This Week's Healthy SC Challenge Tips

The Healthy SC Challenge is the Sanford family's effort to get all South Carolinians to do just a little more to live a healthier lifestyle. The tips are designed to encourage individuals and communities to live healthier lifestyles in three categories - nutrition, exercise and help to quit smoking.

Healthy Tips

Nutrition
Help kids avoid portion distortion!

Portion wise: Be a role model. Make sure your own portions aren't too hefty. Allow your child to stop eating when she is no longer hungry. Allow your child to serve himself a small portion. Your child can have "seconds" if he is still hungry. Encourage your child to eat slowly and take "small bites."

Dining out downfalls: Eat out only one to two times a week. Avoid "super-sizing" fast foods. Go family-style when eating out. Order meals that your family can split, and choose extra vegetables and salads as your side orders.

Lessons to learn: Teach your older child how to use serving size information on food labels. Insist that snacks be eaten from a small plate or bowl. Don't let your child eat any food directly from the original box, bag or carton.
- SC Department of Health & Environmental Control

Physical Activity
You've seen the scary numbers: Child Obesity has doubled--and as a result, type 2 diabetes among kids is growing by equally epidemic proportions. (High blood pressure and early signs of heart disease are on the rise too.) You already know that getting kids physically active is a big part of the solution. So, what's the easiest way to pry your kid from the tube and get him outside for some activity? Walking - it's a great physical activity; it's natural and doesn't require any special clothing, equipment, or facilities.

On Saturday, April 25, First Lady Jenny Sanford is attending the launch of Leadership Columbia's Sally Salamander- a new interactive walking tour of cultural and historical sites in downtown Columbia. This event is free and open to the public. It's also a great way to get children engaged in walking while learning about South Carolina's history!

For more walking tips or to learn more about Sally Salamander visit the links below.
-www.prevention.com and www.columbiasalamander.com

Tobacco
It's true that smoking may help decrease weight by about 8 pounds, but so will a brisk, 15-minute daily walk. And since smoking causes shortness of breath, you may find that you tire easily and aren't able to walk or run as fast, as often, or as far. Ironically, since smoking actually encourages this decreased activity, it often leads to weight gain. So smoking may not only make you short of breath, but may also defeat your weight management goals in the long run (or walk -- so to speak).
-www.yourlunghealth.org