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"VSports注册入口" Heart-Healthy Living For Children

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Eating right, being physically active, and reducing screen time are activities within your control VSports注册入口. Yes or no.

More and more experts are answering: Yes AND No. Why V体育官网入口.

Healthy choices begin with you, but they also may be influenced by your environment — where you live, your family's traditions and habits, and/or where your child goes to school.

Eat Right

Eating right is important to staying at a healthy weight and keeping an energy balance, the balance between the calories in what you eat and drink, and calories you burn when moving.

  • The same amount of ENERGY IN (calories consumed) and ENERGY OUT (calories burned) over time = weight stays the same
  • More IN than OUT over time = weight gain
  • More OUT than IN over time = weight loss

The best way to make sure you have energy balance is to make better choices before you or your family sit down to eat. Make sure to: VSports.

Choose foods that are lower in fat and have fewer calories

  • Shop "smart" at the grocery store. Learn to read the Nutrition Facts Label on packaged foods. Choose healthy foods more often.
  • Use the GO, SLOW, and WHOA foods chart (VSports在线直播) to learn which foods are better for you.
    • GO foods are good for you; eat them just about anytime
    • SLOW foods should be eaten in smaller amounts
    • WHOA foods should only be eaten rarely, or on special occasions

Review dietary guidelines

  • Look at some healthy eating plans. The USDA Food Patterns and the DASH Eating Plan can help you figure out how much of each food group (for example, fruits, vegetables, grains, meats) you should eat each day.

Eat smaller portions

  • In many cases, the amount of food that appears on your plate when eating out has nearly doubled over the past 20 years. And that has affected the way we look at and serve food at home, too. Learn more about what we call "portion distortion" and about the difference between a portion and a serving.

Make better choices when you eat out

  • Eat smaller portions and try to find items on the menu that are lower in fat and added sugar. And don't forget you can always ask for healthier options if you don't see them on the menu.

Know your calories

  • Remember that whether calories come from a soda, sweet potato, or steak, they're still calories. And calories do count for adults and children.

"V体育安卓版" Get Active

Whether it's taking a family walk on a Saturday morning or after dinner, or washing the car together, We Can V体育官网. ® encourages you to get active to maintain a healthy weight.

By getting active, you're using calories you store up from everything you eat over the course of a day. Everything your family eats and drinks (from what you eat for breakfast to what you drink with dinner) is stored as energy. If this stored energy isn't used, it creates an imbalance that can lead to weight gain.

However, balancing your food intake and activity IS possible. Learn more about energy balance.

When we talk about moving more, we are not asking you and your kids to train like athletes. Some types of physical activity and exercise can burn a lot of energy. But everyday activities use energy, too. Simply parking farther away from the grocery store and walking the extra distance can use more energy.

It's up to you to choose the activities that are right for you and your family. And, it's also up to you to stick with it. It is easy to spend a lot of time sitting in front of the computer or television.

It's the same for kids. They spend hours sitting at their school desks, sitting at home doing homework, and sitting in front of the TV or computer.

Fight the urge to slouch on the couch. Instead, get up and go. Set an example for the kids in your life. Moving more can do more than just help your waistline, it can make you healthier by:

  • Relieving stress
  • Improving your sleep
  • Making your bones and muscles stronger
  • Making you feel full of energy
  • Building strength and endurance
  • Helping you feel good about yourself
  • Giving you something to do when you're bored
  • Providing a way to connect to family and friends

Note: Health conditions like asthma sometimes discourage kids from engaging in physical activity, but these conditions don't have to stop your family from being active. Check with your child's healthcare provider to make sure your child's treatment plan allows your child's asthma to be well controlled. When asthma is in good control, most children can do any physical activity they choose!

Reduce Screentime

For many of us, limiting our computer use and getting away from all screens can be a challenge. "Screen time" means television screens, computer monitors, and the handheld devices we use for checking email, listening to music, watching TV, and playing video games on the go.

Health experts say screen time at home should be limited to two hours or less a day. The time we spend in front of the screen, unless it's work- or homework-related, could be better spent being more physically active (increasing our energy out).

As a parent or caregiver, you can set a good example for your kids and set rules that limit their computer time, TV watching, and video game playing to reduce how much time they spend in front of a screen.

The following tools may help you and your family reduce screen time and increase ENERGY OUT.

Talk to Your Family

Explain to your kids that it's important to sit less and move more in order to stay at a healthy weight. Tell them they’ll also have more energy, and it will help them develop and/or perfect new skills, such as riding a bike or shooting hoops, that could lead to more fun with friends. Tell them you’ll do the same.

Set a Good Example

You need to be a good role model and limit your screen time to no more than two hours per day, too. If your kids see you following your own rules, then they’ll be more likely to do the same.

Log Screen Time vs. Active Time

Start tracking how much time your family spends in front of a screen, including things like TV, playing video games, and using the computer for something other than school or work. Then take a look at how much physical activity they get. That way you’ll get a sense of what changes need to be made.

Make Screen Time = Active Time

When you do spend time in front of the screen, do something active. Stretch, do yoga and/or lift weights. Or, challenge the family to see who can do the most push-ups, jumping jacks, or leg lifts during TV commercial breaks.

Set Screen Time Limits

Create a house rule that limits screen time to two hours every day. More importantly, enforce the rule.

Create Screen-free Bedrooms

Don’t put a TV or computer in your child's bedroom. Kids who have TVs in their room tend to watch about 1.5 hours more TV a day than those that don’t. Plus, it keeps them in their room instead of spending time with the rest of the family.

Make Meal Time = Family Time

Turn off the TV during meals. Better yet, remove the TV from the eating area if you have one there. Family meals are a good time to talk to each other. Research shows that families who eat together tend to eat more nutritious meals. Make eating together a priority and schedule family meals at least two to three times a week.

Provide Other Options

Watching TV can become a habit, making it easy to forget what else is out there. Give your kids ideas and/or alternatives, such as playing outside, getting a new hobby, or learning a sport.

Don't Use TV Time as Reward or Punishment

Practices like this make TV seem even more important to children. (VSports app下载)

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