Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 28, Number 3, 1 March 2011 — TOO LITTLE GOOD -- TOO MUCH BAD [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TOO LITTLE GOOD -- TOO MUCH BAD

Many (75.6 percent) Native Hawaiian adults are overweight with some (37.5 percent) being severely overweight. It is true that more than half of all Americans are also overweight. However, today, our focus is on our keiki. Health informahon shows that among Hawaiian children, 41 percent of middle school keiki and 31.5 percent of high school keiki are overweight or at risk for being overweight. It is critical for mākua and

kūpuna to understand that being overweight during the adolescent years increases the ehanee that our keiki will develop a number of illnesses that will persist and very likely worsen over their lifetime. Moreover, our keiki will potentially have shorter lives than their mākua. The illnesses that are occurring among our keiki are hypertension, type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol, respiratory illnesses, a number of orthopedic (joint) problems, as well as depression and adjustment problems. Until a few years ago, most of these were considered adultonset heahh problems, or illnesses caused by aging. Culturally, it is the kuleana of the mākua and kūpuna to be alert to health problems, as well as to protect the safety, growth and development of our keiki. Solutions to adolescents and young children being overweight differ from weight-loss programs for

adults. Because children are growing, the objective is to provide all the nutrients and exercise needed to assure that height as well as organ and muscle development happens optimally. Important to consider is that the hnal human growth spurt occurs during the teen years and will require good, sound nutrition and lots of sleep. A child specialist named Dr. John Rosemond offered his analysis on the causes of children being overweight. He says many of our U.S. children are overweight because they eat too many bad carbohydrates (junk food) and spend too mueh time in front of televisions, video games and computers and too little time being physically active. Rosemond advocates free play for children instead of organized sports because playing on an open field uses more energy than "sitting out" during parts of

organized games and practices. This all makes practical sense. Dr. Rosemond offers straightforward suggestions for parents, too. First, eat at least 90 percent of meals at home, around a table rather than in front of the television set. And, prepare meals that are heart-healthy, in other words, low-fat, high-fiber meals with lots of vegetables. When children are thirsty, he suggests directing them to the water faucet. Second, he suggests gardening with the kids, because studies have shown clearly that children will eat what they grow and, as a result, will have healthier diets. Gardening is also good exercise. Third, mākua need to exercise with the children, such as taking daily walks, bicycling and playing Frisbee or tossing a ball or using a trampoline. And fourth, do not allow television, video game consoles

or computers in the children's bedrooms and allow no more than one hour of television viewing per day. When a child has a growth spurt to look forward to, Dr. Rosemond's suggested changes are important. During growth spurts, controlling an adolescent's weight allows redistribution of his weight over gains in height, resulting in a slimmer keiki. Serving heart-healthy foods that are low in fat and sugar, coupled with more exercise (outdoor play) will assure healthy weight and growth. Kupuna Mary Pukui writes, "In the old days, a handsome sheet of kapa, in post missionary days, a hand-quilted coverlet of some favored design was provided eaeh child by his makua wahine or kupuna wahine. (The 'ōlelo no'eau that describes this practice is) 'He keiki no he kapa, he keiki no he kapa,' (literal meaning) 'for eaeh child a bed covering' . . . (symbolic meaning) for parents not to make a kapa for eaeh child (in later times a quilt) bespoke of laziness." ■

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Dr. PH„ R.D.