Halloween is right around the corner and city kids are gearing up for an action-packed October 31, filled with costumes and candy. But with more than half of adult New Yorkers (53%) overweight or obese, and projections that New York City children are more likely to be obese or overweight compared with children nationwide, the Vanderbilt YMCA is encouraging families to take small steps to make Halloween more about fun family fitness , rather than frighteningly fattening food. “Building a healthy lifestyle for your family means making smart choices 365 days a year,” said Judy Ouziel, Executive Director of the Vanderbilt YMCA.
“Halloween is a great opportunity to focus your family’s attention on physical activity and eating habits, and to demonstrate that ‘everything in moderation’ doesn’t mean it’s ok to eat candy until you’re sick to your stomach.” The Vanderbilt YMCA has provided the following tips to make sure that your family has a healthy and safe Halloween:
1. Be a Healthy House. Have a family discussion about what kind of treats that you would like to distribute. Consider giving individually packaged popcorn, pretzels, granola bars, raisins or juice boxes instead of those sugary treats. Consider health and wellness when coming up with this year’s costume. Dress up like your favorite family food group or fruit or vegetable!
2. Eat Before Your Treat. Don’t let your kids go trick-or-treating when they are hungry. Provide trick-or-treaters with a healthy snack right before they go out. Then have a meal prepared in advance so they will eat some wholesome food afterwards, and do not dive right into their goody bags.
3. Ration Your Treats. Talk to your children about consuming a reasonable amount of sweet treats on Halloween. Work together as a family to sort all of the Halloween goodies and come up with a plan for how you can make the most of your treasure by eating a little each day. And of course, check your children’s candy and remove any questionable items before allowing them to dive in.
4. Walk and Talk. Organize a group to go trick-or-treating together instead of walking alone. Map out a route before you leave the house and set a goal of walking 2,000 steps. Don’t forget to bring flashlights and to stick reflective tape to your costumes or bags to avoid accidents. Walking around the neighborhood is great exercise and can become a regular family activity!
5. Get Everyone into the Act. Parents who dress up in costumes, too, send their kids a strong signal of family unity and that there’s a kid inside of each of us. Consider costumes that complement your child’s, so the whole family can show its togetherness.
6. Take Advantage of Local Community Events. Connect with your neighbors and make some new friends by participating in organized celebrations at your local community center, city park or YMCA with your costume on! The Vanderbilt YMCA will be hosting a Halloween Carnival on Friday, October 29th from 6-8pm at its branch at 224 East 47th Street (between 2nd and 3rd Avenues). Activities for children aged 5 and Come join the Y for music, healthy treats, games and more!
Be sure to check out the FREE Halloween Carnival at the Vanderbilt YMCA’on Friday October 29th.
Photo provided by the Vanderbilt YMCA.
