2010 at 5:48 pm
[...] Three easy steps to improve children’s health [...]