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I just heard some very disturbing news. Governor Paterson and the New York Legislature are considering imposing a sales tax on health club dues and services (including personal training) to make up for New York State’s budget deficit. How shortsighted is that thinking? Are they not aware that we are in the midst of an obesity epidemic? One out of every three children in this country is either overweight or obese. Do they know how much money is spent on obesity-related health expenses in this country? More than 10 million American children are overweight, leading to an annual health-related cost of 117 billion dollars. Studies show that obesity-related health costs will total 860 billion dollars by 2030. Is this really the wisest way to save money?

Governor Paterson has talked extensively about the medical and economic importance of healthy lifestyles and is proposing an “obesity tax” on non-diet, sugary sodas and advocating a “Healthier New York”. Therefore a tax on health clubs is directly in opposition to this goal. The State should be encouraging, not discouraging, memberships to health clubs to stem the obesity epidemic and promote good health.

Here’s how you can help – visit HealthClubs.com today to quickly and easily tell your lawmakers to oppose this proposed tax.Thanks in advance for participating. I will update you as the details unfold.

* Special thanks to LIFT gym for providing the link to HealthClubs.com.

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How do you respond when your overweight child asks if she is fat? Do you sugarcoat the truth and tell her she is perfect? Do you go for the hard love angle and tell her that yes, she is fat? I would advise for something in between.

It is not easy to talk about something as sensitive as weight, particular with a pre-teen or a teenager. Parents must walk a fine line between acknowledging the problem and promoting self-confidence.

Children know they are overweight. And if you don’t mention it, their peers certainly will! If you pretend everything is fine, your child will learn that her weight is a shameful topic that can’t be discussed. She will then try to lose weight with her own methods, usually by starving herself or binging. These are the children who are most at risk for disordered eating. Studies show that if you acknowledge and treat an overweight child in a sensitive manner, you actually decrease the risk of disordered eating!

Ideally, the conversation would go something like this…

“Mom, am I fat?”
“What makes you ask that, honey?”
“The kids on the playground called me names today.”
“Well that is not nice. But maybe we would be healthier if we did learn to eat better. We could all use to revamp our diets.” Notice how I have chosen to say ‘we’ could be healthier and ‘we could all use to…’ This sounds less accusatory and alerts your child that you are both in it together. I have also turned it around to be about health and eating better rather than about fat or thin. This way, even a thin parent can have this conversation. Most thin people I know could eat healthier if they tried. “Why don’t we try to make some changes together. We can learn how to eat right and we can start getting more active. Would you like that?”

I have had many parents call me after this conversation, worried that they said the wrong thing. Often, the parents responded with, “Don’t be silly. Of course you are not fat. You are beautiful.” And then they want to know how they can help their children. It is better off not to lie. If your child demands an answer to the question, I would say…

“Fat is such a nasty word. You look good but you might be healthier if you weighed a little less. Let’s work together to learn to eat better and exercise more.” Notice again that I didn’t say ‘you would look better if you weighed less’. It is important to focus the discussion around health- not around looks. Again, bring it back to the ‘we’ as soon as possible. And always end the discussion with next steps… “Why don’t we go online and look at some websites about healthy eating.” “Let’s call the pediatrician and see if she has any suggestions.” “Let’s go to the supermarket and pick up some healthy foods so we can get started right away.”

Good luck. And if you are still nervous about broaching the subject with your child, feel free to call my office (516-801-0022) or e-mail me (jdmd@drweigh.com) for more advice.

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New studies prove what we all believed to be true: children whose families eat together tend to be happier and healthier. The importance of the family meal has now been proven.

Science daily magazine revealed that teens who regularly eat meals with their families are less likely to drink and smoke. In fact, a study of middle school children followed over five years showed that girls who regularly ate meals with their families were half as likely to use alcohol/drugs than girls who did not regularly eat meals with their families. The research also shows that children who regularly eat with their families are closer to their parents than children who do not.

The beneficial effects of the family meal are vast. These children are also less likely to be overweight or obese. And family mealtime is a great opportunity to reconnect with your children. Discuss their day. Ask them about their friends. Find out what is happening in school. In other words, GET INVOLVED!

Notice that I have been referring to family mealtime and NOT family dinnertime. Contrary to popular belief, the family meal does not have to be dinner! I often work late nights but I try to eat breakfast with my children in the mornings. That is the time that I find out what is going on in their lives. And we always have Saturday lunch, Sunday brunch and Sunday dinner together. Even with my busy schedule, I carve out time to eat meals with my kids. It is important to have that uninterrupted time for conversation!

So sit down with your kids and enjoy a nice meal. The benefits are immeasurable.

