The culture, in which a family lives, strongly influences the health of all family members and establishes a pattern of health for future generations. Every family is unique, because every family has its’ own culture. What are the habits, beliefs, and physical activities you bring to your family? Can your family culture be healthier?
Our mission at Fit American Families and Cooking Lessons from Home is to inspire and motivate parents to create their own unique family culture that supports eating healthy foods, being physically active as a family and making the most of your time together. In five years, you won't remember much about the day to day events of work, school, and activities. But your family will remember "traditions" that kept you close. And they will probably plan those kinds of family nights for their families in the future. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking and each day we come closer to our children heading off to college, getting married, and having their own responsibilities. Looking back on family activities will be a great memory for everyone. Not to mention the impact it will have today, to bring your family in a little closer and enjoy each other's company now, while you are all under the same roof.
The story of a person’s life begins and ends with family.
What does it take to “Live a healthy lifestyle?”
Living a healthy lifestyle means you are willing to take charge of your health and make changes that can affect your overall health now and in the future. It means that if you uphold such a lifestyle, you can reduce your chances of developing diseases like high blood pressure, type two diabetes, stroke, early dementia, heart diseases, high cholesterol levels, other diseases and have a positive outlook in life. This is a gift that keeps on giving because your children will pass their healthy lifestyle to their own children.
My family could use some help eating healthier and exercising more, where do I begin?
The Healthy Lifestyle Package
We offer a Healthy Lifestyle package, which includes our Weekly Healthful Meal Plan Service and our Weekly Family Fitness Challenge, it’s a one two punch to activate a healthy lifestyle in your family.
We want to make this program affordable to everyone so we offer this package for only $4.16 per month, that’s it; it’s less than 14¢ per day!
1. Cooking Lessons from Home Meal Plan: Make family mealtime an opportunity for better health.
Preparing meals at home is a great way to exert control over the nutritional quality of your family’s diet. Family mealtimes are also a chance for parents to serve as role models, encourage healthy eating habits, and establish family traditions. Other things happen during mealtimes as well, including: socialization of children; establishment of family unity, safety, and security for children; and increased literacy and language development. Let us plan the healthiest and tastiest meals for your family. Read More about Cooking Lessons from Home Meal Plan.
Fuel Your Body then Burn the Fuel.
2. Fit American Families, Family Fitness Challenge. Children learn by modeling the behavior of their parents. By maintaining a physically active lifestyle with your family you can improve the health of your child while preventing him or her from developing a lifestyle of sedentary behavior.
We create a unique approach to fitness that is fun for the whole family. Each week you will receive 5 fitness games that will challenge every member in your family. It’s so much fun, physically challenging and you are spending quality time as a family. Remember, in five years, you won't remember much about the day to day events of work, school, and activities. But your family will remember "traditions" that kept you close. And they will probably plan those kinds of family nights for their families in the future. Unfortunately, the clock is ticking and each day we come closer to our children heading off to college, getting married, and having their own responsibilities. Looking back on family time will be a great memory for everyone. Not to mention the impact it will have today, to bring your family in a little closer and enjoy each other's company now, while you are all under the same roof.
To find out more about our
Family Fitness Challenge click here.
Why is this site called Fit American Families?
Overweight and obesity in the United States has been increasingly cited as a major health issue in recent decades. While many industrialized countries have experienced similar increases, obesity rates in the United States are among the highest in the world. The U.S. is ranked second behind Mexico, with 68 and 70 percent, in the proportion of adults who are overweight. The United States does, however, hold the dubious honor of fattest population of children, tied with Scotland, according to The New York Times’ Catherine Rampell. The rapidly increasing U.S. obesity rates have long been cause for concern, especially as health care costs skyrocket.
What’s Causing the Increase?
The Associated Press’s Greg Keller reports, “Franco Sassi, the OECD senior health economist who authored the report, blamed the usual suspects for the increase. ‘Food is much cheaper than in the past, in particular food that is not particularly healthy, and people are changing their lifestyles, they have less time to prepare meals and are eating out more in restaurants,’ said Sassi, a former London School of Economics lecturer who worked on the report for three years. That plus the fact that people are much less physically active than in the past means that the ranks of the overweight have swelled to nearly 70 percent in the U.S. this year from well under 50 percent in 1980, according to the OECD.”
- Poor Response From Governments USA Today’s Nanci Hellmich writes,”Neville Rigby, director of the European Obesity Forum, says the OECD report ‘is important because it provides clear evidence that the way most countries have been approaching obesity has been doomed to failure. … Obesity must be tackled by a multi-pronged approach that involves a combination of strong policy measures at the same time as individual management issues are addressed by physicians and their teams. … [The report] makes the case for a much more robust set of government and societal actions,’ Rigby says. If society waits for business and individuals to do what is really needed, ‘the obesity epidemic will simply get much, much worse.’”
Europeans are relatively skinny compared to Americans. But they don’t buy any more gym-memberships than Americans, as far as I know. A European lifestyle is naturally more active than an American one. Walking and biking are part of getting around. Physical activity is integrated into daily life as a necessity, not only as recreation.
But there is hope, and the best defense against the decline of Americans health starts at the home front. Each and every family must create a culture within their own family that cultivates proper nutrition and physical activity. That’s why this site is called Fit American Families and when has America ever backed away from any challenge or fight?
But this time our fight doesn’t start in The White House…it starts in YOUR HOUSE.
