Are YOU doing everything you can to create a healthier population?

I had very good conversation with one of my clients yesterday. We were talking about how this generation of video game playing/internet viewing children are headed towards a very unhealthy road.

Then we talked about how our parents viewed exercise and healthy eating. I cannot remember as a child ever watching my parents participate in sports. My client agreed and she couldn't remember watching her parents participate in sports either. I grew up in a family where most of my siblings had some kind of weight issue. It would have been so easy to continue this cycle. When I started to lose weight at age 15 I decided then that I would not succumb to having a weight issue ever again. Since I started running 2 years ago I am now in better shape than I ever have been at any point in my life. This is something that I take great pride in.

Another aspect that was almost never talked about was healthy eating. "Brown" bread was thought to be healthier than white when in reality they both are about the same nutritionally speaking. Special occassions always had food as the centre piece. I remember eating frozen tv dinners and eating ravioli on a weekly basis (it's probably why I haven't had either one of these items since my childhood). I also remember separating egg whites from whole eggs to cut back on the fat and getting in trouble because I was wasting part of the egg.

I like the fact that not only do I talk about the importance of healthy eating and exercise, I TRY to do my best to give my children an example of this. My hope is that they will develop healthy exercise and eating habits that they will use for the rest of their lives.

We have more variety of healthy and unhealthy foods now than when I was their age (8 & 5) and it's important for them to get educated on making the proper choices most of the time. We have the opportunity to teach not only our children but family and friends how to live a healthy lifestyle. It has to start with each of us.
So, are YOU doing everything YOU can to show people around you how to live a healthy life?