8 minute read
Get kids on a healthy track
Children may need a little extra help getting fit, especially if they gained weight during the pandemic. Teaching healthy habits now can help kids enjoy healthy futures.
Physical activities, sports participation, exercise used as a reward, offering variety of food, limit screen time are all great options
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Childhood obesity is a serious medical issue affecting children around the world, but notably in North America.
While the issue has been around for decades, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says American children and teenagers have witnessed a significant increase in weight gain since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Younger school-aged children have been among the hardest hit during the pandemic. A study published in September 2021 found the percentage of obese children and teens increased to 22 percent compared with 19 percent before the pandemic.
The CDC looked at the BMI of study subjects between March 1, 2020 and November 30, 2020. One of the study’s authors, Dr. Alyson Goodman of the CDC’s National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, described the results as “substantial and alarming.”
Being less physically active, overweight and eating the wrong foods can start children on a path toward problems that once were only considered conditions of adulthood, namely hypertension, diabetes and high cholesterol, offers the Mayo Clinic.
To reverse course, parents, guardians and educators can focus on helping children become more physically fit. The following are a few ways to do so. • Encourage participation in sports or other physical activities.
Sports practices, games, competitions, and other activities may keep children moving for an hour or more several days per week. However, the American Academy of Pediatrics states that only 25 percent of children get the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity per day.
Emphasize a fun activity with a focus on movement that produces shortness of breath, body warmth and sweat. These are indicators that the heart rate is really pumping. • Use exercise as a reward and not a punishment.
Make exercise something kids can look forward to. Reward a job well done on a test with extra time biking with friends or a hiking trip to a scenic national park,. Kids will be begin to associate exercise with fun. • Offer a variety of foods.
Kids who eat a variety of foods are more likely to get the nutrients the body needs, according to Kids Health by Nemours. These healthy foods should include at least five servings of fruits and vegetables a day, with an emphasis on vegetables. • Limit screen time.
Children may be inclined to entertain themselves by heading for the television, mobile phone or tablet first, especially after a year-plus of being stuck indoors. But parents can make a concerted effort to limit kids’ screen time in favor of more physically challenging pursuits. • Teach healthy eating habits.
A Harris Poll survey conducted on behalf of the American Psychological Association found that 61 percent of respondents age 18 and older reported a median weight gain of 15 pounds during the pandemic.
Teach children that weight loss is accomplished when more calories are burned than consumed. Pay attention to portion sizes and explain how beverages like fruit juices can be sneaky sources of extra calories.
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The Memphis Zoo features some 3,500 animals and 500 different species.
Lions, tigers and bears – but oh my – so much more
Story By ZACK STEEN Photos By BRANDY STEEN
For Crossroads Magazine
Th ere’s more to the Memphis Zoo than lions, tigers and bears.
Oh my ... with over 3,500 animals and more than 500 diff erent species, the zoo is considered a crown jewel attraction of the Mid-South. It’s the attraction many in the region simply call “the zoo.”
“It is humbling to think that when people say ‘let’s go to the zoo’ they are talking about the Memphis Zoo,” said Matt Th ompson, zoo deputy director. “From Corinth to all over north Mississippi and west Tennessee, we know we have a very strong regional draw and we are thankful for that.”
Rewriting history
Founded in 1906, the zoo started with a lone black bear in a small Overton Park building. Today the zoo off ers visitors an immersive experience with an up-close look at animals and opportunities to travel the world through newly redesigned exhibits.
“Over the last 30 years we have gone through a rebound,” said Th ompson.
Th ey have worked to update the zoo, replacing tired structures with modern enclosures.
Th e zoo’s entrance is a nod to the city’s namesake, Memphis, Egypt and includes its version of the Nile River. It leads to a completely revamped Cat Country home to African lions, leopards, cheetah, cougars, tigers, capybara and meerkat.
Front and center is the Cat Cafe, a repurposed building that was the zoo’s original cat exhibit. Now a restaurant, Th ompson said the transformation of that building is a “tribute to our past and an idea of how far we have come.”
“Now we have a naturalist exhibit where our lions can walk in the grass and play in the waterfalls. Th ey have the choice to do
Memphis Zoo Deputy Director Matt Thompson remains proud that “the zoo” has continued to be a crown jewel attraction in the Mid-South. whatever they want,” he said.
Thompson said Cat Country was the zoo’s first openair exhibit.
“Since then we have taken it one step further with every exhibit we have opened,” he added.
Building immersive exhibits
Another immersive area of the zoo is China.
Sitting on three acres of land, China is home to the zoo’s beloved Giant pandas Ya Ya and Le Le. On loan from the Aisan country, the two pandas live inside an area of the zoo that offers visitors a remarkable sampling of culture, animals, architecture and horticulture.
“Memphis is one of only three zoos in the country to house Giant pandas,” said Thompson. “They are our pride and joy. And the exhibit is unmistakenly Chinese.”
Courtney Janney knows what it takes to care for the 20-year-old pandas. As director of animal programs, she’s worked with Ya Ya and Le Le since moving to Memphis from Washington, D.C. where she worked at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo.
“I love these two,” she said. “They are funny, lovable and smart.”
Part of the agreement with China put in place is a conservation and research arm in Memphis. The team studies the panda’s nutrition.
“Their diet is about 99 percent bamboo,” said Janney. “We actually have over 10 acres set aside at the Agricenter at Shelby Farms just to grow bamboo for the pandas.”
Thompson said it was the China exhibit that started the Memphis Zoo’s evolution toward more immersive exhibits throughout the park.
“From there we created Northwest Passage home to polar bears, sea lions, black bears and bald eagles and Teton Trek where our grizzly bears, timber wolves, elk and trumpeter swans call home,” he said. “We want visitors to feel like they are in that region of the world when they walk into the exhibit and those exhibits do that very well.”
The Zambezi River Hippo Camp is the newest redesigned area and the final part of the zoo’s 20-year master plan.
“Zambezi is great because it embodies the many different elements of Afria,” said Curator Dan Dembiec. “Hippos, flamingos and Nile alligators are just a few of the many species that can be found in the exhibit.”
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