That's Fit

Is your child heading back to school soon? If so, be sure to get an A on the healthy lunches you provide.

Good nutrition can improve kids' concentration and help them get through the school day successfully. If your child is lucky enough to attend a school with healthy hot lunch options, then your job is a bit easier. But if your child's school is like my son's, pizza and chicken nuggets just don't make the grade.

Foods that are high in fat and/or high in sugar will only lead to an energy crash later in the day. You don't want your kiddo zonking out in the middle of math class, so be sure to provide long-lasting energy with good nutrition. First, make sure your child eats a healthy breakfast. Oatmeal, fruit, eggs, and whole-grain (low-sugar) cereals all make good options. For lunch, pack lean protein such as tuna or turkey, whole grains such as whole-wheat crackers or pita, fruits, vegetables, low-fat dairy, and 100% juice.

My little guy loves brown rice salads. He cannot wait to see what "chunks" I have included in my latest recipe. If your kids (or significant others!) are plain rice eaters, why not help them branch out a bit by adding some nutritious "chunks" to their rice.

You may be dealing with picky eaters, so start slowly, adding things you know they'll love. Some pretty safe bets:

• corn kernels
• sweet peas
• steamed carrots
• raisins
• slivered almonds

Now you've been successful, so push the envelope a bit and try:

• chick peas
• chopped spinach
• zucchini
• broccoli
• butternut squash

My son has attended the same summer camp for two years now. Throughout the summer there are specialty camps kids can opt to attend. Last summer he signed up for an intense biking camp. At the beginning of the week, there were more than 30 kids signed up. By day three, the numbers had dropped to about 12. By the end of the week, only 6 kids remained.

On the first day of camp, the kids and their counselors rode a total of 10 miles. But the rides were short and they stopped at several fun locations to play and rest in between rides. Still, my very fit and athletic son needed to take a bath that night to relax his muscles.

The second day, the kids rode about the same distance, but with only one, longer break in between. It was a hard day, evidenced by the fact that more than half of the kids dropped out after day two. My son mentioned that he thought maybe he'd like to quit, too. But day three was too intriguing for him to give up.

With the start of school just around the corner, it might be time for that annual trip to buy a new backpack for your child. Parent Center has put together a list of tips to help you choose the right backpack, and also to teach your child how to properly use his backpack, to avoid injury.

Some of the tips I found the most helpful and enlightening:

• Backpack loads should be no more than 15-20% off a child's body weight. The means if your kiddo weighs 45 pounds, her lunch, books, and goodies should never add up to more than 9 pounds. That doesn't seem like much, especially on library day!
• Teach your child to bend for his backpack with his knees, to protect from back injury.
• Pack the heavy items toward the middle of the pack, and teach kids to use both shoulder straps.

You can read the full list of backpack safety items on Parent Center, before you head out on your shopping trip.

Has Olympic fever hit your household? If your kids are broad-jumping the family room or breast-stroking in their bathtubs, perhaps a more organized kid Olympics is in order.

Parent Center has compiled a list of three kid activities that will help you put together your own Kid Olympics.

1. Obstacle Course -- Set this one up outdoors for fresh air and exercise. Aside from things to run around and through, add an element of skill with a golf or croquet aiming station.
2. Balance Beams -- Start your toddlers off with phone book balance beams, then get narrower as your kids get older. Remind them that practice is the key in this event, and teach them balancing tricks, like holding out their arms.
3. Broad Jump -- All you need are ropes and a motivated kid, and you've got yourself an Olympic sport.

The best part about these Olympic-inspired activities? They get your kids off the couch and moving. Yet another way to convince them that fitness is fun!

A recent study found that kids who were less physically coordinated or less athletic are at a greater risk of obesity.

The long-term study, published in the British Medical Journal, involved more than 11,000 people. Teachers and medical personnel conducted tests to assess coordination. When those students reached age 33, their body mass index was recorded. In the case of kids whose coordination was deemed poor at age 7, the risk of obesity was doubled.

While researchers didn't venture a guess as to why the results were as they found, other experts surmise it's because less coordinated kids aren't as likely to join in team sports or other active play. If your kids are the most coordinated on the block, there's no need to force them into team sports or programs they don't enjoy. Just make a regular habit of going for walks with your kids, visit the playground frequently, encourage them to ride bikes, kick a soccer ball around the backyard ... the list of activities goes on an on. Just find something your kids enjoys and foster that interest.

In my expert opinion, yes! Disney World is the healthiest place on earth. I just returned from a five-night, six-day vacation with my husband and two children and was blown away by the amount of physical activity both offered and required of ourselves in order to indulge in the full Disney experience.

We pushed our double-stroller miles through two theme parks, climbed thousands of stairs and jumped an equal amount of waves at two water-parks, danced our tushies off to live bands at various Disney resorts, and played game after game with our children as we giggled, oohed and ahhed at all the Disney magic. As a fitness trainer, one of my biggest obstacles is convincing my clients not to trash their fitness efforts when they head out on vacation. Disney offers the perfect opportunity to not only maintain one's fitness level, but improve it.

The physical adventures are endless, and Disney World has made a deliberate effort to increase the availability of legitimately nutritious, low fat, and lower sugar foods. Fruit stands have popped up all over the theme parks, and children's dining has switched from burgers and fries to grilled chicken with carrots and grapes offered as side dishes. Soda has been dumped for low fat milk! I can't get food that "clean" in my own neighborhood, unless I cook it myself! Of course, the old junkie favorites like popcorn, fries, and ice cream are still available, but if you do care about your health and want to maintain it on vacation ... Disney makes it easy.

