Eating healthy

There has been much talk on the radio and television about healthy lifestyles. There is much concern about child obesity, leading sometimes to adult obesity and subsequently to health problems like heart attacks or strokes etc, etc. There is also much talk about government intervention - putting policies and procedures in place on how and what people should eat, curbing fast food advertisements etc. All fair and good but I think that eating right and exercising begins in the home. If a parent leads by example, children will emulate them. It gets tricky when the parent is eating a hamburger or pizza with obvious delight and enjoyment and then expect their child to eat carrot sticks or cauliflower. That really doesn't work. Healthy lifestyles need to be intentional and for those who battle, make a menu detailing exactly what you'll eat or scheduling a date to do some exercise.

The big question is "Would banning adverts of fast foods help with obesity?" Let's face it - fast foods are yummy! They are tasty, convenient, quick and easy to make, sometime are less costly than healthy foods, alluring and basically shout 'Come eat me! Come eat me!' Fast foods are used as a "treat' for children and culturally we socialise around food. Now french fries, deep fried chicken, sausages, pizza, wraps etc sounds much tastier(forget the health aspect) than carrot sticks, broccolli, cucumber etc (which would be considered rather bland!)

A little boy commented; "I don't like vegetables. I like sweets. It gives me energy to cycle." Spoken like a child. It is the parent however that buys fast food for the child or the sweets and often times give in to the child's tears or tantrums for fast food. Obesity, whether genetic or not is the END result of overindulgence and overeating. We need to analyse and tackle the root cause of eating fast food and generally overeating. It's not common to see an overweight child in Kezi and this is mainly due to:

1. Diet - Sadza and a relish, sweet potato, barley, pumpkin, ground nuts, maize, sour milk etc

2. Exercise - Most people either walk or cycle to their various destinations

3. Work - mostly manual work in the fields

Some say it takes 14 days to break a habit while others advocate 21 days. Whatever the case may be, the child's long term longevity should be a priority and it all begins in the home.

Compiled by Molly Manhanga