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I went to a birthday party with my son this morning. While the kids were being entertained by a ‘mad scientist magician’, the moms sat around a table, eating and chatting. Finally, lunch was served. The options were wrap sandwiches (turkey and cheese or roast beef and cheese) or pizza. All the moms took wrap sandwiches. They looked at me with horror as I picked up a slice of pizza. I laughed… “You do know that this slice of pizza has fewer calories than those sanwiches you are eating, right?” Apparently, they did not.

Look at the nutritional information for the wrap. Note that this doesn’t include the sandwich meat or the cheese. The information is for the wrap bread itself.

Wrap: 320 calories, 8 g fat, 53 g carbs

Now look at the nutritional information for a slice of pizza.

Pizza: 250 calories, 10.5g fat, 54.8 g carbs

Surprised? So were my friends. One slice of pizza has fewer calories than a wrap sandwich.

Bon Apetit!

WANT TO LEARN MORE HELPFUL NUTRITION TIPS FOR YOUR CHILDREN? READY TO START YOUR CHILD ON THE PATH TO GOOD HEALTH?

GO TO HTTP://WWW.DRWEIGH.COM TO LEARN ABOUT DR. DOLGOFF’S WEIGH: CHILD AND ADOLESCENT WEIGHT MANAGEMENT PROGRAM. INTERACTIVE WEB PROGRAM AVAILABLE SOON!

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The only thing harder than getting your child to start an exercise regimen? Getting them to stick to it! Here are some tips to help.

1. Set up an exercise schedule.

These days, kids are used to being tightly scheduled. A typical child’s schedule includes music lessons, religous lessons, tutors, and homework. Why not squeeze some exercise in there? For example:

Mon: school, piano lesson, 45 minutes exercise, dinner, homework

Tues: school, religous school, dinner, homework

Wed: school, free time for playdate, 45 minutes exercise, homework

Thurs: school, religous school, dinner, homework

Fri: school, tutor, 45 minutes exercise, dinner, homework

Sat: tennis lesson

Sun: day off from schedule!

Make sure the exercise is as an important part of the schedule as school and lessons.

2. Be flexible…

It’s Friday afternoon and your daughter really wants to have a sleepover with her friend. You know that she won’t exercise if you let her. What do you do? Let her have the sleepover and reschedule the exercise session. Tell her, “You can have the sleepover today but we will make up the exercise session on Sunday.” That way you allow her to have her fun without getting her weekly exercise off track.

3. Make it fun!

Exercise does not have to be a chore. Pick activities that your child truly enjoys. Tennis, jumping rope and bouncing on a trampoline can all be great forms of exercise. Wii Fit is another great exercise option. Try to think outside the treadmill!

4. Exercise with friends.

Everything is more fun when done with a friend. Have your child pick an exercise buddy and let them get fit together. They can keep each other on track while making the experience more enjoyable.

5. Buy a few exercise accessories.

You don’t need to break the bank to have some workout equipment at home. Consider a rope ladder that you lie on the floor and do running drills on. A small, individual-sized trampouline is also quite inexpensive. You may also invest in a step for step aerobics. Consider buying your child some new exercise clothes so they feel excited to put them on and get moving!

6. Don’t start by running a marathon.

The easiest way to get a child to hate exercise is to push them too quickly. Take it slowly and build up. Remember, if your child doesn’t enjoy the exercise they will soon give it up.

READY FOR YOUR CHILD TO START LOSING WEIGHT? CHECK OUT DR. DOLGOFF’S NEW INTERACTIVE WEBSITE… COMING SOON AT WWW.DRWEIGH.COM.

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I just read a very interesting article that I wanted to share with you. The study looked at the habits of the naturally thin, successful dieters, and failed dieters. The study was from Consumer Reports and looked at 21,632 people.

Group 1: ‘always thin’, never overweight.

Group 2: ‘successful dieters’, people who now weigh at least 10 percent less than they did at their heaviest and have been at that lower weight for at leat 2 years.

Group 3: ‘failed dieters’, people who would like to lose weight but still weigh at or neaer their lifetime high.

Only 3% of the ‘always thin’ group said that they never exercise and eat whatever they want.

The study shows that the eating and exercise habits of the ‘always thin’ group was the same as the eating and exercise habits of the ‘successful dieters’. Both groups said that they regularly eat healthy foods, such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, and routinely stay away from excessive dietary fat. Both groups also watch their portion sizes and follow a regular, vigorous exercise plan.

It seems that the only advantage the ‘always thin’ have over the ‘successful dieters’ is that those habits seem to come a bit more naturally to them, according to Consumer Reports.
“When we’ve compared people maintaining a weight loss with (those) who’ve always had a normal weight, we’ve found that both groups are working hard at it; the maintainers are just working a little harder,” Dr. Suzanne Phelan of the California Polytechnic State University and co-investigator of the National Weight Control Registry, which tracks people who have successfully maintained a weight loss over time, noted in a Consumer Reports press statement.

