Healthy Active Living and

Balance
Dr. Annick Buchholz, C.Psych.
Dr. Laurie Clark, C.Psych.
Kelly Heffernan, RD

Tonights Agenda
What is health?
Balancing busy schedules
Health at Every Size
Balanced eating
Physical activity in our daily lives
Sleep
Body Image and Emotional Health

What Is Health?
Health is a state of complete physical, mental,
and social well-being and not merely the
absence of disease or infirmity.
World Health Organization

What is a healthy lifestyle for a child ?

Balance
Basic health behaviours
Nutrition
PhysicalActivity,
SedentaryTime
Sleep
CopingandEmotional
Development

Daily living activities

School
Homework
Extracurricular
Activities
Timewithfamilyand
friends
Chores

What is a healthy lifestyle for a parent?

Balance
Basic health behaviours
Nutrition
PhysicalActivity,
SedentaryTime
Sleep
CopingandEmotional
Development

Daily living activities

Work
Chores
Extracurricularactivities
Familyneeds
Timewithfamilyand
friends

Key Ingredients to Balance

Schedules work
Do not over schedule
Parents self care and mental health count
Sleep matters
Setting loving limits is important

Health at Every Size

Diets are harmful and dont work
Focus on your childs health behaviours and
not their weight
Advocate for size diversity
Remember to provide children with genuine
body image compliments
You look great today

Who is healthier?
Person A

Person B

Ht: 7 1
Wt: 325 lbs
BMI: 32
%BF: 12%
WC: 90 cm
BP: 114/72
Chol: High HDL, Low LDL,
TGs with in normal range

Ht: 5 9
Wt: 138 lbs
BMI: 21
%BF: 10%
WC: 78 cm
BP: 122/84
Chol: Low HDL, High LDL and
TG

Healthy life style versus weight

BMI= 32 kg/m2
obese

BMI= 21 kg/m2
normal weight

Balanced Healthy Eating

Balanced Healthy Eating

Each Day, 6-9 year olds require:
5-6 Vegetables and Fruit
4-6 Grains
2-4 Milk and Alternatives
1-2 Meat and Alternatives
Fluid requirements based on weight, H20
For Optimal Nutrition, Growth and Development how?

Its a Balancing Act

1. Meals 3-4 food groups

2. Snacks 2-3 food groups
3. Eat every 2.5-3 hours
4. Balance over the week

Balancing Healthy Eating

& the Division of Responsibility
Parents provide structure, support and
opportunities.
Children choose how much and whether to
eat from what the parents provide.
Ellyn Satter 2011, www.ellynsatter.com

Balancing Healthy Eating

Food refusal is common for children

Vegetables
Food Jags are normal
Reintroduction is key

Parents/caregivers, historically, in an effort to

have a healthy child will:
Feed frequently
Offer large portions
Offer preferred foods

Offer food in response to crying

Coerce with food when available
Reward with food

Balancing Healthy Eating

Traditional feeding and their outcomes :
1.

Coercion to eat healthy food = Aversions/Dislikes

Balancing Healthy Eating

Traditional feeding and their outcomes:
2.

Clean your plate = Attention to external cues

Balancing Healthy Eating

Traditional feeding and their outcomes:
3.

Food restriction = Increased desire

E.g. Fisher and Birch (1999) preschool aged, allowed certain

foods and restricted others. What was the response?

Balancing Healthy Eating

How can we incorporate treat foods?

Balanced Eating &

Sugary Sweetened Beverages
Sugary beverages include:
Sportsdrinks,energydrinksfruitjuice,pop,icedcoffee,specialtycoffees,others

Consumption has been gradually increasing over the past few

decades
20%ofcaloricintakefor418yearolds
30%ofcaloricintakefor13yearolds

Hassink, Seminarts Ped Surg (2009), 18, 159-167

Balanced Eating &

Sugary Sweetened Beverages
One of the main contributors to
increased energy intake for kids

AAP recommends:
46oz(120180mL)/dayfor16yearolds
812oz(240360mL)/day>6yearolds
Seach et al, Int J Obes, 34(10)1475-9, 2010

Tips to help with Balanced Eating

Provide Structure
Eat at a table with no screen on
Have family meals more often
Make meal time enjoyable and fun
Involve kids
Encourage variety
Healthy plate
Allow treats
Limit eating out to 1x/week
Role model

Physical Activity
Is movement that increases our heart rate and our
breathing and requires muscles to use energy.

Physical Activity: Its Rewards

Enhances healthy growth and development
Promotes coordination and balance
Improved sleep
Increased concentration
Better academic scores
Improved self esteem
Learn social skills cooperation, teamwork, listening

Physical Activity Guidelines

Children 5-11 years

www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP-InfoSheets-child-ENG.pdf

Intensity Talk
5-6

10
7-8

10

www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP-InfoSheets-child-ENG.pdf

Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines

www.csep.ca/CMFiles/Guidelines/CSEP-InfoSheets-ENG-Children%20FINAL.pdf

Screen Time

Children and screen time:

6 hrs/day on weekdays
7 hrs/day on weekend days*

In 1971, average age a child started watching TV

was 4 years; today, it is 5 months**

Canadian children spent 62% of their waking hours

being sedentary***

Leaves little time to be active!

