I bet you didn’t know that September was Go Healthy Month. Don’t worry if you didn’t because I didn’t either until I started doing research for this post :) This month, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s empowerME movement is encouraging more tweens and teens to eat better and move more in order to wipe out America’s obesity epidemic. In honor of Go Healthy Month, Brownstone is helping you assess your eating habits and offering alternatives to help you live a healthier life.
The Fast Food Epidemic
University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researcher Katherine Bauer, M.S., found a significant increase in the amount of fast food that teens are eating today compared with the late 1990s. She also discovered increases in the amount of fast food the teens ate as they moved from middle school to high school.
Unfortunately in the last decade, fast food outlets have been popping up everywhere. Restaurants such as McDonalds and Carl's Jr are often located near schools or other places where teens have easy access to them. In addition, as students enter high school, they often have more spending money and independence and easier access to transportation, which may result in them eating fast food for more meals with friends after school or on weekends.
What are you eating?
Did you know that students often consume up to 50% of their daily calories at school? Or that nationally, 83% of elementary schools, 97% of middle/junior high schools, and 99% of high schools sell food and beverages through vending machines, school stores, or a la carte in the cafeteria?
What’s in your school’s vending machines or snack bar? When I was in high school, we didn’t have many healthy food options. I remember our snack bar served candy, ice cream, slushies, and had every kind of chip. You could even add chilli with cheese on your Fritos. Even at lunch, someone from our group (normally me because I had a car) would take everyone's orders for Tommy’s, the local hamburger stand. Everyone loved the chicken strips with Tommy’s famous seasoned fries. I’m getting heart burn as I think about all the things I used to eat. Now there is nothing wrong with eating a little fast food, but when it becomes your only source of food it can lead to many unhealthy consequences.
The Consequences
Unhealthy eating habits can lead to:
• Obesity: Children from lower incomes are more likely to be overweight or obese because they lack access to healthy food and sports facilities.
• Skyrocketing diabetes risk: African-American and Hispanic children are developing type 2 diabetes at much higher rates than their Caucasian peers. Almost half are at risk of developing diabetes.
• Higher risk of asthma: There may be a link between the rise in childhood obesity and the rise in childhood asthma. Extra weight can make it harder to breathe and can inflame the respiratory tract.
• Increased risk of heart failure: Being overweight or out of shape makes the heart work harder. Overweight children are more likely to grow up to be overweight adults and more likely to develop heart problems. Heart failure is popular among Black women. African-American women face a greater threat of death from heart disease than women of other races.
As young women of color it’s important that we start eating healthy and taking care of bodies now to avoid any future health risks that are popular in our communities.
Healthy Alternatives
Now that you know the facts, take the Center for Young Women’s Health’s nutrition quiz to see if you have good nutrition habits.
Unhappy with your score? Want to make a change in your eating habits? Check out these tips:
1. Bring healthy snacks from home.
2. Since many unhealthy foods and beverages fund school activities, work with your child’s school to organize “healthy” fundraisers like walk-a-thons.
3. Eat foods from all of the food groups (grains, fruits, vegetables, proteins, dairy proteins, and healthy fats) each day to meet your nutritional needs.
4. Balance nutrient-rich foods with moderate amounts of other foods, such as sweets or fast foods.
5. Eat when hungry and stopping when full.
You can also check out these quick and easy recipes for teens to eat healthier at home. For more information on healthy eating please visit http://www.healthiergeneration.org/.
--Tymika Morrison
Brownstone Team
**BROWNSTONE CHALLENGE** Even though Go Healthy Month is almost over we are challenging you to keep practicing the tips you learning in this post all year long. Share your story (written, photo or video) of how you’re making your school, home, or community a healthier place and send them to BrownstoneMag@gmail.com. You could be featured in the launch issue of Brownstone Magazine this Spring. Make sure to include your name, age, school, city, and contact information.
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