What You Can Do - At Home

Be a role model. Teach your children that healthy foods such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains are yummy and good for our bodies.
Talk to your children about limiting unhealthy foods such as fast food and junk food. Put the focus on health, not on appearance, to avoid extreme dieting and an obsession with body weight.
Always check food labels for fat, calorie, and sodium content. Avoid buying sugary cereals. A diet with 30% or fewer total calories from fat and low in saturated fat along with regular exercise may lower your cholesterol level. Click here for information on how to read a food label.
Limit soda and sugared fruit drinks (i.e., fruit punch, lemonade).
Plan family activities such as walking, hiking, or biking.
Limit the amount of time children spend watching TV and on the computer to fewer than two hours total per day.
If you smoke, there are ways to help you stop. Keep your children safe from secondhand smoke by not smoking in the house or in the car. Teach children from an early age the dangers of tobacco use and how hard it is to quit once you’ve started smoking.
If you have high blood pressure and are prescribed medication, it is important that you take it as directed.
If you are placed on a cholesterol-lowering medication, it is important that you take it as it is prescribed.
Know the warning signs for heart attacks and strokes. Don’t be afraid to call 911.