Resolutions for 2008 should focus on positive changes toward a healthy family

By Claire Ku'uleilani Hughes, Ph.D., R.D.

The New Year, 2008, has arrived to bursts of fireworks and fanfare. And, as is the custom, many will have made personal resolutions to change or improve something this year. Alas, just as the smoke from fireworks disappears, so will many of the well-meaning promises to turn over a new leaf. So, why don't we make this year different? After all, 2008 is quite different, it is a Leap Year. Why don't we take a leap of faith and commit to making changes that will stick, in 2008? Let's choose something really different this year. Let's commit to changes that help our children. We can use that perseverance, drive, determination, knowledge and resolve used by our Hawaiian ancestors as they created a flourishing nation. These strengths are in our genetic code, too, so let's tap into them and use them. Let's keep our children healthy.

The health status of Native Hawaiians has been a great concern for decades. Much attention, education and new health services have been created for Hawaiians. And, yet, any change that has occurred has not been big enough or widespread enough for health statistics to detect it. Let's plan changes to improve Hawaiian health together. Then, changes made within our individual homes will improve the health of our Hawaiian community. Let's think about health problems in the news and how they affect us.

Several health issues have made national news recently. One report said that the health of our children is in peril. Not just Hawaiian children, but all U.S. children. Health professionals predict that the nation's children, including ours, will have shorter lives than their parents. The report said that U.S. children are fatter and less active than any previous generation. And so, diabetes, high blood pressure and heart problems will occur earlier and shorten their lives by about a decade. Another report said that children who get eight hours of sleep each night are less frequently overweight. Still another national report said that rickets, or weakened bones, is making a come back. Rickets causes bowed legs, weakened ribs and smaller body-size. Rickets results from a lack of vitamin D, bone-building nutrients and exercise. Childhood rickets was nearly eradicated in the 1930s with the addition of vitamin D to milk. Another report said that women are now suffering from heart disease in their 40s. And, still another news release said that weight-gain after breast cancer diagnosis negatively effects a woman's recovery. These are new red flags, in health, that we can vow to change.

Let's resolve to help our family make positive changes for health in 2008. Issues in the problems for children are the lack of exercise and sleep, as well as poor nutritional choices. Focusing on changes to help Native Hawaiian children grow better and live longer and healthier are: getting enough sleep, adding regular physical activity every day, and improving food choices in meals and snacks. These are basic health practices that will benefit all family members, including keiki, mākua and kūpuna. The first step is to include your doctor in the planning process. He can monitor changes and assure your health improvements.

The next step is to select among several changes and make them either incrementally or all at once, whichever will work best. Help children get eight hours of sleep and, perhaps, even more if they are in a growth spurt or competitive sports. This means checking that homework gets started immediately after school and assuring that it is completed before dinner. Allow for physical activities before dinner, like shooting hoops, tossing the football or baseball, or jogging around the block. That will reduce mental stress, mental fatigue and improve appetites, as well as add sunshine as a source of vitamin D.

Changes made with foods choices are important. Great health improvements can result from lowering and changing both the type and amount of fats and carbohydrates. Great health benefits come from reducing the total fat in the diet, as well as limiting harmful saturated fats. Many lower-fat choices are available for foods that we buy. Fortunately, these are placed side-by-side in the supermarkets and some are produced by the same manufacturer, assuring their quality and taste will be the same. Compare the “nutrition facts” on food labels and select those that are lower in fat, cholesterol and lower in sugar. Eliminate deep-fried food. Increase the numbers of color-filled vegetables and fruit. Serve fruit to finish meals. Do not forget that water is critical for health. Eliminate fruit drinks and soda, except for party times. And, most importantly, assure that there is adequate dietary calcium (milk, milk products and greens, like lū'au and spinach) for growth between the ages of birth and 20. Girls' final growth spurt occurs between 8 and 16 and boys' final growth spurt is between 10 and 20.

Leap Year 2008 is the year to commit to protecting the health of our children and to help ourselves. Let's just do it!