Top Health Concerns Facing Peterborough/Lindsay Students
What Are The Top Health Concerns Among Peterborough Students?
With back to school in full gear, many parents are concerned about how well their kids are going to do in school this year. For a lot of today's youth, they face a mountain of problems that range from phone over-use to serious concerns like anxiety and depression. Luckily, there are many things you can do that can stop these problems from developing further.
How to Help a Child with Depression and Anxiety
According to WHO: "Anxiety and depression are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents." That can be a scary statistic to hear, however, this can be helped by getting your children the proper care they need.
See A Doctor and Therapist
If your child is experiencing anxiety and depression, one of the first steps should be visiting your Doctor to ensure there are no underlying health concerns. Anxiety and depression can be signs of much larger health problems so it's best to make sure nothing else is going on. Another step is to find a child therapist who can speak with your child and get to the root of their problems.
Unfortunately, not everyone has access to a therapist or family doctor, but there are still ways you can foster a loving and healthy environment for your children.
Sleep Schedule
Maintaining a healthy sleep schedule is key for living a healthier life. We know kids have a hard time getting to bed, so it may help to provide them with options that will promote drowsiness and improve sleep quality. Tart Cherry juice contains regular melatonin, which is a hormone that regulates sleep. Bananas, almonds and walnuts are also helpful since they contain magnesium, which relaxes the muscles.
Exercise
One of the best ways to treat anxiety and depression is by getting regular exercise. It doesn't have to be a hard workout, even something as simple as taking a walk outside and feeling the fresh air can improve mental health. While some children may have a tough time getting motivated for exercise, doing something simple like walking or throwing around a ball is an easy way to get them moving.
How to Treat Iron Deficiency Anemia in Children
Iron deficiency anemia was among the leading causes of healthy years of life lost due to disability by adolescents aged 10–19 in 2021. Another scary statistic to look at, but iron deficiency is very treatable, especially by making lifestyle and diet changes.
Iron-Rich Diet
One of the best ways to treat an iron-deficiency is to simply eat more foods with iron in them. At Jo Anne's Place, we have several items that can help with that.
Cereal, tuna, spinach, chard and beans are all delicious iron-rich foods that are simple to add to any diet. Incorporating more of these foods into your children's meals will help them build up a healthier iron balance.
Iron Supplements
Sometimes eating more iron-rich food does not work. That is when you should be using supplementation. We have several iron supplements for you to choose from.
Top Tips For Dealing With Fatigue
The National Library of Medicine states that: "Fatigue can lead to a decline in school performance, negative health outcomes, and refusal to attend school." We all get tired whenever we have to work hard but if your child feels like it's too much, you should seek ways to improve their fatigue.
B-Vitamins
B-Vitamins have a direct impact on your energy levels, brain function and cell metabolism. Including more B-vitamin-rich foods in their diet can help your children stay focused and ready to learn in class. Some foods that can help are: salmon, plant-based milk, spinach, eggs, sunflower seeds and beans.
Probiotics
While probiotics mainly aid in gut health, they can also be helpful in
dealing with mental fatigue as well. Some probiotic foods you can add to school lunches like: greek yogurt, kimchi, kefir and sauerkraut.
Hydration
Mild dehydration can impair energy levels, mood and lead to major reductions in brain function. Basically, if you're not hydrated, you're not going to be learning very well. Obviously, this can be treated by simply drinking more water. However, there are more options out there that do more than simply hydrate you. WakeWater can satisfy your cravings for a carbonated beverage with their 0 calorie flavoured sparkling water. Flow Water is also a great brand as their water contains essential minerals and electrolytes.
Supporting Healthy Habits to Address Childhood Obesity
While we at Jo Anne's Place support body positivity, there are health concerns related to childhood obesity. In fact, according to National Geographic: "Roughly 464 million adolescents globally will be overweight or obese in 2030 (143 million more than in 2015), a trend that will increase the risk of obesity-related conditions, such as Type-2 diabetes and heart disease."
Further in the article, it states: "Rising adolescent obesity is linked to increased availability of unhealthy food... Sugary beverages, like sodas or energy drinks, are a key driver of the problem."
We know that some kids are picky eaters and might have trouble eating something different, but we actually have a lot of products that taste similar to unhealthy foods but are made with ingredients that are much healthier.
Soda Alternatives
Poppi and Cove soda are great alternatives to high sugar pops like Coke or Pepsi. Poppi only has 5g of sugar per can, is made with cane sugar (which has several benefits over regular sugar) and also contains prebiotics which makes it good for gut health as well. Cove Soda is sugar-free, caffeine-free, gluten-free and still tastes great. It's also Canadian-made which is an added bonus.
Healthy Snacking
Kids love snacks. They're probably going to eat them no matter what so it's best to make sure the snacks you're buying them are as healthy as can possibly be.
Love Ducks from Love Child Organics are made with fruit and vegetable purees, which adds a lot of healthy flavour. So tasty, your kids won't miss the sugar or salt!
Nature's Path Hemp Hearts are also sweet and tasty, made with organic oats, a hint of sweetness and a touch of sea salt.
Nora Seaweed snacks are a customer favourite, they are crispy and crunchy like a potato chip, yet low-carb and gluten-free.
Conclusion
Being a parent and hearing about so many mental and physical health concerns facing students can be scary. However, with a combination of a healthy diet, a good sleep schedule, a non-stressful environment and loving care, many of these problems can be helped. It may be hard to motivate your child to get into these practices but with so many products being specifically made with children's health in mind, it's a lot easier than it once was. Your child is your number one priority, which means their health is one of your top concerns. We're here to help as much as we can.
