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Physical - A Family Affair
Let’s Get Physical
- A Family Affair
 By Eddie Ariss, M.D.
Do you want your family to be
healthy? Fit? More Energetic? Confident? Possess strong
Self-Esteem? You can help your family achieve all this and more!
Our schedules are jammed packed these days. Our average work
week is longer. Americans work 47 hours a week - 164 more hours
a year than 20 years ago. But what are we doing to our bodies?
To our families?
Statistics
Obesity is a costly condition that can reduce quality of life
and increases the risk for many serious chronic diseases
(diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and
mental health issues) and premature death. Florida Department of
Health Office of Statistics & Assessment reported, as of 2007,
that the percentage of adults that are obese or overweight in
Pinellas County is roughly 63.2% of the county population. In
the past 40 years childhood obesity has increased by a
staggering 54%.
Obesity frequently becomes a lifelong issue. Many obese
adolescents gain back their lost pounds after they have reached
their goal weight because they go back to their old habits of
eating and exercising.
The realty is our families’ health and wellbeing starts with us
as parent’s right at home. To maintain a healthy lifestyle, an
adolescent needs to learn to eat and enjoy healthy foods in
moderate amounts and to exercise regularly. In our last issue we
discussed choosing more whole foods and less processed foods. In
this issue we will focus on Physical Activity.
Let’s Get Physical!
Physical activity is a very important part of child development.
It is also very important throughout our lives for maintaining
good physical and mental health. By exercising as little as 30
minutes a day you and your children can decrease your risk for
developing the serious chronic diseases and premature death, as
discussed earlier.
Without this physical activity, a child’s heart, lungs, muscles,
and bones may not fully develop. It is also shown that physical
activity improves academic performance. “I cannot understate how
important regular exercise is in improving the function and
performance of the brain . . . [It] stimulates our gray matter
to produce Miracle-Gro for the brain,” Ratey writes in his book,
Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
(2008, Little, Brown). The effects of physical activity do not
end in childhood. An active child is less likely to suffer from
the serious chronic diseases discussed earlier, as well.
The heart is the strongest muscle in the body and like any
muscle it needs to be exercised! Since it can't lift weights to
get stronger, it relies on us to do aerobic exercise. Aerobic
exercise is any type of exercise that makes muscles use oxygen.
Because aerobic exercise is repetitive, it brings fresh oxygen
into the muscles of the body over and over - making the heart
muscle strong.
The American Heart Association recommends that children five
years and older should participate in at least 30 minutes of
aerobic exercise 3-5 days each week. Most children have plenty
of pent up energy, so getting them to exercise shouldn’t be a
difficult task.
Children’s Activity Pyramid reprinted from:
http://extension.missouri.edu/p/N386
Make it Fun!
Parents can help by making it a family affair to eat healthy and
exercise together! Children learn best from example. Parents can
also help to improve their child’s self-esteem by emphasizing
the child’s strengths and positive qualities. Talk to your
children about what they are doing well and challenge them in a
fun way. It doesn’t matter how you move, as long as you’re
physically active. Move until you breathe hard or break a sweat
and you will be doing great things for your body and physical
health.
Try these suggestions:
1. Purchase pedometers for your family. Challenge the adults in
your family (aged 18 and older) to take 8,500 steps per day and
the kids (aged 6 to 17) to take 11,000 steps for girls or 13,000
for boys.
2. Have family meals at least 3x a week, without TV.
3. Walk as a family after dinner 3x to 5x per week.
4. Think about what you like to do that builds on the family’s
interests and do a fun physical activity around that. Like
sight-seeing? Do it by bike! Like boating? Rent Kayaks for the
morning!
5. Use your Community Resources. Parks and Recreation Centers in
your county have a lot to offer. Venture out
6. Sign Up for the President’s Challenge Program to earn awards
at
http://www.presidentschallenge.org/index.shtml
7. Do small workouts through the day if a 1 hour workout seems
too hard to schedule into your day.
8. If your kids are in a Karate class for an hour, put your
walking shoes on and get some physical activity yourself.
9. Find some activities on the list below to do with your
family. And see how many calories you can burn:
You need to take care of your body
in order for your body to take care of you! We challenge you to
choose health for you and your family! Choose more physical
activity, more fruits and vegetables and less processed foods.
Your bodies will thank you for it. Your family will thank you
for it!
Remember “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” –
quote by everyone’s mother growing up!
Eddie A, Ariss, MD is a board certified Family Physician.
For the past 11 years, he has practiced Emergency Medicine
locally here in the Tampa Bay Area. Dr. Ariss has undergone
extensive training in Anti-Aging Medicine, Bariatric Medicine,
and Cosmetic Procedures. Dr. Ariss has helped his clients, both
men & women, manage their aging process, maximize their health
and improve their quality of life. Eddie has received praise
from fellow physicians for his work with treating patients
struggling with hormone imbalances and his natural talent for
administering dermal fillers and Botox. In fact, he has many
clients who are physicians, nurses, or are in the medical field.
Eddie enjoys boating, fishing, skiing and spending time with his
wife and two children. If you have a question please email
EddieArissMD@FreshVitality.com.
Resources
• http://www.kidshealth.org
•
http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org/
•
http://nutritionforkids.com
• http://www.mypyramid.gov
•
http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/PhysicalActivity/Physical-Activity_UCM_001080_SubHomePage.jsp
•
http://www.acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts.aspx?category=14
•
http://www.pinellascounty.org/park/default.htm
References
• American Heart Association
www.heart.org
• Pinellas County Health Department Parent Bulletins
http://www.pinellashealth.com/steps/ParentBulletins.asp
• Presidential Active Lifestyle Award
http://www.presidentschallenge.org/challenge/active/index.shtml
• American Council on Exercise
www.acefitness.org
• Tufts University Gerald J. and Dorothy R. Friedman School of
Nutrition Science and Policy
http://www.tufts.edu/nutrition/childreninbalance/index.htm
• Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
(2008, Little, Brown), Dr. John Ratey |
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