It's become an epidemic: More than six million American kids are overweight--that's one in five children. Now the authors of the bestselling diet phenomenon Sugar Busters! have given us a plan specifically designed to keep our children fit and healthy. Ice cream, candy bars, sugar-frosted cereals, potato chips, soft drinks. From coast to coast America is flooded with fast food and sweets--and our children are the sugar tide's first victims. Kids learn harmful eating habits from a society that loves snacking and sitting in front of the TV, fat-laden foods and little exercise. The sobering fact is: overweight children are susceptible to the same health problems as overweight adults--including heart disease and diabetes--and the longer a weight problem goes unchecked, the more serious the consequences for a child as he or she matures into adulthood. Yet millions of adults have discovered that by lowering their carbohydrate and sugar intake, they can shed the pounds they failed to lose on other diet plans. Now it's time to help our children lose weight and feel better the Sugar Busters! way. Remember: sugar spikes the production of insulin, which, in large amounts, keeps a child's weight from dropping off, no matter how strictly he or she diets and exercises. Based on sound nutritional principles, Sugar Busters! for Kids is a revolutionary program that shows us how to eliminate sugar from a child's daily menu through easy-to-follow recipes and healthy meal plans . . . all without making kids feel deprived. With Sugar Busters! for Kids you will Determine whether your child is overweight with the Body Mass Index test Learn how to help your child diet with useful parental involvement tips Discover which foods to serve at what time of day for optimal health Rate the glycemic levels of various foods with a handy glycemic index Understand the myths of calories, fats, cholesterol, and weight gain Motivate your children with the charming Rhymes for Kids section With colorful and fun illustrations by Walt Handelsman, Sugar Busters! for Kids is a great book for adults and kids to learn from and enjoy together. The simple to start 14-day Meal Plan will set children on the right track to a lifetime of healthy eating. And as a special incentive, kids who send in a two-week diet journal get a great Sugar Busters! Club Certificate. If your child is overweight or is beginning to display eating habits that concern you, Sugar Busters! for Kids will be an essential tool for you and your family. This book is every parent's little helper in the battle to ensure that your children are healthy and fit--for life.

H. Leighton Steward has a master of science degree from Southern Methodist University and is CEO of a Fortune 500 energy company. He also authored a booklet on causes of land loss of the lower Mississippi River wetland system. Sixty thousand of these booklets are in circulation worldwide and are referred to by many educational and governmental institutions. He is on the board of Tulane University as well as on several corporate boards. His own success and the success of others on this way of eating motivated him to write Sugar Busters! ® and Sugar Busters! ® for Kids.<br><br><br>Morrison C. Bethea, M.D., is a graduate of Davidson College and Tulane University School of Medicine. He completed his postgraduate training in thoracic and cardiac surgery at Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center in New York. Currentl

Part I

What Is Sugar Busters?

1

Introduction

What if there were a way of eating that included successful weight loss and maintenance of that weight loss? What if that way of eating could be followed without compromising nutritional needs or causing frequent episodes of hunger? What if family members could adopt that way of eating whether they were overweight, of average weight, or underweight? What if that way of eating could decrease risk factors of heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes? What if that way of eating were a plan for living as well as a way of eating? What if that plan had been experienced by millions of individuals and found to be successful? And what if whole families achieved success with that lifestyle? The Sugar Busters lifestyle offers all of this and more, as a solution to families who are concerned about the alarming obesity epidemic and resultant health risks.

With over 2 million copies in print and translations into nineteen languages, we think that Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat is helping to change the way the world eats. We believe the Sugar Busters lifestyle is successful because it is easy to follow and because it is logical, practical, and reasonable. Most diets are diets of exclusion. Sugar Busters offers a lifestyle of healthy choices, inclusion of all food groups, and selection of natural foods with less refined sugar. This way of eating consists of foods that are similar to the unprocessed foods of our ancestors. Few of our ancestors were overweight; only in recent generations have we experienced such widespread obesity.

We are introducing Sugar Busters! for Kids because children who learn correct eating habits early in life will not have to struggle with obesity problems later in life. They will not have to face problems with poor self-esteem and the serious risk factors for disease that are complications of obesity. The Sugar Busters! for Kids lifestyle offers an easy, straightforward way for parents to help their children learn to make correct food choices and attain lifelong healthy eating habits.

Sugar Busters! for Kids is a wake-up call to rally around the important issue of childhood nutrition and obesity. As conscientious parents, we monitor our children’s behavior, study habits, and social interactions. But something has gone very wrong with our attention to our children’s nutrition. As a nation, we are not monitoring our children’s nourishment and we are not providing the right food choices. This is verified in research, statistics on childhood obesity, and in the increase of diseases related to obesity.

Now over one-half of the adult population of the United States is overweight. In the past decade the incidence of childhood obesity has doubled. Since many adults became overweight as children and have remained that way all of their lives, prevention and early treatment are the best solutions to the obesity epidemic.

