Tuesday on Today 7/31

Reality Check: Is Your Child Overweight? Director of Kids Weight-Down Program and child psychologist, Trish Gallagher and Dr. Louis Arnone say parents underestimate their kids and should pay more attention to their kids' growing weight. Maybe because parents see their kids every day they don't notice when the kids start packing on the pounds. Kids don't just wake up one morning fat. They gave some advice to parents to help their kids get to and stay at a healthy weight. Make it global. Talk about the childhood obesity epidemic without pointing fingers and don't lecture. And from today's page of the book of the obvious: practice what you preach. Chances are if your kid is overweight, you are too. So set a good example. And there's more where that came from IE: get family involved, cut down on high calorie beverages, limit TV and computer time and kick them out the door to get some physical activity. Parents are also urged to get schools to get rid of soda and snack machines. They're your kids. Make sure your schools--which you're paying taxes for--listen up and get healthier foods. It's much easier to prevent obesity than it is to treat it.

Today's Travel editor, Peter Greenberg showed how you can learn a new skill during your next vacation. How-to vacations are becoming popular and there were several featured today like a boat building vacation in Maine. You can build your own boat and take it home--that's the down side. It costs about $3,000. New Orleans Glasswork Studio has glass blowing, paper marbling, and hand casting. I'm not sure what that costs but there's more information on the website. In Hoboken, NJ you can make your own handbags at Avery Design. And if you have a spare $32,000 and seven friends, you can go to Amici Vineyards in California and make your own wine--288 bottles of it--with your own label on all the bottles.

Next there was a story called All In The Family about a 23 year-old raising his three nephews on his own. They're his sister's kids who were taken away from their drug-addicted mother. She also happens to be his twin sister. Joseph Democko stepped up to the plate and had to convince social workers that he would be a good parent for them after months of parenting classes and getting a steady job. Plus one of the kids is disabled with spina bifada, so he has more than his hands full. He's what Ann Curry referred to as the hero of the day. Unfortunately, she referred to him as Joseph "Alexander" after Today contributor, Peter Alexander signed off on the story from California. I had to google him because he deserves his correct name in print. He is a good man indeed.

Take It Off Today featured a no cook diet by Today food editor, Joy Bauer, with meals you can either use in a microwave, blender or toaster. It's a 1600 calorie a day diet and you can mix and match any meals. You can get more information on the website. She showed a few options such as Go Lean waffles with a low sugar syrup for breakfast or a smoothie with milk and fruit. For lunch you can have something like chunk light tuna (white has too much mercury) with a reduced calorie mayonnaise on whole grain bread or crackers like Triscuits and a salad with Paul Newman's light vinaigrette. A Boca burger with reduced fat cheese makes a good dinner as does supermarket sushi (or takeout) or lean cuisine brick oven style pizza. There are seven options for each and every category listed on the website. It's also featured in this month's Self magazine.

17 year-old singer, Sean Kingston ended the show with a cover of Bob Marley's "No Woman, No Cry." His parents should pay attention to the information on the first segment of this hour about childhood obesity.