The presentation was lead by two
experts, Dr. Dawn Peters, a pediatrician at Somerville Pediatrics, and
Reem Jabr, a registered dietitian who does work for Somerville
Pediatrics and other Cambridge Health Alliance run organizations. Each
had a PowerPoint presentation; Dr. Peters began the talk using a map of
the US to show our country's rising trend of obesity, which by 2005 had
risen to the extent that many states were considered one-third obese.
Obesity, as she explains, is any Body Mass Index (BMI) greater than 30.
Some have larger frames or are naturally bigger people and she admits
that "BMI is helpful, but it is only one factor." When asked if
children should be on diets, Dr. Peters insists that if the child is
eating poorly, his or her caloric intake must be monitored, saying
"Don't focus on losing weight, but maintaining a healthy weight." An
easy way to start your child on good eating habits, Dr. Peters tells
the crowd, is to have at least four family meals a week, in which the
parents will model good eating habits for their children. "It could be
breakfast one day, or before practice [the next]."

Reem Jabr,
the registered dietitian began her talk by showing the parents and
teachers the food pyramid model, consisting of five categories from
grains to meat. When discussing meat, Jabr told the audience that
turkey was a healthy substitute for red meats like beef. "Turkey is a
good idea throughout the year," she says. Turkey can be made into
meatballs and burgers which will have much less fat than normal beef
ones. Americans' biggest problem with diet is too much fat and not
enough fiber, according to Jabr, who says, "Most Americans consume 11
[grams of fiber] a day," when the recommended daily amount of fiber is
more than double that. Jabr informed the crowd that while healthy food
is generally more expensive, you can always find deals. She says frozen
or canned vegetables are cheap and generally nutritious since they were
packaged at the time of the harvest. An easy way to monitor your and
your child's eating habits, Jabr states, is to "eat in" rather than
"eat out". When you are home, cooking your own food, there is no
mystery of what it may contain or how healthy it is.

"A lot of
it I already knew. It's good for a refresher, though," Alison Faeth, a
parent of a 5th grader at Winter Hill, told us. Ms. Faeth is looking
forward to the next two in the health series, held at the school, which
will be on physical and mental changes.