肥胖儿童的健康饮食计划

In the United States, one in eight preschoolers is obese and it’s even more common among Hispanic children. But a new program at Miami Children’s Hospital in Florida is trying to tackle the problem. They are educating children and their parents about healthy eating and the importance of exercise.

This is not a field-day game for parents and their daughters. It’s the physical fitness component of a new program called "Healthy Chicas" at Miami Children’s Hospital.

"The idea of Healthy Chicas is to help patients to have the proper education and exposure to what healthly eating is. 0029 and physical activity as well so we can do something about the obesity and overweight problem that we are seeing."said Dr.Rosa Gomez De Jesus, the Healthy Chica's founder.

Eighteen girls and their mothers- and even one dad - are participating in the full ten-week program, which includes one hour of physical fitness and one hour of nutrition education once a week. For Maria Barrera, this program has been a blessing. Her two oldest daughters are on the path to becoming healthy chicas, after both had health scares.

"Then my second daughter had to get her gallbladder also removed, because doctor’s say she was overweight. My oldest was operated on when she was fourteen, the youngest at fifteen."said Maria Barrera, a Healthy Chicas participant.

Jennifer is Maria’s oldest daughter.

"I’ve learned how to eat better, healthy, work out, I got new ideas eating smaller portions, little snacks."said Jennifer Barrera, a Healthy Chicas participant.

The U-S Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says nearly 40 percent of adult Hispanics are overweight, and just over 30 percent are considered obese.

"One of the main problems is the traditional Latin-American diet...we tend to overcrowd our plates with a lot of carbohydrates and fats including white rice and beans and pork, depending on the country, a version of a tortilla and also starchy plantains."

"Vegetables, Latinos generally like fruits, they are very great with that, mangoes, grapes, they like all different kinds of fruits, it’s the veggies that are missing, the greens, the carrots, the oranges, the reds, so adding those will help to balance their nutrients , but it also makes them feel full so they don’t have to fill it up with rice and potatoes."said Jennifer Caceres,a registered dietitian,

The objective of the program is to empower these girls to change their lifestyles: improve their diet and add more movement to their daily routine.