Control that Weight, Stop Eating Halloween Candy
Dieting? Diabetic? Downplay Candy, Use Pennies, Donate to Food Bank
Oct 16, 2009
Halloween candy is irresistible. But it's also full of all the things that weight-control experts caution against: empty calories, sugar, and fat. And, Halloween is a time of terrible temptation for children who, for one reason or another — obesity, diabetes, or allergies to such ingredients as peanuts — have to watch what they eat. Toward the end of October and through early November, it's hard to avoid sugar's siren song. And, dressing up like M&Ms doesn't mean you won't want to eat them, too.
Tips on Weight Control and How to Avoid Eating Halloween Candy
Portion control, it's well known, is key to losing weight. The sheer volume of Halloween candy can be disarming to even the most determined dieter.
Bulk candy sold at supermarkets and large chain stores nationwide comes in large packs, which encourages everyone, both trick-or-treaters and their parents, to grab a few just for a snack. Everyone does it; Halloween season is one time of year when it's possible to have candy at breakfast without feeling guilty. After all, there's so much of it lying around.
Here are two commonsense tips for the calorie-conscious:
- Get Control. Buy Less. Buy less, give away less, and eat less. It's that simple.
- Buy Candy for Kids, Not Oneself. If it's hard to control the urge to nibble, choose candy that doesn't appeal to either the parents or kids in the household.
- Sort and Toss: After Halloween night, sort the candy, and toss or give away a lot.
- Substitute other Treats. If already-overweight children are begging for their Halloween stash, be prepared to bargain other treats instead.
Halloween is just the beginning of a long holiday season. Thanksgiving is next, and then Christmas, Kwanzaa and Chanukah. It's a treacherous time of year for people watching their weight. So tame the Halloween candy urge, and it's a good start toward staying in control for the next holidays.
Non-Food Treats — Stickers, Plastic Spiders, Rub-On Tattoos — Better for Dieters, Diabetics
Dr. Jennifer Shu, Atlanta-based pediatrician and co-author with Dr. Laura Jana of Food Fights: Winning the Nutritional Challenges of Parenthood Armed with Insight, Humor, and a Bottle of Ketchup, (published by the American Academy of Pediatrics, 2007) recommends “trading cards, baseball cards, tattoos, bookmarks, balls, glow sticks, or plastic spiders,” noting that these treats “don’t promote obesity and tooth decay.“ These items are sold at many local stores and are also available at Target and online at the Oriental Trading Company. (And, unlike candy, there are no leftovers; if one purchases too much, these non-food goodies can be saved for use next year's Halloween.)
In the long run, it's better for everyone's dental health and weight control to go easy on the candy. Switch over entirely, or mix in a lot of non-food treats with the Halloween candy.
Finally, parents should be educated about Halloween candy and H1N1 swine flu health concerns, especially in families with diabetic children and adults.
Trick or Treat for a Cause: Thanksgiving Charity Meals
Or, kill two birds with one stone: With a record number of Americans going hungry and in need of assistance from food banks, why not trick or treat for Thanksgiving charity meals? Just take a little of the excess of Halloween, and apply it to the needy three weeks later, for Thanksgiving?
And, whether or not there's a diabetic in the family, it's another way to avoid the candy.
And, it's affordable. If the average family spends $10 on a bag of candy, that's 1000 pennies, or 200 nickles. If, on average. 50 kids come to the house on Halloween, each could be given 20 pennies or 4 nickles toward charity per child. It's still fun for the kids — and perhaps a better use for that $10.
Charities will welcome donations, however small. And pennies, like calories, do add up. Even if every family involved in Halloween festivities in a neighborhood, apartment building or street were to collect and contributed just $1 apiece, the combined amount would make a difference to already-stretched food banks.
Psychologically, re-framing Halloween can help the calorie-conscious — as well as obese children, diabetic parents, and kids with food allergies to ingredients commonly found in candy — to resist Halloween candy. With a new focus on charitable giving, and feeding the needy, all that Halloween candy might not look so appealing. In it's own way, that's a help for weight watchers, too.
To make harness Halloween for health and charity, however, requires cooperation among a group of people— at school, in the neighborhood, on a team, whatever— so there's a critical mass of participants in the Halloween Thanksgiving charity drive.
Candy's a huge business during Halloween, and all that sweet stuff is seductive. But it's not healthful. Without spoiling the Halloween fun, parents and children can stick to a healthy diet by substituting stickers and other non-food treats for candy. And, a community charity drive for Thanksgiving on Halloween, in which children collect pennies for a local food bank, works in a lot of ways: it's another way to cut down on empty calories, teach children about charity, and contribute to the greater good.
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