September 2021 is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month Newsletter Article

Author:
By Ronald Lund

September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. A more positive approach of communicating this awareness might be titling it as National Awareness -“Let’s Get Healthier for Life” which does not include the term obesity which often carries negative, demeaning social connotation. There is an intended pun in the suggested message “for Life” for a couple reasons. One being “for life” implying for the duration of one’s life. Secondly “for life” implying for one’s physiology to thrive.

Once removing the term obesity, it can be replaced with a host of neutral terms such as body mass index (BMI) or risk for diabetes and heart disease, risk for being less healthy. From there, educating and engaging the patient/family about what Let’s Get Healthier for Life is and talking through how they envision incorporating this into their lifestyle and family environment/dynamic. It’s truly a privilege to have the opportunity to team up with our patient population in this regard.

The following are some BMI tips and references which are some components of Let’s Get Healthier for Life:

For additional articles and approaches, please go to https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/obesity/Pages/default.aspx. And, I’m always grateful for Nutrition referrals.

 

–Ronald Lund, CFHC Registered & Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist

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