September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

September is National Childhood Obesity Month

by Gordon Echtenkamp

Over the past few decades, childhood obesity rates in the United States have skyrocketed, increasing more than fourfold among those ages 6 to 11. More than 23 million children and teenagers in the United States ages 2 to 19 are obese or overweight putting them at early risk for Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and even stroke. If America’s trend continues at its current pace, all 50 states could have obesity rates above 44 percent by 2030, according to a new report from Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and according to the same report, at the current rate of weight gain, by 2030, 57.2 percent of Texans will be obese. The good news is we can do something about it.

Make it a family effort. Setting a good example is the best way to reinforce the importance of exercise to your child. For instance, you could take the whole family on a weekend day trip to a state or national park and go hiking. If you don’t feel like going that far, get creative – transform your backyard or a nearby park into an obstacle course and compete in Family Olympics. When your child sees you participating in and enjoying regular exercise, they’ll be more likely to pick up the habit.

The Saving Seed: Growing a Financially Healthy Family Tree

by Liz Mangelsdorf

“We must give to others and the world.  It is not ours to own and we must leave a positive impression as we pass by on our journey.”

Local entrepreneur, mother and community leader takes her passion to the presses.  Ashley Parks, CFP®, has released her new book: The Saving Seed: Growing a Financially Healthy Family Tree to help families and communities uncover what financial roots they have and how to model positive financial behaviors with their children.

Ashley is actively involved in her community and feels deeply that we are all products of our surroundings.  We all have a personal root system that has been developing throughout our lives.  Ashley’s career has offered her amazing insight into the personal lives of individuals that she comes in contact with on a daily basis.  That insight, along with her own personal journey, spurred her to put her passion on paper.  The stories and personal experiences over her career motivated her to write a book geared towards helping families gain not only personal well-being, but financial well-being too.  The Saving Seed is Ashley’s gift to others.  Her philosophy on life is one of becoming self and becoming greater than our temporal world suggests.  “What can we do that will positively impact others and allow us to grow?”

Vann Counseling and Associates

Lori Vann’s philosophy is that quality mental health care should not be a luxury item and that it should be available to those who need & seek it.  The counselors in her office, who are under her direct supervision, are able to provide lower cost, affordable counseling.  Since they do case consults on a weekly basis with Ms. Vann, it is like having two counselors for the price of one.  Her interns come from diverse backgrounds and the following languages are available: English, Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi, Malay, and Gujurati.

Based upon her almost 15 years of counseling experience and several years of being a professor of psychology, Ms. Vann emphasizes the mind-body connection.  She has found that you cannot separate mental health from physical health and vice versa, therefore mental health care is just as important as physical health care.  The counselors in her practice assist clients in understanding how stress affects the mind, and thus may contribute to mental health issues and possible physical ailments while also assisting clients in identifying healthy vs. unhealthy coping skills.  One focus of treatment is assessing for possible boundary issues, whether in personal or professional life.  Ms. Vann has found that difficulties in boundary setting appear to be correlated with contributing to mental health concerns.

Children’s Medical Center adds new Locations to serve more local children

New MyChildren’s offices to give more patients critical access to a “medical home”

 

MyChildren’s, a network of pediatric primary care offices affiliated with nationally renowned Children’s Medical Center Dallas (www.childrens.com), is expanding by opening three new practices this summer in areas where there is a high demand for healthcare. Clinics are located in neighborhoods where few options exist for families who depend on Medicaid and the state’s Children’s Health Insurance Program. The clinics provide a critical “medical home” for thousands of children, leading to better, earlier care.

Happy, Healthy Pregnancy for Mom and Baby

Happy Healthy Pregnancy

Tips to Maintain Pregnancy Health

by Katie Moore

Making the decision to have a child is a huge one that requires a lot of thought and a lot of life-style changes for a woman. A mommy-to-be will need to forgo her enjoyable after work cocktail and sushi roll for a while and focus on taking care of her body so that her little one will be as healthy as possible. Moms need to know that everything they eat, do, drink and feel is directly affecting the child that they carry; pregnancy is the time in a woman’s life she needs to be as healthy as possible.