From watching TV or playing video games to surfing the internet, our kids are exposed to more of the world than ever before.  Is it no wonder that kids today are actually maturing faster than past generations?

A recent study from the University of Michigan’s Mott Children’s Hospital reports that toddler girls who are overweight at age 3 and continue to gain weight over the next three years reach puberty earlier with earlier breast development, earlier onset of menstruation and are at risk for other medical problems like diabetes and other adult related conditions.  

So what does this mean?

It means that young girls who are overweight tend to mature faster.  Faster than their peers and other friends, faster than the boys and are at risk for psychosocial problems….being teased by their classmates because of their growing breasts, being mistaken for teenagers when they’re only 9 or 10 years old and greater pressure on parents to have a candid discussion about sexual education much earlier than most of us expect. 

Can you imagine talking with your 9 year old daughter, niece or granddaughter about sex and her changing body when other parents are spending their time talking about where they’re going on their next vacation?

Can you imagine walking in the mall with your daughter and explaining to young teenage boys that your daughter is too young for them….that’s she’s still in elementary school…and not in middle school or even high school?

So what can you do? 

How can you stop your daughter, your niece, your granddaughter or a friend’s young daughter from having to deal with the pressures of growing up too fast?  How can you lower their risk of obesity related conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes and even cancer?

Here’s how:

Make healthy eating a family affair.  Substitute high calorie sugary cereals with whole grain options like Cheerios.  Use whole wheat pasta, brown rice or whole-grain bread instead of regular pasta, white rice or white bread.

Adopt a lifestyle change early.  It’s never too early to start teaching your children about healthier, more nutritious options…instead of buying potato chips or sodas….buy carrot sticks, make apple slices, keep bananas on hand and encourage low-fat milk or 100% fruit juices.

Set an example.  Our kids look to us and how we eat…..how we enjoy life…. how we live our lives….and we’re in control and in charge when it comes to how our kids view food and exercise.  Reinforce healthy food choices, prepare meals with your kids and help them make good decisions about what they eat when at school or when the family is eating out. 

This new study really opened my eyes when it comes to my own cousins whose bodies look like grown women.  If I passed them in the mall, I’d think they were in their late teens and they’re only 13!  We have to be aware that our girls may be maturing faster physically but that their emotional and social maturity may be years away. 

So take this to heart. Help our girls stay young as long as they can….let them enjoy being young.  Because soon enough they’ll have the weight of the world on their shoulders.

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

Tired of waking up on the wrong side of the bed, day after day?

Do you always get to work irritable and needing that cup up coffee before getting your day started?

Do you spend most of your night tossing and turning before finally drifting off to sleep hours later?

Do you wish you could get quality sleep every night without the need of sleeping pills?

Well, I have an easy way for you to turn your bedroom into a sanctuary for sleeping and take the first step to having a great morning.

It’s not going to cost you anything.  No new decorations, no new paint, no new pictures on the wall. No expensive sound systems that’ll turn your bedroom into a rainforest or a secluded beach house….although it would be nice…it’s not necessary.  We’re all so good at multitasking that we’ve changed the art of sleeping into the next big thing that we can do with our eyes closed…no pun intended.  We’re planning out our day, we’re deciding what item can be placed at the bottom of our To Do List, we’re recapping the day’s events and we’re also trying to get some sleep.  This type of multitasking is not going to get you anywhere.  You’ll end up frustrated and tired and most of all, you’ll have wasted countless minutes or hours of good sleep time.

The key is to make your bedroom for sleeping!  That means no eating that bedtime snack in bed, no sitting in bed for hours watching television until the television is watching you, no using the lap top or working on a project in bed.  Because if you start using your bed for other things not related to sleep when you finally try to drift off to sleep, your mind will keep focused on getting your ToDo List prioritized….wondering how you’ll manage your day…and getting to your meeting on time after dropping off your drycleaning. 

Instead of running through this list while staring at the ceiling, set aside some time before getting ready for bed, before heading off to your bedroom while you’re still in the kitchen, the living room or wherever you have a pad and a pen and write down all the things that you need to get done.  Issues that you need to tackle the following day, items that you need to remember to take care of….anything that your mind needs to run through before really unwinding. 

So when you step over the threshold into your bedroom your mind is clear of all the clutter, you’ve taken care of all the important items and you can just relax!!!

And drift off to sleep for a great night’s rest.

Try it out and you’ll be amazed!  You’ll wake up more refreshed and energized….ready for a great new day.

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen

Now I know we’ve all noticed how easy it is to put on a few extra pounds over the years.  We just don’t seem to burn those extra calories that we sneak in during the day.  After about a week of stealing that extra cookie, piece of cake or candy bar when we step on that scale we notice those extra pounds catching up with us. 

But you don’t have to stand for this…..

Right there in your pocket, in your purse or attached to your hip is your key to skyrocketing your metabolism and burning off those extra calories….to lose the weight.

I’m not talking about some pill or some new expensive gadget…what I’m talking about is your cellphone.

That’s right…your cellphone is your key to jump starting your metabolism and keeping you on the road to weight loss and a leaner, healthier you.

Let’s first talk about your Basal Metabolic Rate or your BMR.  Your Basal Metabolic Rate is the rate at which your body burns calories while you’re sleeping.  That’s right, your BMR is the number of calories you’d burn if you stayed in bed all day long!  Your BMR can be calculated with a fancy equation or with a hand-held device but the bottom line is this….the older you get, the lower your Basal Metabolic Rate and the slower your body works to burn calories. 

For instance, take a 5′7″ 40 year old woman who weighs 140 pounds, her BMR is 1383–>which means she burns 1383 calories each day by just doing nothing.  Fifteen years ago at the age of 25, that same woman who’s 5′7″ and 140 pounds, burns almost 1454 calories at rest….that’s over 70 more calories! 

Clear evidence that your body’s ability to burn calories changes as we age….so here’s your chance to rev up your metabolism with your cellphone.

Here’s how:

Set your cellphone’s alarm to ring or vibrate every three hours to remind you to eat.  That means during a 16 hour day you’ll eat about 5 times during the day.  Now the key to eating five meals throughout the day is to keep your total calories or intake the same…just spread out those meals into smaller meals.  So instead of eating a whole sandwich with a salad for lunch…eat half the sandwich with the salad for lunch and save the other half for your snack three hours later. 

By eating every three hours you force your body to work more often to breakdown and digest your food, keeping your body more active throughout the day.  And if you add regular exercise into the mix, you’ll be that much closer to realizing your goal of maintaining a healthier and leaner body.

So remember to set your alarms!

To your wellness,

The Health and Wellness Queen