What is causing this explosion of weight gain in our children? You have heard the many reasons for the cause of this huge epidemic: less exercise, more inactivity, snacking in front of the TV, the enticement of junk food advertisements, and hurried, working parents’ increas- ing reliance on fast food. All of these issues certainly factor into the cause. However, in our opinion, poor diet is the main reason for the increasing girth of our kids. The tremendous success of the Sugar Busters way of eating, our concerns about increasing obesity as an epidemic for people of all ages, as well as the many requests we have received from followers, have prompted us to develop a Sugar Busters lifestyle for kids.

Sugar Busters! for Kids is written specifically for children. The nutritional and lifestyle concepts presented in our first book, Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat, are the basis for this new book. However, certain modifications have been made to address the special requirements of our growing kids. Children are not small adults. They have their own nutritional demands that must be met to accommodate their ever-changing bodies. Sugar Busters! for Kids has been created to accomplish this as well as to incorporate the healthy, nutritional benefits of the Sugar Busters concept into a lifelong plan for healthy eating. Children age two and under should get about half their daily calories from fat for growth and brain development. Therefore, the macronutrient content that we recommend in the daily meal plan is not designed for children age two and under.

This Is Not a Diet Book

Many parents are naturally concerned about putting their children on diets. Diets are hard to follow, hard to stay with, and difficult for parents to monitor. Sugar Busters! for Kids is not a diet book. It is not a fad or a quick solution. The word diet can mean an individual’s usual food and drink, or it can refer to a regulated selection of foods. Most people think negative thoughts when they hear the word diet. We think that families will make Sugar Busters their usual way of eating because it is a positive approach to a healthy lifestyle. We are as interested in a good lifestyle for all children as we are in developing a plan for weight reduction in overweight children.

Heart disease, hypertension, and diabetes are common, chronic, and life-threatening diseases that are associated with obesity. There is increasing evidence that these diseases originate early in life and can be prevented by a proper nutritional lifestyle. Sugar Busters! for Kids is not a diet book. Rather, it is a plan for a healthy and nutritious lifestyle with emphasis on disease prevention and favorable weight control.

The Sugar Busters concept is based on control of sugar and insulin. This concept is the foundation of the Sugar Busters lifestyle. We know that high blood sugar (glucose) levels cause high insulin levels that, in turn, may lead to obesity and the diseases associated with obesity. Sugar Busters is a way of eating that minimizes the elevation of blood sugars and insulin levels. The glycemic index is a measurement of how carbohydrates raise blood sugar and insulin levels. Sugar Busters utilizes the glycemic index as a tool that enables you to recognize how different foods affect your metabolism. Understanding how to use the glycemic index will enable you to make the correct carbohydrate choices.

The Sugar Busters for Kids Lifestyle Includes

1. Reduction of the intake of refined sugar

2. Choice of the correct carbohydrates: consumption of low- or moderate-glycemic carbohydrates instead of high-glycemic carbohydrates

3. Consumption of unprocessed and less processed foods instead of highly processed foods

4. Consumption of whole grains and high-fiber foods

5. Consumption of 30% total fat with fewer than 10% of total calories from saturated fat

6. Regular exercise

7. Limited TV watching, video and computer games

8. Minimal consumption of fast foods

9. Parents as role models

Sugar Busters for Kids will give parents a plan of action for the prevention of childhood obesity while identifying targets for unhealthy eating habits. It will give you a map to chart your course and a rationale for the Sugar Busters lifestyle. You will learn how and why to cut down on refined sugar and also what is lacking in the diets of most children. Since the publication of Sugar Busters! Cut Sugar to Trim Fat in 1995, there has been additional research and attention given to the glycemic index, fiber, and whole grains and their impact on weight, health, and longevity. We will review this new and important data and offer suggestions on how you can incorporate this information into your own family’s way of eating. A summary of the results of a research survey that we posted on our Web site will inform you of other families’ concerns about nutrition and their success with the Sugar Busters lifestyle. We also will identify the foods that overweight children are consuming. A behavior-modification chart, helpful hints, and references will help reinforce your efforts to win an important battle that can determine your child’s future health and self-image. You will be given guidelines to determine if your child is overweight. Then you will be provided with meal plans and recipes—some quick and easy that children can prepare themselves, and others that are more detailed. Our “How to Shop and Cook Sugar Busters Style” section will be informative for both newcomers and avid followers. The chapter will be a helpful tool in implementing the Sugar Busters lifestyle. We have met or heard from many of our Sugar Busters followers and will answer the most frequently asked questions. More important, your children can learn about Sugar Busters in a section designed to instruct them in this healthy way of eating. So, whether you are a parent, a child, a new or soon to be Sugar Buster, or a Sugar Busters follower, this book has many new ideas for you.

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Excerpted from Sugar Busters!: For Kids by H. Leighton Steward, Morrison C. Bethea, Sam S. Andrews, Luis A. Balart
All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.