Good Health is Quite a CATCH!

by Jake Beckwith, Hill Country News

Experts claim almost a third of America's children are overweight, with fat claiming more victims every day in the battle of the bulge. Involving parents is the key to prevention. And camps, recreation centers, and after-school programs are helping take on this responsibility; incorporating healthy activities for children and families into  their programs. At a recent parents' night at Dr. John's Sports Center in Cedar Park, Texas, Peter Cribb, national program director for Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH), addressed a crowd of parents and kids. He said the child obesity seminar offered him a chance to pass the facts regarding the importance of starting a healthy lifestyle early in life to the parents of today's children.

“This is where it begins. Tonight was an opportunity to show parents how they can assist in creating an environment for the children, not only to learn but to practice choosing healthy food and being physically active every day,” he said. “This should be a fun and enjoyable process for everybody.”

The CATCH program is the largest school-based health program study in the United States. It was designed to promote physical activity and healthy food choices, and prevent tobacco use in elementary school-aged students by teaching them that eating healthy and being physically active every day can be fun. The goal of the program, which has been around for 10 years, is for the elementary students to carry the healthy lifestyle habits with them as they reach adulthood.

Dr. John Krampitz, director of Dr. John's, hosted the child obesity workshop at his facility near the intersection of Bagdad and New Hope roads. Krampitz said he supported Cribb's philosophy and tailored it to fit his after-school program in Cedar Park.

“The message tonight is that there truly is an obesity problem,” he said. “What was good about tonight was seeing people interested in the topic. They were encouraged that there was something they could do to make a difference. It is a real good start.”

Krampitz said the two most common risk factors for adult chronic disease are physical inactivity and a poor diet.

“We are seeing those symptoms popping up in children,” he said. “Kids are living in a culture where food is cheap and plentiful.” That is why the children who attend his after-school program do not eat the junk food but healthy snacks like broccoli, carrots, baby tomatoes and sushi.

Beth Taylor, 6, of C.C. Mason Elementary, chowed down on broccoli and carrots, dipped in ranch dressing. “She is our eating machine,” said Anita, Krampitz's wife. Beth simply described her snack as “good and healthy” as she went back for another helping of vegetables.

“Every time we come here,” said 11-year-old Caleb Johnson of Naumann Elementary School, “We have to try something new.” Dakota Perez, 8, of Giddens Elementary, declined to sample the sushi, saying he had tried it once before and did not care for sushi.

“It tastes like fish,” he said.

Dakota opted instead to try a baby tomato on Thursday. He wrinkled his face as he ate it, chewing rapidly until the time came for him to swallow the fruit. Dakota said the tomato tasted “weird” and nothing at all like ketchup.

Anita Krampitz said the important thing was that children simply try the food. Her husband told parents later that evening that it was better to have children try a sample of an undesirable food rather than forcing children to “clean their plates.”

Cribb said parents attended the child obesity workshop that evening because they cared about the well-being of their children and do not want to see them become lazy and fat.

“I think the parents appreciate the opportunity to learn more about an issue that is in the newspapers almost every day and to learn ways to add to what they are already doing to create an environment in their homes that reinforces a healthy lifestyle for a lifetime,” he said. “When after-school providers, parents and the community work together to deliver a consistent, healthy message to the children, we can reduce the prevalence of obesity in children.”

Two of the mothers who attended, Allison Brightly and Audrey Poche, both of Cedar Park, stayed after the seminar concluded to speak to Cribb.

Brightly, a mother of four, described her children's eating habits as “poor” and wanted to talk to Cribb about her taking steps toward incorporating healthy items into the meals she cooks for her family.

“They eat a lot of junk food,” she said. “I want to see what I could do about their eating habits. I'm trying to get some ideas about fixing some nutritious meals that they will enjoy.”

Poche said her main concern had less to do with nutritious eating habits, focusing instead on the importance of physical activity.

“I think we need to encourage physical activity. Our kids spend too much time with electronics,” she said, calling the electronic devices a “good babysitter.”

Poche and Brightly both agreed that parents should lead by example when trying to initiate the change of lifestyle for their children.

“One thing I think is important is for us to be role models and have them see us work out,” Brightly said.

Poche suggested making the lifestyle change a family activity, like when the entire family used to eat meals together at the dinner table.

“Let them see you work out,” she said. “It doesn't have to be something that we dread. I think we need to spend time with our kids.”

Krampitz said parental reinforcement is crucial in creating an environment for children that reinforces the importance of physical activity and healthy eating habits.

“You can't teach behavior. You can teach kids to behave in a certain way, but they won't adapt it as their way unless they are in an environment that reinforces it,” he said. “You can teach them in school, but if they leave that place and go to another environment that doesn't reinforce that behavior, it won't stick.”

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