by Carolyn Fallon

Carolyn is a 20-something year old with a passion for life, fitness and overall well-being. She is an avid cycler, golfer and has known to bust some serious moves on the dance floor. To learn more about Carolyn, please check out her blog.

I never paid attention to the topic of Type 2 Diabetes. All of that changed when my little cousin was diagnosed. As I have recently started on my own journey to live a healthier life, it has become even more important to me that I help all my cousins learn how to be healthier. Because the two most common causes of Type 2 Diabetes are obesity and lack of physical activity, I’ve been helping my cousins get on a healthier track through tips on nutrition and exercise.

Dietary Habits
The typical mantra is that anything that tastes good tends to be bad for you. Although this may seem true, it doesn’t have to be! My cousins love their junk food. To prevent them from feeling totally deprived of the things they liked, I found creative ways to allow them to indulge in these foods in small moderation. I’m also helping them find ways to make healthy foods taste yummy too. Here are some popular changes I made that will work for you and your family too:

– add grilled vegetables to any meal and you get great flavor and large variety

– add fruit to meals. (Cut ’em into fun shapes!) By getting my cousins involved in making smoothies, etc. they were way more accepting of fruit in general.

– switch from white flour bread to whole grains-products

– use mashed cauliflower instead of potatoes

– use spaghetti squash instead of pasta noodles

There are so many ways you can get kids to start eating healthy if you are willing to get a little creative.

Get moving!

Get Moving!

It’s so important to get kids in the habit of being regularly active. My cousins tended to spend a majority of their time in front of the TV. To get them excited about exercise, I had to get creative. I found ways to make being active seem like a game instead of just getting exercise. Now we are…

Jumping Rope – A fun activity that many kids enjoy, and can be done alone or with others. We like to do jump rope competitions, or do large-group jump rope games too.

Swimming – Check out the public pool at your local YMCA or community center. Then get in the water with the kids! We do “Olympic trials” for the different kinds of strokes and we also play fun, calorie burning games like Marco Polo and water volleyball.  Swimming often appeals to overweight kids because the buoyancy of the water takes the weight off of their joints. It also helps to build cardiovascular strength and endurance, which is good for all age people!

Running or Jogging – Most kids love to run. They may love it more if you make it competitive. My cousins and I like to do timed-races against each other, or our own time. We also play games that involve running, such as tag, Capture the Flag, soccer, kickball, etc.

Doing Yoga – Many kids find yoga to be a rewarding activity that helps them become more flexible and promotes endurance. My cousins were hesitant to try it, but once they got started, they really liked learning the different poses.

Be proactive! It’s scary to think that my little cousin is facing Type 2 Diabetes at such a young age. According to St. Joseph’s Hospital Cardiac Center, potential complications can include such things as eye problems or blindness, heart disease, stroke, neurological problems, and more. With so many possible serious consequences,  it’s important that today’s families work together for better health that will help prevent the spread of this epidemic.