How Parents Can Fight the Childhood Obesity Epidemic

A turkey sandwich is not always just a turkey sandwich.

While one person may eat fresh sliced turkey on whole wheat bread with mustard, lettuce, and tomato, another may eat processed turkey loaf with mayonnaise and bacon … two completely different sandwiches with two completely different effects on the waistline.

It’s a commonality often overlooked that must be understood by parents as the obesity rate among children skyrockets (it has doubled over the past 30 years). One tool they can use to make more informed choices for themselves and their children is Heart.org’s “Smart Substitutions”

The feature addresses four categories of food substitutions: recipes, snacks, sit-down restaurants, and fast food restaurants. In each of these categories, the website provides smarter options adults can pass down to their children to encourage a healthy lifestyle and fight the obesity epidemic in America.

Recipes

Recipes call for certain ingredients to enhance flavor and bind food together, so straight substitutions — skim milk for whole milk, for example — don’t always work.

That’s why Heart.org lists seven specific recipe substitutions that won’t compromise flavor or consistency, but will provide an overall nutritional benefit.

Instead of …	Use …
Whole milk (1 cup)	1 cup fat-free or low-fat milk, plus one tablespoon of liquid vegetable oil
Heavy cream (1 cup)	1 cup evaporated skim milk or 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt and 1/2 cup plain low-fat unsalted cottage cheese
Sour cream	Low-fat unsalted cottage cheese plus low-fat or fat-free yogurt; or just use fat-free sour cream
Cream cheese	4 tablespoons soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) blended with 1 cup dry, unsalted low-fat cottage cheese; add a small amount of fat-free milk if needed
Butter (1 tablespoon)	1 tablespoon soft margarine (low in saturated fat and 0 grams trans fat) or 3/4 tablespoon liquid vegetable oil
Egg (1)	2 egg whites; or choose a commercially made, cholesterol-free egg substitute (1/4 cup)
Unsweetened baking chocolate (1 ounce)	3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder or carob powder plus 1 tablespoon vegetable oil or soft margarine; since carob is sweeter than cocoa, reduce the sugar in the recipe by 25%

Snacks

High-fat and high-sugar foods have been proven addicting, making the substitution of higher-quality snacks pivotal to children maintaining a healthy weight.

Instead of …	Enjoy …
Fried tortilla chips	Baked tortilla chips (reduced sodium version)
Regular potato or corn chips	Pretzels or low-fat potato chips (reduced sodium version)
High-fat cookies and crackers	Fat-free or low-fat cookies, crackers (such as graham crackers, rice cakes, fig and other fruit bars, ginger snaps and molasses cookies)
Regular baked goods	Baked goods, such as cookies, cakes and pies, and pie crusts made with unsaturated oil or soft margarines, egg whites or egg substitutes, and fat-free milk
Devil’s food cake	Angel food cake
Ice cream bars	Frozen fruit bars
Pudding made with whole milk	Pudding made with fat-free or low-fat milk
Ice cream	Sherbet, ice milk or frozen, fat-free or low-fat yogurt
Doughnut	Bagel or toast

Restaurants

It’s important that parents exercise self control and make informed menu decisions at restaurants for themselves and their children. The following menu substitutions don’t compromise flavor, but do cut down on a lot of fat.

Instead of …	Enjoy …
Cream-based soups	Broth-based soups with lots of vegetables
Quiche and salad	Soup and salad
Buffalo chicken wings	Peel-and-eat shrimp
Bread, muffins, croissants	Melba toast, pita bread, whole-grain rolls
Fried chicken sandwich	Grilled chicken sandwich
Chicken fried steak	Veggie burger
French fries	Baked potato, brown rice, steamed vegetables
Potatoes and gravy	Potatoes without gravy, baked potato
Creamy coleslaw	Sautéed vegetables, steamed vegetables or tossed salad
Hot fudge sundae or ice cream	Nonfat yogurt, sherbet or fruit ice

Fast-Food Restaurants

If parents understand menu basics and pass that information down to their children, fast food restaurants don’t have to be a saturated fat death trap. The key is to enjoy fast food in moderation and try to cook at home whenever possible.

Instead of …	Use …
Danish	Small bagel
Jumbo cheeseburgers	Grilled chicken sandwiches, sliced meat sandwiches or even a regular hamburger on a bun with lettuce, tomato and onion
Fried chicken	Grilled chicken and a side salad
Fried chicken pieces	Grilled chicken sandwich
French fries	Baked potato with vegetables and/or low-fat or fat-free sour cream or margarine on the side