Experts provide tips on how to raise happy healthy kids in today’s world
Ask any parent. Their most important goal is to raise children who are healthy—physically, cognitively, socially and emotionally.
Yet with childhood obesity and Type I diabetes rates soaring, and screen time and sedentary behaviour on the increase, even the most well-meaning parents, grandparents and caregivers may be missing the mark.
This year, UBC Okanagan’s annual Mini-Med public health education series will focus on children’s health. Top practitioners and experts will share their knowledge about today’s health hazards when it comes to raising children.
Mini-Med, presented by alumni UBC, is a four-part educational lecture series open to the public. Starting Wednesday, October 18, sessions take place weekly at UBC’s Clinical Academic Campus, at Kelowna General Hospital. Series registration: Adults are $30, students and seniors are $20.
Mini-Med curriculum: Children’s health
October 18—Dr. Shazan Amed: Live 5-2-1-0
Dr. Shazan Amed, a pediatric endocrinologist at BC Children’s Hospital, stresses that obesity and Type 2 diabetes are preventable. She is the founder and project lead of Live 5-2-1-0, an initiative of BC Children’s Hospital aimed at preventing childhood obesity and its related complications like Type 2 diabetes.
October 25—Assoc. Prof. Ali McManus: Please Wait to be Seated
UBC Okanagan Associate Professor Ali McManus will discuss sedentary behaviour and the importance of keeping children active. She is the president of the North American Society for Pediatric Exercise Medicine and directs the Pediatric Inactivity Physiology Lab which focuses on the impact exercise, physical activity and sedentary behaviour have on the wellbeing of children.
November 1—Dr. Tom Warshawski: There’s More to This Than Meets the BMI
Almost every day, a new conflicting message about the health consequences of obese kids hits the media. Dr. Warshawski, consultant pediatrician in Kelowna and current chair of the Childhood Obesity Foundation, will provide an evidence-based overview of how to optimize health through healthy eating and active living instead of focusing on the BMI.
November 8—Deborah MacNamara: Raising Children in a Digital World
Teacher and counsellor, Deborah MacNamara will provide strategies on raising healthy children in our digital world. She will give tips to help put parents in the driver’s seat by making sense of kids from the inside out and provide strategies for preparing our children to live healthy lives in this digital and ever-changing world.
To learn more about Mini-Med and this year’s speakers, or to register visit: minimed.ok.ubc.ca
