We are LITERALLY killing our kids with ‘treats’!
By: Dr Tracey Evans
Tags: Diet, Children, Healthy Lifestyle, Diabetes, Sugar

Photo credit: @unsplash Patrick Fore

So as obesity rates continue to rise, so does diabetes, dementia, cancer and other diseases characterised by inflammation.

At what point are we going to realise that sugars and trans fats are literally killing us and our children AND yes, we still continue to mass produce highly processed foods that look great, taste great and give us a death sentence.

If we just sit on that thought for a moment — we are literally killing our kids with the Western diet.

Our child hurts themselves, so we ‘treat’ them to a lollipop.

Our child was picked on at school so we stop at the shop for a ‘treat’ on the way home.

Our child passed a test, so we ‘treat’ them to their favourite cake.

Our child is sad, we cheer them up with hot chocolate, as a ‘treat’.

I think I have made my point, but if we reflect a little, treats used to be Christmas, Easter & Birthdays, but now we ‘treat’ for treating sake — and don’t even get me started on Halloween.

AND YET, year in and year out nothing is changing, children are getting bigger, less active and it is just the ‘norm’. Globally there are around 50 million overweight children UNDER the age of 5.

In The US, this has tripled since the 80s. Who is taking responsibility for the health and wellness of these children? Let us be very honest here, children learn by example and it is established that overweight children are more likely to have overweight parents.

To further make my point, obese children have increase risk of developing:

Insulin resistance

Type 2 diabetes

Heart disease

Fatty liver disease

Arthritis

High blood pressure

High cholesterol

Joint and breathing issues

Some cancers

Stroke

If that is not enough, overweight children are more likely to experience low self-esteem, depression and have a poor relationship with food.

Children that eat a high sugar and high fat diet tend to have a lower IQ — it is no wonder, where are the healthy fats for the brain and the nutrition to produce brain messaging molecules?

Here is the thing, sugar is even added to things like sliced chicken! Low fat yogurts usually have added sugar. It is just a crazy world! The food producers know that foods high in sugar and fats are highly palatable and therefore, ‘addictive’. This is the reality of the situation, we are eating foods (supply and demand) that are lining the pockets of those in commerce and the arteries of those eating them. So parents please forgive me for being so brutal, this environment fundamentally needs to change.

Photo credit: @unsplash Mathilde Langevin

So if you are a parent, I have been pretty clear in my message and hiding the facts helps nobody. I know it makes for uncomfortable reading, so what is the solution?

Get to know what is going into your food by paying more attention to food labels, this is not an easy feat especially when there are 65 different names for sugar! It will take time and patience, but it will be rewarding in so many ways. Go right back to basics — learn to cook from scratch! Honestly, this is the only way you will know what is going in your food. Like your Grandmother would have done, we have the luxury of the internet now so that makes life much easier, make it a family affair. It doesn’t have to take hours of prep. Joe Wicks, Jamie Oliver an I am sure many more chefs, focus on nutritious meals in half an hour. Use whole ingredients, the least processed the better. Cooking doesn’t need to be time consuming, batch cook and freeze for busy weeks and use the slow cooker, its a God send at times. Learn about the nutrients in food — what are protein sources? ‘good’ carbs vs ‘bad’ carbs and EAT fat, just the right type of fat! You need it for your heart, brain and to make your skin look healthy — all you need is oily fish a few times a week (salmon, mackerel, sardines) and introduce avocado, sprinklings of seeds and a few nuts into your diet.

It is essential that we start taking back control of our health because, this crisis is only going to get worse. If you are a parent and struggle yourself with food, you can get my FREE guide to Success NOT Sabotage here

I have a Private Facebook Group called Brain Heath & Weight Loss, you can join it here. I do LIVES, upload trainings and lots of different information to support heath and weight loss.

I also personally coach clients, full time, through their weight loss journey. I provide emotional support along with the nutritional advice, help to address the WHY of eating not just the WHAT and importantly, I guarantee success not failure because as you can tell, I am passionate about this! If you want to know more contact me at drevans@connectionshealthcoaching.com