MIDLAND, Texas — Everybody knows how much influence parents have on their children’s development, so why not use it to help them be healthier?
”Families eating together to eat healthy meals together, we see better outcomes with that," said Heather Hunstable, a family nurse practitioner at Peds in a Pod PLLC in Midland. "Families that exercise together, go around the neighborhood on a walk after dinner, those types of things, definitely affect how a child is as far as weight."
Hunstable says that childhood obesity is an issue best addressed while children are still young.
“It’s a super important issue, so we want them definitely developing healthy habits when they’re young," Hunstable continued. "I think that those habits definitely bleed into adulthood and help to create healthier adult habits as well.”
But if you don’t know where to start in regard to helping your kids, don’t be afraid to speak with your physician or pediatrician about it.
“I mean I think just not being scared to talk to your medial provider, [or] your pediatrician about ways to help, if you’re struggling with the issue or you feel like you’re struggling with helping your kids make healthy choices, definitely talking to your doctor is important,” Hunstable said.
Other ways to help your kids stay healthy is to get them involved with any active extracurricular activities like sports. Or making family outings more active in general goes a long way too.