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The recession is causing us all to watch our bottom lines. It is true that healthy foods often cost more than junk foods. Read on for some suggestions to help you keep your supermarket bills in check.

MAKE THREE SHOPPING LISTS!
Look around your house before you head to the market. Make three shopping lists: what you need immediately, what you will need soon, and what you definitely don’t need. When you get to the supermarket, buy the items that you need right away. Then consider your list of items you will need soon. Any of them on sale? If so, buy them now. If not, wait until next week. You never know when a sale will pop up. Do not buy the items that you definitely do not need.

DON”T SHOP HUNGRY!
It is diet and wallet sabotage to shop hungry. Hungry shoppers fill their baskets with all kinds of non-essentials. Make sure to have a healthy snack before heading out the door.

BUY IN BULK!
Instead of pre-packaged foods, buy bigger containers and make your own single servings! For example, buy a large barrel of pretzel rods and portion them into small baggies at home. Consider going to a wholesale store for your non-perishables.

BUY IN SEASON!
Fruit can be reasonably priced when it is bought in season. Each season offers delicious produce options. Take advantage of nature’s natural variety!

BUY FROZEN!
If fresh produce is too expensive, consider frozen. Frozen produce has almost all the same vitamins and nutrient as fresh.

USE THOSE COUPONS!
Many supermarkets offer coupons. Clip the coupons and save them until you need the item. Coupons can help you save lots of money.

OUR INTERACTIVE CHILD WEIGHT LOSS WEB SITE LAUNCHES SOON! GO TO WWW.DRWEIGH.COM FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE PROGRAM!

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Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start blogging!

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The obesity crisis is getting worse and worse! A new report states the the number of obese individuals in the US now outnumbers the number or ‘merely overweight’ individuals. Congratulations America. Something must be done before every American is considered overweight or obese.

Where can we start?

1. New York City now requires most restaurants to post calorie information for all food offerings. The calorie information must be at least as visible as the price information. This law should be generalized to the entire United States.

2. I love the idea of an obesity tax. Let’s make unhealthy foods more expensive. And let’s try to lower the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables. Maybe fruits and vegetables could be tax-free. The government could use the money from the obesity tax to offset any lost tax money from fruits and vegetables.

3. Serve ONLY healthy foods in schools. Get rid of all vending machines. Lose the cookies, cakes, and other junk food. Stick to lunches that are nutritious. Do you know that many schools serve mozzarella sticks and nachos for lunch? Let’s get rid of all of that stuff and turn our schools into healthy havens.

4. Let’s put more money into school physical education programs and after school athletic programs. Nowadays, the money for school athletics goes to the elite athletes who are good enough to play on the sports teams. None of that money is used for the chubby, non-athletic student who needs it the most! We should take the emphasis off of competitive sports and start building non-competitive sports leagues for those students who are not currently physically active.

5. Limit child-targeted advertising. The average child sees 40,000 commercials a year, mostly for high-fat, high-calorie foods. The reason companies spend so much money on child-targeted advertising? Because it works! These commercials prompt children to crave these unhealthy foods. Remember when commercials for alcohol weren’t allowed on TV during certain hours? Let’s do the same for child-targeted junk food commercials.

These steps may seem severe but they are necessary. Without intervention, our country is going to eat itself to death.

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Eat a food you hate…

I recently read this advice on Twitter and I love it!

Eat a food you hate… Why? Because taste is a learned process. Many people believe that you either like the taste of a certain food or you do not. But actually, taste develops over time. In fact, it often takes ten to fifteen times of trying the same food before you actually learn to like it. So when you eat a food you hate, you are training your taste buds. Before long, you may actually enjoy it!

I found this with brussel sprouts. My mother loves brussel sprouts. Growing up, she made them often. And although to this day she insists it is not true, she always forced me to eat my brussel sprouts. I didn’t have to eat all of them but I did have to try them. At that time, I resented it. Even now, my son and I joke about how much I hate brussel sprouts. But the other day, I was served brussel sprouts at a dinner. I took a bite and to my surprise, I loved them! I even ate the entire serving. My son, Zachary, couldn’t believe it and he agreed to try them also. He didn’t like them but we are not giving up hope!

I don’t believe in forcing kids to eat foods they dislike but I do believe in the ‘two bite rule’. Insist your child try two bites of each food you put in front of them. If he/she doesn’t like it, he/she doesn’t have to eat more than two bites. But the next time that food is served, the ‘two bite rule’ still applies.

Eat a food you hate and you just might wind up with a food you love!

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