Author: Alissa Vandenbark

 

Over the last decade, the prevalence of childhood obesity has steadily increased. Today, one out of every three American adolescents is overweight or obese – nearly triple the rate in 1963. Childhood obesity has a huge impact on the health and well being of children, and often leads to serious physical and psychological issues. Children who are overweight or obese have an elevated risk of developing chronic diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and type-2 diabetes earlier in life. The psychological effects that can accompany these health problems include low self-esteem, negative body image, and depression.  It is important to intervene with children who are overweight or obese in the early stages since overweight kids have a 70-80% chance of staying overweight into adulthood dramatically increase their risk factors for developing chronic illnesses.

The start of a new school year is the time to focus on creating a healthy, nutritional routine for your child.  Build a strong nutrition structure at home by serving regular, balanced meals and snacks, allowing children to use their own internal signals to indicate fullness, getting them involved in nutrition, and making family meals times a priority. Breakfast is an essential part of every day and is particularly important for school children. Research shows that breakfast eaters have higher school attendance, score higher on tests, concentrate better, and are better problem solve problems. Have your kids help pick what they will be eating, help you cook meals or grocery shop with you to pick out healthy foods for their school lunches and family meals. Family meals are great because they foster family unity as well as improve nutrition.

MANNA supports healthy nutrition in children by providing our home-delivered meal program and nutrition education services for adolescents.  While the majority of MANNA clients may not be children, there is no age restriction for the meal program. If a child is battling a serious illness, such as obesity, MANNA can assist with their healthy eating practices and weight loss efforts by providing our home-delivered meals.  MANNA also supports our adult clients who have dependent children under the age of 18 by sending meals for the entire family, ensuring that the client has the best chance of recovering from their illness.

On September 26^th, MANNA will be hosting the Nourish Awards.  Established in 2010 as a way to celebrate the champions of health care and nutrition, this year MANNA will be recognizing the Einstein Healthcare Network, SHARE food program, and the Campbell Soup Foundation.  All three of these organizations have developed programs to better the lives of children across America while fighting childhood obesity at the same time and are worthy of this esteemed award.  For more information on the programs that they provide and on the Nourish Awards & Health Symposium, visit MANNA’s website at Nourish.

“The physical and emotional health of an entire generation and the economic health and security of our nation is at stake” – First Lady Michelle Obama at the Let’s Move! launch on February 9, 2010.

According to Let’s Move!, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled over the past three decades and today, nearly one in three children in America are overweight or obese. Barring any changes,  one third of all children born this century will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives. Many others will have to deal with obesity-related health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and asthma.

It is critical to watch what we feed our children, but what if you did not have the energy, money or time to cook healthy meals because you were sick? That is where MANNA steps in!  With aggressive treatments and medications making MANNA clients feel weak, they are sometimes unable to provide meals to their children. Other clients may choose to divert their meals to their children, further endangering  their nutritional status. To ensure the health of the MANNA client as well as their children MANNA provides 3 meals a day, 7 days a week to their dependents.

Meet Desiree, a MANNA client, breast cancer survivor and mother of four young children (13, 6, 4 and 2 years old). She knows the struggle of providing healthy meals to her children while ill, “It was a relief! That’s what I feel. When your family needs you, you can’t think about being sick or tired, you have to respond to them, but I had no energy to help myself or them. I started to not be able to remember a time when I wasn’t sick – and I wondered when things would return to normal. When we sit down as a family for dinner, that means ‘normal’ is coming back to my family!”

“MANNA gives me peace of mind. And the kids know the delivery schedule better than I do…the 4 year old will say, “Mommy isn’t today when we get the food?” They love the fruit cups!”

Help provide peace of mind and nourishment for our clients and their children by donating. 

MANNA is all about nutrition and health.  And we take ourselves seriously.  This is why we want to keep you – our loyal readers – safe by sharing these everyday symptoms that people often neglect, but which could be a sign that something IS wrong.  You should always see a doctor for the following:

1. Unexplained weight loss:   Shedding pounds without trying could be a side effect of several medical conditions including; an overactive thyroid, diabetes, depression, liver disease, cancer, or malabsorption disorders.  A loss of 10% of your body weight in a six month period of time is considered significant.

2. Persistent or high fever:  Having a fever can actually be a good thing, it can aid in fighting infections.  However, speak with your doctor if you have had a fever for greater than three days or a high fever of 103 F or higher.  This could be a sign of a hidden infection such as an UTI or something more serious like cancer.

3. Shortness of breath:   Being unable to catch your breath or gasping for air should result in immediate medical attention.  If you are having persistent problems with breathing or feel breathless when lying down it could be a sign of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, or heart and lung problems.

4. Unexplained changes in bowel habits: Every person’s bowel movements are different, if you notice a change in your bowel habits it could be a sign of bacterial, viral, or parasitic infections, irritable bowel syndrome, or colon cancer.

5. Confusion or personality changes: Infections, anemia, low blood sugar, and dehydration can all cause symptoms of confusion and changes in personality.  If you become suddenly confused about time or place or develop sudden problems with concentration or memory, seek immediate attention.

6. Feeling full after eating very little: If you develop early satiety or are eating less than normal, it could be a sign of GERD, irritable bowel syndrome, or in serious cases pancreatic cancer.  Contact your doctor if you suddenly develop early satiety, nausea, vomiting, unintentional weight loss, bloating or fever.

7. Flashes of light: Sudden flashes of light or bright spots could be a sign of a migraine headache or it could be something more serious such as retinal detachment.  Both warrant seeking immediate medical care from your physician.

Your body knows best!  Be sure that you stop and listen to the sometimes subtle messages it is sending to prevent what could become a major complication.