How to Fight Childhood Obesity at Home

I think everyone knows there's a so-called epidemic of childhood obesity in the US. It isn't surprising, considering the rise in popularity of video games and other sedentary entertainment, the disturbing trend of recess being taken out of schools, and the prevalence of junk food being produced and marketed to kids. When I was in the grocery store the other day I really paid attention to the price of the produce I was buying and I thought "Man, no wonder kids eat so much junk. The good stuff is expensive." I paid nearly ten dollars for a bag of pears, and only bought enough for each member of our family to have one. Luckily, my kids seem to have inherited my scrawny genes, but I still try and make sure they stay active and eat healthy. Here are a few tips.

Get your boogie on.

Kids, especially little ones, usually love to dance. So crank up the stereo and get moving with them. It doesn't have to be cheesy kiddie music either. If you like the Wiggles, that's cool, but there's plenty of grown-up music kids like to groove to. Try Yo Mama's Big Fat Booty (www.bootyband.com) for a fun, upbeat funk sound. My kids absolutely love when we dance to Edwin Starr's "War" and nothing's funnier than a five-year-old ballerina doing the "Hooah! Good God, y'all!" so you get bonus points for that, since laughter burns calories. Anything fast is good-let the kids mosh to your old Dead Kennedys or Misfits albums or put in some Green Day. (Obligatory disclaimer here: use your judgment as far as language and all. I'm not saying the Kennedys are for everyone.) My eight-year-old son likes to throw down and break dance to the Beastie Boys, and the Presidents of the USA have lots of fast paced, kid-friendly tunes. Dance and pop (if you're in to that) would be good too. It doesn't much matter what the music is as long as it gets them going.

Come out and play.