Association of Balanced Diet And  Physical Activity with Fitness of Young Children and Their Parents

Dr. Syed Arif Kamal; Shahid Ali Khan

Dr. Syed Arif Kamal Meritorious Professor, PhD (Neuroscience); MA, Johns Hopkins, Baltimore, MD, United States; MS, Indiana, Bloomington, IN, United States; Ex-Member, AAHPERD (American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance) and Subject Committee, Physical Education, Health and Sport Sciences, NTS Pakistan; Ex-Acting Vice-Chancellor and Ex-Chairman, Department of Health, Physical Education and Sports Sciences, University of Karachi, Karachi
Shahid Ali Khan Director Physical Education, Government Degree Boys College, Korangi 2 ½, Karachi,

Keywords: family-centered activities, lifestyle adjustment, exercise plans, diet plans, leisure activities, guardedgraduated- sun-exposure, growth-and-obesity monitoring.

Abstract

This work focuses on the importance of balanced diet and physical fitness for under-7 children as well as their parents. Fit and active parents should impart healthy habits in their young children, which must continue through the lifespan. This is accomplished through a proper combination of structured physical activity routine and leisure activity, both of them family-centered. Parents and children should be attired appropriately for each of these activities. There is a need for consuming balanced diet in order to be able to fully benefit from physical activity. Families should be educated about eating healthy foods in place of junk items. A mandatory vitamin-D testing in both parents and children is essential so that calcium is properly absorbed in the bones of adults and youngsters, making the proposed diet plans effective. Young children should be minimally dressed most of the time while at home, during leisure activities and structured exercises as well as in school so that their hair and bodies are exposed to fresh air and sunshine. Guardedgraduated- sun-exposure of skin, a highly efficient and a most effective as well as an inexpensive method of obtaining required doses of vitamin D is recommended to avoid sunburn and skin cancer. This paper gives safe- and intermittent- sun-exposure timings for children in the city of Karachi, Pakistan for each month during the entire year. These time durations are computed from astronomical data. Heights and weights of children should be monitored as per international standards on a half-yearly basis to generate monthly height and weight targets based on Growth-and-Obesity Vector-Roadmap 2.1. This should be part of periodic psychological and physical examinations combined with fitness testing. Parents‘ obesity should be tracked based on Obesity Roadmap 2.1. Such an exercise should, not only, ensure a healthy development, but also, alert the health-care provider to discover cases of severe stunting, excessive wasting and acute malnutrition as well as pseudo-gains of height and mass in young children..