"Families Team Up To Improve Health"

That is one of today's headlines on the front page of the Richmond Times Dispatch. This is precisely why families need to THINK out of the box and not EAT out of the box, about the technique of putting a home-cooked meal on the dinner table. Try the cooking co-op method!!! The story follows a father and son, both overweight, working out together. "They are winning their battles because they work together as families." "When a parent and child work out together, the attitude changes...This is what we need to do, what the whole family needs to do," says Dr. Madge Zacharias, a board-certified pediatric physician. "It becomes a team approach. It fosters positive benefits for the family and builds family memories." "Families that make changes together are more effective," says Dr. Edmond Wicham, assistant professor of medicine and pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University. "It's important that the parent is role-modeling rather than just telling a child what to do. The article goes on to say, "Life changes are at the heart of weight loss. Zacharias has other weight-loss tips:...Have a structure to meals." So cook for a night, and eat natural foods for a week!