Thank you, Michelle Obama, for putting Childhood Obesity on the front burner. It’s been a lonely burner for some time now, neglected and seemingly abandoned. In fact, in many kitchens across America, all 4 burners suffer from this same neglect. It’s called cooking.

According to Richard Wrangham, a primatologist and anthropologist at Harvard University, and author of Catching Fire:  How Cooking Made Us Human, we likely would not have evolved as a species if it weren’t for cooking; the discovery of fire meant that our prehistoric knuckle-dragging cousins no longer spent their days masticating a chunk of tough meat, and instead could consume the adequate calories needed to grow bigger brains and stand erect.  And with all the time freed up from chewing, they were able to develop interpersonal skills – such as friendship, marriage and family.

While fire has definitely bought us a lot of time, according to food marketers, it just wasn’t enough.  In the span of 3o years, we’ve managed to erase hundreds of year’s worth of food culture and traditions all because of time.  In the mid ‘70s, the processed food “seed” was planted through stealth marketing messages that portrayed shopping, cooking and cleaning-up as a  hassle, a burden, and a huge inconvenience. We were led to believe that cooking had become a “problem,” and waiting in the wings was an industry all too eager to offer up solutions.  And in those solutions came new traditions.  The microwave became central to the food environment in kitchens across America, and the 5-minute meal became the new norm.  Fast, easy and convenient transformed our food landscape from the fields to our cupboards.

But unlike our prehistoric cousins, the effects from this shift in our cooking habits have not advanced our species.  In fact, the over abundance of highly processed and readily available food have contributed to an epidemic of childhood obesity so unprecedented, that the life expectancy of this generation of children will likely not surpass that of their parents.

This daunting speculation is one of the reasons why Michelle Obama chose childhood obesity as her signature campaign.  And she can undoubtedly influence policies to improve the food environment within our children’s schools and communities.  However, she has little control over the root of where childhood obesity begins, and that is at home.   As parents and caregivers to this generation of children, it starts with us.  It starts at home, and with the food environment that we surround our children in.  How can we help them cultivate healthy eating habits that last?  It doesn’t have to be complicated.  We can start in the kitchen, and get back to basics.

We can’t go back 30 years in time, but we can go back to some of the traditions that we once thrived on. Let’s turn off the microwave oven and preset the real one at least twice a week.   And it doesn’t have to be a “burden” – not if we involve our kids in the process as well. Remember chores?  Kids need to be empowered with personal responsibility, like setting the table, clearing the dishes and taking out the trash. Get them involved – it makes our lives easier, and in the long run will make their lives healthier.

When it comes to planning meals, let your kids help. Studies show that when kids help in the preparation of healthy foods, they are more likely to eat them. So let them plan a meal, prepare the grocery list, and then bring them to the grocery store and have them pick out the ingredients.  And guess what?  They love this stuff, they really do! Let them peel carrots, snap peas, rip lettuce, and then let them wait.  Yes – wait.  Wait for a chicken to roast.  Wait for a potato to bake.  Wait with excited anticipation of a meal that took time to prepare, time to cook and now time to eat.

As a culture, we need to get back to our roots and start cooking again.  Only us parents and caregivers can reintroduce this next generation to “food” and the traditional ways of preparing it.  It doesn’t require a culinary degree, nor does it necessarily require loads of time or money.  It’s only requirement is patience, a challenging practice in today’s fast and convenient food environment, but quite possibly one of the greatest virtues we can teach our kids today.

“It Isn’t Nice To Fool Mother Nature!”

Remember this old ‘70s commercial?  The product, Chiffon Margarine, is long gone, but the ad’s intended irony – that of “pulling the wool” over nature’s eyes – is alive and well!   Actually thriving in the produce section of your favorite grocery store!

It isn’t nice to fool with Mother Nature – especially when it comes to our food supply. But that’s exactly what we’ve been doing for decades.  Most of it has been the result of our “industrial revolution” and finding ways to grow more, raise more and make more – all just to feed more.  But have these practices finally caught up with us?

Since this commercial first aired, obesity rates have jumped from 13% to 31%.  More than ever, obesity is in the news.  As collective consumers, we are finally making wiser, more “healthful” choices in the grocery store – one of which is choosing fresh or frozen produce over canned.  One would think that this is a “no-brainer” – all you have to do is open a can of peas to figure out that the inside of the can is as nutritious as the outside – yet it took us about 30 years to figure that one out.

