The Mind Performance Health Podcast

The ABCs of Raising Healthy Kids: Actionable Steps for Parents

• Michael Pritchatt • Episode 25

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Have you ever considered the dietary choices you're making for your children? In this thought-provoking episode, we explore the hidden impacts of parenting on childhood obesity, a pressing issue affecting one in four Australian children. With statistics like these, the conversation surrounding our kids' health is not just necessary—it's critical. Michael Pritchatt, founder of MPH Personal Training, shares insights into the often-underestimated influence parents have as their children's first fitness coaches.

We tackle the challenging realities of today's landscape, characterized by fast food convenience, screen time distractions, and a culture that favors ease over health. But fear not! This episode is rich with actionable steps parents can take right now to change the narrative for their kids. From fostering healthy habits to making exercise a family affair, every small choice can lead to significant changes.

Our discussion doesn't just highlight the dangers—it's also filled with hope and strategies for improvement. The principles laid out in this episode empower parents to lead by example, shaping their children's perceptions of health and wellness. With relatable anecdotes and tangible advice, you’ll leave encouraged and ready to make impactful changes.

Join us in this significant conversation! At the end of the episode, we encourage you to reflect on the changes you can implement at home. Don't miss out—subscribe today and help us promote this crucial conversation about health, fitness, and family wellness.

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Speaker 1:

Welcome to the my Performance Health Podcast. My name is Michael Pritchard, owner and founder of MPH Personal Training and MPH Supplements. I'm a coach to everyday Australians fighting the battle against obesity elite athletes, bodybuilders and high performers. Now, as per the Obesity Hub in Australia, seven out of 10 Australian adults and one in four kids are overweight or obese. This isn't just about looks, it's about your life. Obesity is linked to over 30 diseases cancer, high blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol issues, to name a few, and heart problems and I'm not going to let you be one of them.

Speaker 1:

If you're listening to this podcast or if you're in our environment at Mind Performance Health On this podcast, I'm going to share my knowledge, I'm going to motivate you, cut through the BS and, more importantly, give you actionable steps to help your health and fitness goals. So let's lock in. For today's topic. We're going to talk about the sad truth how most parents are slowly killing their kids with junk food, too much screen time and zero movement, without actually even realizing it. And it sounds very harsh, I know, but if you look around at today's environment here in Australia and the research shows, one in four kids are overweight or obese, we're not moving around as much as kids we're sitting down, it's more convenient to hand over the iPad or turn on YouTube or put on some kind of show to distract them, and there's more convenience with food, more junk food, sugar hits. The environment is getting less and less healthy at households, if I can spit it out, and I think it's our job as parents. I'm a parent myself. I've got two beautiful daughters to set the habits, set the environment, because at the end of the day, you need to remember you are their first fitness coach, you are their first personal trainer, and if you want them to live a healthy life, it's going to start with yourself. So today I'm going to break down the three biggest mistakes parents are making when it comes to their kids' health and what you can do instead to set them up for success throughout their life and live a healthy, fulfilled life. So if you want your kids to grow fit, live strong and confident, please listen up.

Speaker 1:

So, as I have my notes here, one in four kids are overweight or obese in Australia, as per the Australian Obesity Hub. One in four in this country, and that's a serious problem. The trend of adults being overweight or obese is also trending upwards, but that starts as kids. If you truly believe that kids very young kids at a very young age pick up most of their habits and beliefs while they're young. That's going to carry over for the rest of their life. So we need to be making sure that we influence our kids in the right way to have a better impact on their life, on their health, on their fitness as they grow older.

Speaker 1:

And obesity just doesn't mean a little bit chubby. It increases the risk of diabetes, like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and mental health issues, lack of confidence, low self-esteem and depression. And it's happening younger and younger. So if you look at kids these age, there seems to be a growing issue with mental health issues. There seems to be a growing issue with health, confidence, low self-esteem, things like bullying, even all this kind of stuff. There's a lot of problems that our kids have to go through and they're struggling. And if there's one thing we can help influence as parents with our kids or kids we want to help, it's making sure we can help them fulfill a healthy life with their health and fitness actions, and it's actually all preventable. So what I mean by that is if their habits and their actions are dictated of what they see and what they learn from you because, like I said, you are their first fitness coach. It means you can influence them in a positive way and they'll take action on those influences to make sure they're living a more fulfilled life. So it is preventable, but we need to take action ourselves as Australian adults to influence the younger generation.

