Your Mind Your Body

Family health is important! This sounds simple and obvious, right? If it was that simple, two-thirds of our population would not be considered overweight or obese. That number doesn’t include the people who weigh more than they would like or who feel uncomfortable about their bodies, eating habits and level of physical activity.

The fact that health is important may seem obvious, but what may be less known are the psychological, social and physical effects of carrying too much weight. Overweight children and teens are at a higher risk for depression, stress, social difficulties, bullying, teasing,  and being overweight adults (which increases the risk of multiple other physical problems).

No parents want their child to experience these things so emphasizing good health now can change lives — for the children and parents.

You may wonder why a psychologist would blog about eating, exercise and how families can get healthy. Isn’t that a job for other people, like fitness trainers or nutritionists? As I stated in the beginning of this post, if knowledge of good health was enough, there would not be an epidemic of child and adult obesity. Making a lifestyle change – and helping your family do it — is a lot of hard work. There are often things that get in the way of changing and making decisions for good health. That’s where psychologists help. Psychologists help take people from knowledge to action. We partner with people to motivate, teach, and problem-solve ways to better health.

By contributing to this blog, I hope to help people change their lives. That is why I get excited about this topic and plan to keep readers updated on tips, strategies, research, and information in an effort to pass along the excitement, knowledge, motivation, enthusiasm for being healthy.

Photo by mikebaird (from flickr)

Filed under: Children, Lifestyle & Behaviors, Parenting, Weight Issues