“Weigh In: Talking to Your Children About Weight and Health.” It is an online guide created by STOP Obesity Alliance and Alliance for a Healthier Generation to fill the information gap and offer practical advice for parents struggling with how to discuss weight and health with their children.
Click here to read or download a PDF of this e-book.
Posted on 10/29/13 in the Health & Wellness Section of the Wall Street Journal.
By BONNIE ROCHMAN
Research into candy and children helps explain why they love it and, despite some contradictory theories, offers a few guidelines for this time of year.
Children may be more partial than adults to sugar because of the way their taste buds are clustered. “Children have the same number of taste buds as adults, but their tongue is a whole lot smaller, so the flavors are more intense the younger you are,” says Brian Wansink, director of Cornell University’s Food and Brand Lab, which researches why we eat what we do. “That’s why little kids don’t like bitter foods and really like sweet foods. The effect is magnified.”
Americans eat far more added sugar—white sugar, brown sugar, corn syrups and honey, among others—than is recommended. The average person consumes 22 teaspoons of added sugar a day, or 355 calories. Boys, ages 14 to 18, take in 34 teaspoons, or roughly 550 calories, according to the American Heart Association. Researchers say children and teens should follow recommendations for adults of no more than 9 teaspoons a day for men and 6 teaspoons for women. Continue reading
There’s no getting around this fundamental truth: You can’t have weight-loss success unless your calories burned are more than your calories in. Leslie Bonci, M.P.H., R.D., a sports nutritionist at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, recommends these formulas for figuring out how many calories your nutrition plan should include.
Everyone is different, but it will give you a basic idea.
Lazy-Day Calorie Goal
(use on days when you’re taking it easy/not exercising):
A. Your weight, in pounds: ____
B. A x 15 = _____
C. B – 500 = _____
Busy-Day Calorie Goal
(use on days when you’re active/exercising):
A. Your weight, in pounds: ____
B. A x 18 = ____
C. B – 500 = ____
Aim for these numbers and you’ll lose 1 pound per week, a weight-loss rate that’s healthy and super-easy to maintain. And … don’t forget to exercise too!
On Oct. 10, Glenbard East held its first annual Lite the Nite GloRun for students and staff. It event drew 325 runners and 75 volunteers. 
Balance! is pleased to announce our first Parent/Caregiver education sessions.These classes are FREE and based on the We Can! curriculum (a program of the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
When:
Saturday, November 9, 2013
9:00am-12:00noon
Where: Balance! Pediatric and Family Weight Management Specialists
2525 Ogden Avenue, Downers Grove, IL 60515
Register online at www.balanceweightcenter.com
A good scare can be fun on Halloween, but not when it comes to child safety. A scary but true fact is that children are more likely to get hit by a car, and receive candy that has been tampered with, while out trick or treating. The DuPage County Health Department offers the following safety tips to help your family have a safe and fun Halloween.
• Make children visible to cars by decorating costumes and bags with reflective tape or stickers and, if possible, choose light colors. Since masks can sometimes obstruct a child’s vision, try non-toxic face paint and makeup instead. Continue reading
When Certified Health and Wellness Coach Melanie Jordan, a Healthy Lombard Partner was going through the entries she received for The Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Greater Lombard Area Weight Loss Transformation Contest, she was so touched by an email from one of the last contest entrants, she decided to add a second contest winner and made her a runner-up!
Meet Cheryl Behrens, who works in the Youth Services area of The Helen Plum Library. Cheryl gets great joy from helping young readers and getting them hooked on the joy of reading. Cheryl has had some health challenges, but she’s ready to put them behind her and make herself a priority. While she definitely would like to lose some weight and will be working on that with Coach Melanie, for Cheryl, it’s all about having the energy and strength to do all the activities she wants to accomplish. Continue reading
October is National Chiropractic Health Month. National University of Health Sciences (NUHS) and chiropractic physicians across the country are promoting the importance of joint health and the vital role physical activity plays in keeping joints healthy and pain free. This year’s theme—“Get Vertical”—focuses on getting off the couch or out of the office chair, and standing or moving more each day. Getting vertical is a great way to prevent joint problems later in life.
Most people know someone with joint pain or someone who has had joint replacement surgery. Joint problems, particularly involving hips and knees, are very common. What many do not know, is that simple lifestyle changes can help prevent the needing for this type of surgery and keep joints healthier longer. Continue reading
Snacking has gotten a bad rap, thanks to our tendency to choose empty-calorie snack foods like candy or chips to ease between-meal cravings. But when your stomach starts growling hours before your next meal, a healthy snack is actually a good idea, to hold off hunger and keep energy levels high.
The supermarkets are full of new products advertised as healthy snacks, many of which come packaged in individual bars, microwaveable cups, and 100-calorie pouches. But which ones pass the test of being both tasty and healthy (or at least not unhealthy)? These may not be “perfect” snacks, mind you. Some are a bit higher in sugar, saturated fat, or sodium than I would like. But most have:
The Your Healthy Life Made Easy!™ Greater Lombard Area Weight Loss Transformation Contest 
Winner is Cindy Musiel of Lombard. Cindy’s a nurse and manager who has been through many personal challenges over the last two years, but she’s now ready to tackle her weight loss struggles head on with a positive attitude and lose the weight for good with the help of Certified Health and Wellness Coach Melanie Jordan, a Healthy Lombard Partner.
Cindy won 6 months of personal coaching at the Deluxe Level with Coach Melanie, so over the next few months we’ll look forward to hearing about Cindy’s progress from time-to-time on our blog. Best of luck Cindy and congratulations!