Speaker 1:

So why are kids becoming obese or overweight? Why is that trend actually increasing? If you look around, it's only getting more obvious that we're getting lazier as humans. Things like AI, working from home, more convenience to go on the app and click a button to get food at your doorstep it's quite obvious that we're getting lazier and with that it's taking a hit on our health and fitness and impacting your health negatively, but not just your health, it's your kids' health as well. I mean, where are they going to be in 20 years' time? If you look at the trend of humanity and society and technology, at a click of a button you can have things sent to you without putting any effort or making any movement. So where will we be in this time Now being overweight and obese?

Speaker 1:

Like I touched on before, there's a lot of issues. It's not just self-esteem, low self-esteem, it's not just confidence, not just not liking what you see in the mirror. There's a lot of diseases and health issues near 30 of them that come with being overweight and obese. It is a very, very big problem. So as the world is getting lazier, it means there's an imbalance of our health as well.

Speaker 1:

So the more lazier we're getting, the more implications on our health and more implications on our kids' health, and I think it's environmental factors, it's what you're doing at home. I think it's just the access to, too, what you're doing at home. I think it's just the access to too much junk food and sugary options of food and processed food at our fingertips and excessive screen time technology. They're the three big areas that I think are making a big impact, but really the biggest one, I think, is the environment. If you don't have a healthy environment at home or it is a healthy environment at home or it is a lazy environment at home your kids will be more likely unhealthy and lazy, and that's a big, big problem. So there are a few, three big factors I want you to be aware of. It's your environment, the access to the food in today's society being more processed and junk food, and also excessive screen time. And I would throw another one in there, which is going to be the lack of movement. Getting outside like we used to, running around, getting on the trampoline, movement day-to-day playing in the yard, all of these things are kind of not happening like they did before. So this is going to carry over. Your kids are going to be, especially now.

Speaker 1:

You need to realize that with technology, these apps, they want your attention, they want your kids' attention. They want you to spend as much time on these channels. But with that, if you're spending as much time on these channels, you're not moving around, you're just consuming the content. And your kids do the same. I know my kids. They like YouTube. But if you look at the shorts, the reels and even the videos on there, they're formulated in a way and they're very smart to make you not click off, to make you just sit there and consume time and time again. But that means you're not moving, you're not going outside as a kid, you're sitting on the couch, you're going to the next video and your attention span is just focused on the screen.

Speaker 1:

Same with the food options these days, you're going to the fridge, it's quicker to grab something of a snack, but then you've got to realize, too, that your kids get these kind of dopamine hits and sugar hits, and they just want more and more. So I understand as a parent. My kids do the same, where they get upset because they don't have a certain type of food, and then you feel bad as a parent or you just want to give them the food so they stop crying and stop complaining, but that's also going to make an impact to their habits and behaviors. It'll also stop them from rewarding their health and fitness habits as they get older, because it's just easier to grab something. Instant gratification is a real thing. They get instant gratification from grabbing a chocolate out of the fridge, or they're grabbing a snack that's high in carbohydrates and sugars. For that hit. All these little actions are going to build up their habits, and those habits are going to carry over as adults, and ignorance is a real thing, complacency is a real thing. That is honestly going to destroy the health and fitness of your kids, so be aware of that.

Speaker 1:

What can we actually do to fix these problems, though? What can we do to fix the environment, the junk food, the screen time, the movement? I think the good news is it's not about perfection. My kids. Yes, they'll eat chocolate every now and then. It's not about perfection. I do think, though, it's about the small changes that you make, and smart changes with your environment, but ultimately, it's going to start with you. Okay, I'm not speaking to your kid on this podcast. I'm not speaking to children on this podcast. They're watching their screen times with their favorite kid influences and shows. I'm going to speak to you. It starts with you. You are their first fitness coach. If you care about your kids, you are their first personal trainer. You are making the environment they live in. They're with you.