In addition to coaxing our kids to eat their vegetables, it seems my husband and I are forever correcting our kids at the dinner table. "Sit up straight." "Don't play with your food." "Chew with your mouth closed." The coaching never ends. We keep at it because we want our boys to be polished when eating in public or dining at friends' houses. It's a tough job, though, as it should be.

For us, table manners are automatic -- as simple as chewing and swallowing, say the editors at Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. For a child, learning to behave at mealtime is big stuff. It takes a whole new set of skills to master manners. And it's our job to teach those skills, no matter how hard the job. Here are a few tactics we all might employ during our respective mealtime madness moments.

• Role play table manners during a tea party or while playing "restaurant." You'll have fun, while practicing and teaching lessons all at the same time.
  
  

• Keep rules simple and positive so your kids can remember them. "We sit." "We eat with our forks."
  
  
• Reinforce rules during mealtime. Hand your child a fork and napkin, and remind him to use them.
  
  
• Set a good example. Role model the manners you want to see your child display. Eventually, he will follow in your footsteps.
  
  
• Get silly. Practice bad manners and ask your child to identify what you're doing wrong.

We have all heard that pets can help teach kids patience, responsibility, and empathy, but according to a recent study, having a dog in the home during childhood, especially during the first year of infancy, seriously decreased a child's likelihood of developing sensitivities to allergens like pollen. Our own Maggie first broke this story a few days ago but it's worth repeating for those thinking about investing in a canine commitment -- and for those who like photos of cute kids and cute dogs. See gallery that follows.

So the science behind this theory is that dogs bring germs inside on their coats and in their mouths, thus exposing kids to them and boosting the child's immune system. Older generations were often exposed to more dirt and germs as children (you know, because kids used to actually play outside instead of sitting indoors playing video games), and therefore developed a greater resistance to many allergens than kids today.

This study in particular has taken blood samples from 3,000 six-year-olds and will test the samples for hints that the child might become allergic to things like pet hair, dust mites, and pollen. The children will be retested at age 10, but the lead researcher has already stated with confidence that, "Our results show clearly that the presence of a dog in the home during infancy is associated with a significantly low level of sensitization to pollens and allergens."

Just picked up a little recipe card from Kraft at the grocery store today, and thought I'd share it with you. The apple-cheddar stacker recipe offers protein, calcium, fiber, and energy. A decent little snack for the kids or you!

Ingredients:

• 3 oz Kraft 2% Milk Reduced Fat Sharp Cheddar Cheese
• 1 small apple, cut into 24 slices
• 2 tbsp. sugar
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 24 TRISCUIT Crackers

Have fitness questions? Fitz has your answer. Our ThatsFit.com fitness expert -- and now your own virtual personal trainer -- will help you get fit, increase your overall health and do it in a fun way. Drop your questions here in the Comments section below and we'll choose two per week to publish on That's Fit! Learn more about Fitz here.

Q. Dear Fitz, My husband makes a big stink when I give our kids any type of 'sugar candy' like gummy bears or bubblegum. The kids are totally skinny and I don't see what the big deal is. They are kids! What do you think? Christy

A. Hey Christy. Your husband is a freaking genius. That's what I think! He has the insight and thoughtfulness to know that as parents, you should be teaching your children the best habits possible. He knows that your children are less likely to eat nutritious things when they've had a dose of candy. They're more likely to deal with the pain and terror that comes along with having their cavities filled if you give them candy. They're more likely to struggle with their weight and other less than lovely issues later on in life if you don't instill high standards in them today.

What do Kate Hudson, Keri Russell, Tobey Maguire, and Gwyneth Paltrow have in common besides their star status? They're all concerned about their kids' safety. And they're all sharing some eco-friendly advice in the new book Healthy Child, Healthy World. Other stars chime in too.

Paltrow shares in the book her recipe for baby Moses's Brown Rice Baby Food. Hudson dishes about her own line of natural hair products and admits she hides veggies in son Ryder's food. Holly Robinson Peete tells how she gets her kids to help with household chores -- using only the greenest of products, of course.

Everything in this book is accessible, reasonable, and doable, says author Christoper Gavigan. It's a book about small changes. It's for everyone, he says. It's also a companion for this website: healthychild.org. Check it out when you can.

I'm literally a sobbing crying mess as I write this. I fell in love with a dying man a few weeks ago when I caught wind of him giving an amazing gift to his students, colleagues, friends and family at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy Pausch, a computer science professor gave his Last Lecture now famous on YouTube, on September 18, 2007. Randy's lecture was called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Now, I have my own spectacular husband, but I imagine anyone who knows, or knows of Randy . . . would love him very much.

For a man whose pancreas is being destroyed by a cancer that could take his life within months . . . he was hysterical, energetic, inspirational, and relentless about the idea that life can be wonderful every day, and that his days still are. He told stories of his childhood and made one of the most insightful statements I've ever heard. "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? Choose!"

Curious to know how celebrities squeeze fitness into their daily lives? Want to know the secrets of the stars? Bi-weekly our That's Fit fitness expert Fitz sits down with the celebs we want to know more about, and digs out their great and not-so-great methods to staying healthy.

As if last week's Celebrity Fitzness Report with Anthony Field video wasn't cool enough....we're back with a new video that will literally chisel you and your abs up like Roman statues. Oh my! Think you're doing everything you can to slim down, build muscle and cut up? Only if you're doing this stuff!

Read more.....

If your dad was obese when he was young, are you at a higher risk of liver disease? A recent study indicates you are.

The U.S. study, including over 1700 participants with an average age of 42, found that "people whose fathers were clinically obese at an early age were more likely to have increased liver enzyme levels, an indicator of liver disease." These findings held ground regardless of the subject's BMI, indicating that the father's weight truly is a factor.