Phil Parham by The Amazing Fitness Adventure for Your Kids Page A

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140–159/90–99
Hypertension: Stage 2
160–179/100–109≥180/110
    National Institutes of Health, August 2004
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    2. How much do you weigh?__________. Most of you have a scale at home or can get weighed at your doctor’s office. Compare your number with the chart on the next page. Is it in a healthy range? To calculate your frame type, place your thumb and index finger around your wrist. If your finger overlaps the thumb, you are “Small Frame.” If they touch, you are “Medium Frame.” If they do not touch, you are “Large Frame.”
    3. What is your body mass index (BMI)?__________. We talked about this in the previous chapter. The Department of Health and Human Services has a nifty BMI calculator that’s easy to use ( www.nhlbisupport.com/bmi/ ). Just plug in your height and weight and it will figure it out for you. This site will also tell you if you have a healthy BMI.
    4. Do you drink at least eight glasses of water a day? If not, you’re not drinking enough water. Do you drink soda or other sugary drinks instead?

    5. How many hours do you spend watching TV, socializing online, or surfing the Internet? Be honest with yourself. Can you cut down on some of this time to engage in activities that are more active, healthy, and mentally stimulating?
    Use your answers as a barometer to measure the kind of example you are setting for your children. If you need to improve some aspects of your lifestyle, I encourage you to work on them during this “Challenge.” Don’t feel bad if your assessment isn’t so great. Use it as a learning tool to start developing better health habits.
Plan of Action
    â€¢ Set the example. Role-model good health for your children.
    â€¢ Be passionate about a particular healthy activity or a general healthy lifestyle. Get excited about it so your kids will catch your enthusiasm.
    â€¢ Talk to a physician or evaluate your own health to determine what areas you can improve.
    â€¢ Take small steps to increase the quality of your health each day. Believe me, your kids will notice.
    We’ve got a lot of learning to do when it comes to what we put in our mouth. In the next chapter, you’ll learn how to eat, what to eat, when to eat, and the best and worst foods for you and your family. Don’t worry. Eating healthy is not boring or tasteless. We’re going to make this as delicious for you as we can.

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Nutrition Sense for Your Family
A Note from Phil
    I wish my parents had taught me about good nutrition. Though my mother put plenty of vegetables on the table, we weren’t given any guidance about what food was good for us and why. I ate what I liked, and my parents reinforced that behavior. If it tasted good, I ate it. If I ate it, they bought it.
    As a parent, it’s crucial to know the building blocks of good nutrition so you can teach your kids how and what to eat. Good nutrition is not a diet; it’s a lifestyle. Proper eating habits and lifestyle modification are things you can learn to do that have lasting benefits.
    The starting point is to understand why we eat. We eat to fuel our bodies. We don’t eat to comfort our emotions, to make us feel better, to fill a void, or to satisfy our cravings. We eat to give our body the fuel it needs to work at an optimal level. I like to say that we eat to live. Every time you sit down to eat a meal or snack, you have to ask yourself whether it will fuel your body or slow it down. This is a mind game you have to conquer and this is something you must teach your kids. If they learn early enough that food is not an emotional crutch, they will be more likely to live by this lifestyle principle as they get older.
    Having a nutritious lifestyle doesn’t mean you can’t ever have some ice cream or a piece of cake. The key is moderation. A slice of pizza every now and then won’t compromise your health; just don’t make it a habit. We’ve also