In a recent survey sponsored by the YMCA, 9 out of 10 parents rated themselves as good or excellent at providing a healthy home environment. But there’s something amiss: while 89% of parents think they are providing the right tools for their kids to lead a healthy life, fully one-third of children in the U.S. are overweight or obese. What gives? A closer look at the responses to the poll may help illuminate where American parents commonly make health-related mistakes.
5 Ways Parents May Be Sabotaging Their Kids’ Health
What happened to the concept of sweet treats only on special occasions? According to the survey, 62% of parents reported that their children ate junk food one to four days per week. That finding supports recent data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which found that nearly 40% of the total calories consumed by 2-to-18-year-olds were "empty" — devoid of nutrients and derived from fat and sugar. Nearly 10% of American kids' calorie intake came exclusively from sugary sodas and fruit drinks. But if parents are more concerned about their kids' education than their weight, they may consider this: A 2010 study found that toddlers who ate junky high-fat, high-sugar, high-calorie diets at age 3 had lower IQs by age 8, compared with kids raised on healthful, whole foods. Next: Too Much TV