Veronica Ruiz-Ashwal, LMHC, MBA
is an experienced therapist with bilingual skills in Spanish. She is an expert in working with children, adolescents, and families in solving behavioral problems and creating new paths to success. She tailors her approaches to each individual family and patient. (954) 583-8831 Ext. 360
Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity effects the entire family! It is caused by eating too much and exercising too little. The solution is eating healthier foods and increasing physical activity, but it'll be tough for your child to do it alone. The most effective way to treat -- and prevent -- childhood obesity is to adopt healthier habits for the entire family.
Rather than singling out your child, encourage the whole family to make healthy lifestyle changes such as:
- Start small. Gradual changes are easiest to incorporate into the daily routine - and to maintain long term.
- Set goals. Set realistic, measurable goals for each family member, and then determine family goals.
- Recognize triggers. Be prepared for situations that may tempt you to fall back to your old habits.
- Celebrate success. Frequent rewards can help keep your family motivated.
- Keep it positive. Focus on healthy lifestyle changes, rather than your child's appearance or a number on the scale.
- Be flexible. It'll take time to get used to your healthier habits.
- Keep healthy foods on hand. Stock your kitchen with fruits, vegetables, whole-grain foods and other healthy choices. Keep junk food and sugary drinks out of the house.
- Eat In. Reduce the number of meals your family eats in fast-food and other restaurants.
- Build physical activity into the daily routine. Put as much emphasis on moving more.
- Limit the household screen time. Set reasonable rules for the TV, computer and video game time, such as one or two hours a day for each family member -- including mom and dad.
Making lifestyle changes can be challenging, especially when you're busy juggling the demands of daily life. If your family works together and supports each others' efforts, however, you're more likely to succeed. Eventually healthy habits will become routine - and you'll be well on your way to treating childhood obesity and improving your family's health. At the Center, it is our pleasure to offer "solutions...not talk"