Posts Tagged ‘children’s health’

Chefsters goes beyond Showtime, its accessibility to some real time lessons in survival for the next generation.

The Next Generation

The next generation is going to live in a very fragile world. They will need training to live in this new world. This is the first generation being introduced to a new model of living. Shaping their future are forces that aren’t capable, dedicated, or passionate about their wellbeing. The decision makers are openly corporate, incredibly powerful, and profit driven.

Food The Arbitrator

Food is the arbitrator and tool of health for the upcoming generation. Never before has the emphasis on this commodity been more important. In times of famine this was always an issue. Now, in times of plenty it has become a complicated relationship. So much so that it now can be characterized as either an addiction, or a psychological problem such as bulimia, anorexia, or obsession. We are in uncharted waters where a healthy relationship with food holds the key to our health, our children’s future, and probably our planet’s future.

Being obsessed with what a scale says is not the least of this generation’s problem. The topic du jour is dieting. Health is the real arbitrator of our future. 

Food Rules

Unless you know the rules you are overwhelmed with choices. It is obvious we are eating over processed and chemically-saturated food. It is more than making us fat, it is killing us. Unless our kids understand the connection between what they eat and their future, it is mute. If this sounds simple, it is actually not. It will take a great deal of effort to get this message across.

According to all statistics it is an exaggeration to think that anyone is listening to the message. Just eat real food is something that now has to be ingrained. This is a generation that thinks food is fast, prepared, and loaded with sodium and sugar for flavor. Bright colored cereals, candy, baked goods, get their attention, while vibrant plant foods sit on the shelves, and on their plates.

Our children like us are addicted to the sweeteners and manufactured additives that their palate is use to. What they are consuming is edible substances that are a far cry from food.

Real Food

One of the things that this culture must realize is real food is something that is hard to find in packages. Even eating in restaurants will insure that you will be ingesting exorbitant amounts of sugar and salt.

Real food means some cooking skills, preparing and storing skills. These are a little more time consuming than opening and nuking a dinner. Raw vegetables and fruits are terrific choices, but this generation needs skills so they can choose all sorts of healthy fare.

In fact they need to be educated to what is real food, and why it is so important for them to make the right choices.

Food Educators

The only food educators that our children are exposed to are TV commercials. This has to change, because the only educators that care beyond the profit incentive are the parents, and schools.

Parents have given this generation life, now they must save their lives. One of the ways to do that is by equipping this generation with the knowledge and tools to take care of their health. This is a big job, in the age of fast media messages, and little family time we need help.

That is why Chefsters isn’t Showtime, it is lifetime learning that will coach our children and help them identify what good food is and what it will do for them.

It will empower them to eviscerate the television commercials and join the health revolution that Jamie Oliver, Chuck Pardee and the Chefters staff is starting. In the Chefsters kitchen is where amazing things are happening for this generation.

Chefsters is the new kid on the block literally.

Chefsters

Chefsters is a show based on teaching children in an entertaining manner about healthy food choices and food preparation.

Childhood Lives Here

Everything about Chefsters has the child in mind. From the entertainment aspect, to the cooking tools and safety features of the kitchen set up. This is a show that teaches children about healthy choices, and how to navigate the kitchen.

Every parent should realize this is a dream come true, engaging children to take part in the preparing of meals. Any participation a child has in family life is both bonding and rewarding to both parent and child. This sets up your children with a long-term relationship with food that nourish their body and soul.

Mission

The mission is to engage children in the preparing and choosing of their food.

This show is unmatched in its ability to engage, teach, and entertain.

We can’t afford to wait it out; we have to be here now for this generation. There is a fork in the road and the path we follow will determine the future of our children’s health and the world’s health.

The Chefters is practical guidance without any diet ideology; it teaches a better choice from the food supply that is available. The best part it gets the kids up to speed on what is available in the market place, and what each food supplies.

In a world of required school courses there has to be room for practical learning that serves kids well in the real world.

Here is a preview video, with some of the delightful characters that will teach, entertain and enthrall children of all ages.

Extreme obesity is affecting more children at a younger age, 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls are now classified as extremely obese, according to a Kaiser Permanente study of 710,949 children and teens that appears online in the Journal of Pediatrics. That means more than 45,000 extremely obese children were in this group. 

These numbers are taken of children from the ages of 2-19 years from a largely racially and ethnically diverse population, using the recent 2009 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention extreme obesity definition.

Children’s Obesity Risk

Children’s obesity risk is greatest for this generation, and a threat to their health as they mature.

“Children who are extremely obese may continue to be extremely obese as adults, and all the health problems associated with obesity are in these children’s futures. Without major lifestyle changes, these kids face a 10 to 20 years shorter life span and will develop health problems in their twenties that we typically see in 40 – 60 year olds,” said study lead author Corinna Koebnick, PhD, a research scientist at the Kaiser Permanente Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, Calif. “For example, children who are extremely obese are at higher risk for heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and joint problems, just to name a few.”

Obesity and Health 

“Our focus and concern is all about health and not about appearance. Children who are morbidly obese can do anything they want — they can be judges, lawyers, doctors — but the one thing they cannot be is healthy,” said study co-author Amy Porter, MD, a Kaiser Permanente Baldwin Park pediatrician who leads the Pediatric Weight Management Initiative for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California Region.

“The most important advice to parents of extremely obese children is that this has to be addressed as a family issue. There is rarely one extremely obese kid in a house where everyone else is extremely healthy. It’s important that everyone in the family is invested in achieving a healthier lifestyle,” Porter said.

Obesity Head Start

What we are promoting in this country is a new head start program.This problem is not only growing, but it is starting at a younger and younger age. Numerous studies have shown that packing on the pounds during the infancy and toddler years put very young toddlers at risk to become obese adults. It has also been shown that the eating patterns that children are exposed to early on sets up preferences.

Obesity is Abuse

America is setting children up to develop diseases of aging at very young ages.

To halt the vicious cycle that comes from a life of unrestricted eating, nutritional intervention is needed. The body can only tolerate so much abuse before it starts to fail. How much more can Americans tolerate?

There are failures, deception, and cover ups that are making our food supply both addictive and dangerous. The danger that obesity poses to this generation is enormous. This is a generation that will be introduced to pharmaceuticals before they learn about healthy eating.