How to Keep Our Children’s Hearts Healthy

Two major components to ensure that children maintain a healthy heart are diet and exercise.

With obesity now a pandemic in our society, the need to increase physical activity and develop healthy eating patterns is essential.

We all know the benefits of exercise.  It can help to control weight, increase the good cholesterol, and reduce blood pressure as well as the risk of diabetes and other illnesses.  It can also offer an inner balance and psychological well-being that instills confidence and self-esteem among children.

The American Heart Association offers a myriad of recommendations both for physical exercise and eating habits.

They recommend that children should engage in 30 minutes of exercise a day.  This can be attained by using the entire 30 minutes of playful activity, or dividing the time into two or three periods in which the total 30 minutes is achieved.

In this day and age of fast food restaurants and on-the-go snacks, it is also important to present a diet regimen that is healthy, targeted, and provides the nutritional value children need to grow into healthy adults.

A diet low in sodium and trans fats is recommended as well as balanced meals including fruit, vegetables, whole grains, fiber, and protein.  Low-fat and/or fat-free dairy products are also recommended.

The total recommended calories consumed depend largely on the age of the child.  For example, for very young children it is advised that 900 calories per day is sufficient.  For teens, it is estimated that 1800 calories for girls and 2200 calories for boys is quite sufficient.

But the main factor in keeping children’s heart healthy is to refrain from over-eating. This means time spent watching TV or playing video games can only contribute to a sedentary lifestyle later on.

Young children are nearly always on the go, and this is a good thing.  However, as children mature and grow into their pre-teen and teen years, their level of activity may slow down.

Thus, any activity that the entire family can engage in will not only keep the children active, but will act as a preventative measure in avoiding any future health problems for all concerned.

Kristy Lee Wilson

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