A Healthy Lifestyle is Important
These days it’s easy to forget how important a healthy lifestyle is. Being overweight and not exercising can cause high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, and high insulin levels, even in kids! These problems put kids at risk for early heart disease, diabetes, liver disease, and many other health problems.
We can help by teaching our children how to make healthy food choices and promoting ways to stay active. Most TV commercials, schools, and restaurants don’t offer healthy choices, so we have to start by making these changes at home! Here are some tips to get you started.
Eating healthy
Eat 5 fruits and vegetables each day. Learn how to read food labels. Eat most meals at home. Watch portion sizes. Drink plenty of water each day! Low-fat or skim milk is a healthy drink. Limit soda, chocolate, and strawberry milk, and juices because they have a lot of sugar. Healthy snacks: carrots, apple slices, bananas, whole fruit, low-fat popcorn, low-fat cheese, low-fat yogurt are all healthy choices. Eat breakfast every day: oatmeal, nonsugary cereals, and toast are all healthy choices
Exercise everyday
Everyone should get 60 minutes of activity daily. Bike, soccer, skateboard, jump rope, dance, take the family for a walk, play tag, swim, hula hoop, fly a kite, play catch, basketball, go for a jog, help clean the house, hop and skip, who can climb the most stairs? Just have fun! Maximum of 2 hours of TV and/or video games each day. Take the TV out of the bedroom! Do jumping jacks, push-ups, or sit-ups during commercials.
5-2-1-0
5 eat 5 fruits & vegetables each day
2 no more than 2 hours of TV each day
1 get 1 hour of physical activity each day
0 Drink less sodas, juices, and sugary drinks. Drink water instead!
Playtime
Check out these resources.
Contact your local Parks and Recreation department for low-cost sports and exercise classes. Call 211 or 1-888-600-4357 for more information.
SALUD
Santa Ana Parks fitness program and nutrition tips. Call714 -571-4200 for maps, and more information.
Santa Ana Youth Sports Program
Programs for grades 1-8. $14 for aseason (9 weeks), includes shirt and trophy. 714-571-4264
Boys and Girls Club
Call 211 or888-600-4357 or visit www.boysandgirlsclub.com for more information
YMCA
Call 714-444-4004 in Santa Ana or to ask for a location near you.
My 3 changes
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Sign up for a Nutrition Class!
Call 714-509-8455 and ask for the next NEW You class in English or Spanish.
Schedule a follow-up visit with your doctor
Date: ________________________________________________________
Time: ________________________________________________________
About CHOC
CHOC is exclusively committed to the health and well-being of children through clinical expertise, advocacy, outreach, and research that brings advanced treatment to our patients. CHOC’s regional healthcare network includes two state-of-the-art hospitals in Orange and Mission Viejo, several community clinics, a residency program that trains tomorrow’s pediatricians, and four centers of excellence – The CHOC’s Heart, Cancer, Neuroscience, and Orthopedic Institutes.
CHOC earned the Silver Level CAPE Award from the California Council of Excellence – the only children’s hospital in California to ever earn this distinction, and was awarded Magnet designation – the highest honor bestowed to hospitals for nursing excellence. Recognized for extraordinary commitment to high-quality critical care standards, CHOC is the first children’s hospital in the nation to earn the Beacon Award for critical Care Excellence from the American Association of Critical-care for more information about CHOC, visit www.choc.org