But what about fresh and frozen produce?  How more nutritious is it?  According to the USDA, the nutrient content of conventionally grown produce has drastically declined in the past 50 years.  In our industrial attempt to feed the masses, we’ve tried to fool Mother Nature by engineering short cuts for getting produce from the farm to the stand – in as little time as possible.  Such short cuts include chemical fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides.  By cheating nature out of its own abilities to thrive, have we  been cheated out of the benefits that help us to thrive?

Maybe.  The benefits lost during industrial farming  include vitamins and minerals.  According to the USDA report, there has been a marked decline in essential nutrients in conventionally farmed produce, including Vitamins C, iron, and calcium, since the ’50s.  The reason for this may be as simple as the soil in which they are grown – nutrient devoid and chemically enriched.  The short cut to growing plants quickly also decreases certain processes, such as photosynthesis, and impedes the development of complex vitamin and mineral matrixes.  Organic farming, on the other hand, is more patient – allowing these processes to occur.  The use natural fertilizers, such as manure and compost, actually enrich the soil and eventually, the plant.

Another benefit that we’re cheated out of when consuming a diet high in conventionally grown produce are phytochemicals – chemicals produced by plants that help protect against pests and disease.  According to the Agricultural Research Services, our ingestion of these phytochemicals help reduce the risk of diseases associated with chronic inflammation, including cancer and diabetes. With the advent of chemical pesticides, a plant no longer needs to produce these chemicals in order to survive, and as a result, yield less of these valuable compounds.  Researchers have estimated that organic plants can produce up to 50% more phytochemicals than conventional plants.

Solutions

The science is still unfolding, but there are hints that at the rate we’re going, we may be heading towards a future of undernourished obesity – a condition that is not only a contradiction of terms, but also a paradox of evolution.

As a parent, I know first hand how challenging it can be to get our kids to eat vegetables.  And knowing this challenge, it’s often tempting to rely on supplementing essential nutrients with chewable vitamins and “fortified” products.  But synthetic versions of essential vitamins and minerals do not provide the same benefits as the real deal – those found in whole, organic  foods.  In the land of milk and honey, over 30% of American are deficient in the essential vitamins and minerals necessary for maintaining health and preventing disease.  So in essence, we’re eating more calories but receiving less nutrition.  As a society, we are growing bigger and sicker.

What can we do now? We can start by choosing organic produce over conventionally grown.  Yes, organic is more expensive, but it’s relative when you break it down.  In order to get the same amount of vitamins and minerals from conventional produce, you have to buy and consume at least twice as much.  When you look at it from that perspective, buying organic is suddenly a pretty good deal.  And parents – don’t be discouraged with failed attempts at getting your kids to eat their veggies.  It can take up to 15 attempts before children will accept them.  But by just exposing them to healthy foods and habits, you are helping create the template for which their future habits will be formed.  So in other words – we as parents can’t just talk the talk… we have to walk the walk.

Our food industry is driven by demand, and if there is a continued demand for organic farming, the industry will have few choices other than following the demand.  As consumers, we can drive the movement towards a more sustainable food industry.  So, spread the word.  Knowledge is power, and in order for change to occur – one must become informed.  Tell a friend, who may tell a friend, and so on and so forth.  We don’t have 30 years to figure this one out.

Prevention Starts At Home

Once upon a time, childhood obesity was not an epidemic among children. In fact, “once upon a time” was less than 30 years ago. From 1980 – 2004, the rate of obesity in preschool children has jumped from 5% to nearly 14%. Rates among elementary school children have increased from 6.5% to a whopping 18.8%. And, according to the Centers For Disease Control, these rates show no signs of slowing. Researchers at Yale University’s Psychological Bulletin estimate that by the year 2010, 50% of children in North America will be overweight.

What has changed in our society to explain that nearly 1 in every 3 children today is overweight? No one single thing – that would be too easy. Over the past 30 years, we have experienced a “global swarming” of cultural changes that have brought us to where we are today. Changes that include a computer and technology-dominated society that promotes sedentary behaviors and it’s now affecting our children with increased TV viewing, computer time and lack of free play. Much of the food we eat is fast, processed and easy – considered “necessary” in meeting the needs of our hurried and over-extended society. Even our mindset about how we eat, or even why we eat has changed with the effective marketing efforts of big food companies. Their efforts have changed the rules about eating and nutrition – no longer vital for life, food has become a source of recreation and instant gratification. No other demographic is more influenced by these marketing campaigns than our children.

We cannot point a finger at “who” or “what” to blame for the obesity epidemic because it is entrenched with influences. As a society, we are incapable of reversing the hands of time and returning to a culture that supported proper nutrition, encouraged physical activity and raised healthier children. But as parents, we are capable of creating a healthy environment within our homes that support healthy habits in our children. Childhood obesity can be prevented. And prevention begins at home.