Speaker 1:

I believe you need to set the example. If you're not working on your own health and fitness, if you're not going to the gym, if you're not going for walks, if you're not creating a healthy environment at home, how do you expect your kids to win? How do you expect your kids to teach their own kids to win? It really starts with you setting the example and leading by example as a parent All right. So you need to get rid of the BS and leading by example as a parent All right. So you need to get rid of the BS and start working on your own health and fitness, and kids will do what they see, all right. How many times do you tell them to do something and then they don't actually do it and you keep forcing them and forcing them. But I can guarantee there's a time where you've done an action and they have seen what you've done and copied you. That's a real thing. Proximity is power and what you do as an action will influence your kids' behaviors and habits. So make sure you have the right proximity, make sure you're creating a healthy environment with food, with lifestyle, so they can copy and replicate and action it for themselves.

Speaker 1:

I think that's one of the most important things you can take action with as a parent and make healthy eating normal, not not normal. Okay, at Mind Performance Health, our personal training facility, we create the environment where it is healthy and normal to go to the gym often in the week, where it is healthy and normal to eat healthy to better your quality of life. But you can start that at home just by cooking healthy meals, by learning to reward effort. Like I said, there's no issue with giving a chocolate bar to reward effort every now and then, after the after your child has accomplished something, or as a treat every now and then. But if you are not, you know making healthy normal at home. Why would your kid average actions be healthy? So it starts with your actions at home and cut out the little things that are at home that's easy to access with the foods, the soft drinks, the chocolates where it's just easy to grab as a child and as a kid because it's right there. So make sure the environment promotes health and make sure you make healthy normal again.

Speaker 1:

Get them moving every day. I know it can be sometimes annoying. You're doing stuff at home, whether it's work or you're relaxing, and your kid wants to go outside. They may want to go for a walk, they may want to jump on the trampoline for a bit. Those actions are fantastic and as a parent, we need to make sure that we're listening to our kids when they want to do something that's a healthy action and we need to also support when they want to do something that's healthy as well. So get outside. Get your kids outside, just get moving. I personally take my daughters to the gym. You may not have access to do that at a particular gym if they're at a young age, but even the fact of them knowing you went to the gym asking questions around that that can be beneficial, right, because you're creating an environment that promotes health and fitness.

Speaker 1:

But you'll hear, the common trend of this podcast episode is that it really starts with you. So you need to make an action. So get moving, whether it's going for family walks outside for a few minutes a day, 15, 20 minutes a day. You go for a walk with your family, you talk about the day, just playing outside sports. Make sure you're doing activities that promote health and fitness, and your kids will remember that.

Speaker 1:

But really, it comes down to the environment, as I touched on before, and if you're not promoting an environment as a parent, I think it can have a negative impact on your children's health as they grow older, or it will just make it harder. Right, the trend's getting worse. Don't become a statistic. Actually make a difference to your environment to better your family's life, because I know you care about your kids and I know you want to make a difference. But you're not just adjusting habits. When you change the environment, you're pretty much rewriting your kid's journey of health and rewriting their journey of life.

Speaker 1:

I've sat down with a lot of people that have had heart complications through our consultations. I've sat down with a lot of people that have blood pressure issues, cholesterol issues. I've sat down with one recent this week where she mentioned that her mom and dad. She wants to take action on her health because her mom and dad, due to lifestyle, have had cancer, heart problems, blood sugar issues, heart complications and it seems to be stemmed from lifestyle since they were young, even not taking action on their health and fitness. So I see this on a day-to-day. You can really change your story and change your life if you change the narrative, and that starts with the environment and really starts with the decision to change the environment you have currently.

Speaker 1:

So, guys, I hope this is an important podcast. So I hope you got some value out of this. As an Australian parent Also, if you're not a parent but you value, you may have some nieces, nephews or kids that you really care about with their health and fitness. So I think it's important to understand you can also influence that, even if it's not your own kids. But you can really really make a difference. But it all starts with you leading by example. So if you found this episode valuable, please subscribe to the channel.

Speaker 1:

Just as a recap, there's a problem in Australia with obesity and overweight with adults and kids, and there's a few things you can take action on and I've seen in our studio and practice that work. Just make sure you're creating the environment, because there's so much information out there but there's not enough guidance or even not enough environments where truly you keep accountable and take action on your health and fitness goals to be consistent long-term. So if you found it valuable, please give it a like. Subscribe to our channel. If you ever need help with your health and fitness goals, you can book a free discovery call-in. We help clients face-to-face and online. You can have a chat with our team to see what we can do for you and run through options if we can help. But we also have our supplement range helping with performance recovery mph nutrition that you can check out as well. All right, so it's michael pritchett here, owner and founder of mph. I hope you found this valuable and I will see you guys in the next one.