*2010 Active Healthy Kids Canada Report Card
**Zimmerman et al.
al Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2007
***CSEP Sedentary Behaviour Guidelines

We tell our children to be active

But have we forgotten that in order for kids to be

active, it needs to be easy and natural for them?

What can parents do to

increase Physical Activity

Start early in life

Role modeling
Balance screen time with active time
Variety
Dress for success
Schedule It!

Tips to Tame the Screen

Set basic rules & weekly plans

e.g.noscreentimebeforehomeworkorchoresaredone
e.g.letyourchildchoose2showsorcomputer/videogamesthey
canwatch/playeachday

No watching TV, playing with ipod during mealtimes

Choose specific shows to watch avoid TV on as
constant background
Share expectations with caregivers
Childhood Obesity Resource: Obesity Society
Participation www.participation.com

Sleep Hygiene
The promotion of regular sleep

Age

Sleep Needs (Per 24 Hour Period)

Newborns (1-2 mo.)

10.5-18 hours

Infants (3-11 mo.)

9-12 hours at night +

0.5 2 hour naps, 1-4x per day

Toddlers (1-3 yrs)

12-14 hours

Pre-schoolers (3-5 yrs) 11-13 hours

School-aged Children
(5-12 yrs)

10-11 hours

Teenagers (12-17 yrs)

8.5-9.25 hours

Adapted from Early childhood obesity prevention policies. Institute of Medicine. 2011

Sleep Hygiene: Tips for Promoting Sleep

Create environments that ensure restful sleep
No screen/media where children sleep
Low noise and light levels

Create a bedtime routine

Relaxing activities & tasks before bed

E.g. Bath
Brush teeth
Story/Quiet Time
Lights out

Routine, Routine, Routine!

Going beyond Health Behaviours:

Emotional Health
We want kids to feel good about
themselves
What is Body Image?
Howwethinkandfeelaboutourbodies
Howwetreatourbodies
ItisacorecomponentofSelfEsteemforpeopleofallages,
includingkids

Body Image: Where does it come from?

Influences:
Family what we say & do, how we treat our own bodies
Friends & Peers group norms,
Community and culture school climate, community
celebration of diversity

The media a powerful influence & pressure on our youth today

Bodyimagemessagesareeverpresentandtypicallystate:
Thin women are beautiful, successful, and happy
Muscular men are handsome and successful

Women: The Thin Ideal

Men: Muscle, Muscle, Muscle

Educate children and youth

about how societies image of
ideal beauty changes across
the years.

Its not just teens and adults

The Media also Sends Messages about Nutrition

Our kids are being targeted

by a powerful machine

Mixed Messages in
the Media around
Food

Putting It all together: The Balancing Act

6-9 Year Olds
Kids are NOT mini adults
Theyareconcretethinkers
Theyhavenotdevelopedinsightorgoodselfregulation(Iam
tiredsoIthinkIwillgotobednow)

Our messages to them need to be tailored to

their level of understanding
Kids LOVE structure

Putting It all together: The Balancing Act

Kids need to move but they also need downtime
We dont want to over-schedule our kids
Time to recharge
Learning emotion regulation and self-soothing skills

Unstructured Play is just as important as structured play

Fosterscreativityandsocialdevelopment
Selfdetermination

Schedule in downtime and unstructured play as you would

structured activities.

Talking to Kids about Nutrition, Physical

Activity and Health
Remember Kids often think in Black & White
PlacethekeyonBALANCE
Avoidreferringtofoodsoractivitiesasbeing
eithergoodorbad
Focusonthepositivekidsrespondtopositive
reinforcementmorethantopunishment

Make the Switch

Promoting Health
Nutrition Colourful plates
All FOODS FIT

Messages to Avoid
Labelling foods as good
or bad
Counting calories, fat, etc.

Physical Activity is Physical Activity to work

Physical For fun,
off food
Activity To connect with
Physical Activity to change
friends & family
body shape
To feel good

Make the Switch: Positive Body Image

Dont
Keep glossy diet fitness & fashion magazines around
Criticize your own appearance or clothes in front of children
Comment on childs weight/shape
Do
Teach children to be critical of the media & its messages
Focus on the Instrumental, not the Ornamental
Provide Opportunities to build self-esteem

We Need to Walk the Walk:

Parents as Role Models
Our own health behaviors
Engageinactivityyourselfandlimityourownscreentime

Make Family time Active time

Start with Small Changes & build routine
Walktoschool(evenifonlypartoftheway)withyourkids
ASaturdaywalkandthenamovie

Work at Consistency