Childhood Obesity

My mind's been pre-occupied with the notion of childhood obesity lately. The numbers are startling. I think I read somewhere that 1 in 3 children of today will eventually develop diabetes in their lifetime. As a mother, I want to feel like I have control over my son's nutritional profile (at least in his early years) but I can't control what he eats in the care of others or in school (when the time comes).

I know the damage that can be caused by too much restriction but I want to be able to provide him with a well-rounded approach to a healthy lifestyle. Sure, I'm going to have to buckle down and accept that he will eat a happy meal from *shudder* McDonald's at some point or another. He will eat horribly processed foods on occasion. He will have the occasional delicious home-baked cookies or cakes or pies or or or or....That all I have to accept. I cannot expect to provide only the most perfect nutrition for him. However...I don't want him eating over-processed, sugar & salt injected, laboratory-created, vitamin-enriched, food-coloring laden, over-packaged, shipped from across the world diet that is all the rage these days (according to the marketing). I also don't want to delve into the world of those so-called "health" foods, which are basically vitamin-stripped, processed foods with added vitamins and minerals that don't even occur naturally in the food. Fiber in Yogurt??! Now, what is that??!!! Since when did fiber occur naturally in yogurt? Add some muesli to your yogurt and you get the same thing (plus some more protein and iron).

I'm struggling though. I'm struggling because I need to find a way to provide that balance-- a healthy, nutrient-rich diet for my son with the occasional treat or occasional processed food or occasional fast food meal. I know I can't control it all. But I'm worried about the areas that I will have little jurisdiction - namely food in schools or daycare, the media impact on my son, etc.

Michelle Obama is taking this project under her wing (http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Health/michelle-obama-childhood-obesity-initiative/story?id=9781473 or http://www.letsmove.gov/) and I am thrilled that it's getting addressed with such seriousness. However, the 4 or so huge food corporations that control our diets these days have a lot of money, power, well-paid attorneys, etc. It scares me to think that the majority of the food we eat today is controlled by this type of money-hungry marketing.

I know what I can do to help my own family though. I can make sure my family has access to good preventative medical care. I believe preventative care (dental check-ups, routine physicals, health screenings, etc.) is one of the most important ways to prevent illness/disease as well as save money down the road. Preventative care can help to cut costs to insurance companies, thus reduce premiums, and cut costs to government-provided care. I can also make an effort to cook healthy meals for my family, prepare lunches in advance, teach healthy nutrition to my son, etc. And of course, keep the uber-processed, gm, non-wholesome food out of my house. Of course some ice cream or chips or cookies may slip through the cracks occasionally, and to be fair, that's ok too.

Welcome Party

I am so lucky to be able to greet this kid at the window every day after I get off work. He works up a grin when he recognizes me approach that takes up almost his entire face. I always nag Dave about putting Thurston in something other than pajamas everyday and he mocks me by dressing Thurston up in the most ridiculous mishmash outfits. I mean they are just shy of clown attire. I seriously don't know what he's thinking..... but it makes me laugh to see Thurston with his huge grin and in complete oblivion to the ridiculous ensemble his father put has him in.

It gets even better as I step inside the house. I barely have enough time to set down my bag before Thurston comes barreling at me at a turbo crawl. He's part laughing and part whining in excitement that he can't contain himself. If I am to actually walk past him without picking him up, he wrinkles up his face and starts wailing.

He acts the same when we visit Dave at work. At his first glance at his Dad, he breaks out into a huge grin, starts kicking his legs, coos, and jumps in my arms in excitement. It's probably the most puke-cute thing I've ever seen.