Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child? We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!

The premise 'sound body, sound mind' is behind new Texas legislation that will require physical activity and assessment tests for all Texas middle school students.

"Specifically, the measure mandates 30 minutes of daily physical activity in at least four semesters during middle school, grades six through eight. It also requires that schools begin giving aerobic, abdominal, flexibility and upper body tests to students in grades three through twelve."

If the bill is signed by the governor, the assessments will start this fall. High school students are already required to have 1.5 credits of physical education. The new legislation for middle school students won't take effect until the 2008-09 school year. Read more online.

Labels: schools, exercise, physical_activity

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At a Federal Trade Commission Forum on Wednesday, eleven of the nation's biggest food and beverage companies signed contracts agreeing to limit the kinds of products they'll market to children. The pledges came from companies like Coca-Cola, McDonald's USA, Kraft Foods Inc. and General Mills who are promising to restrict advertising to kids 12 and younger.

"If the task force determines that these pledges do not go far enough, legislation may follow, said Gary Knell, the task force's volunteer chairman and the chief executive of Sesame Workshop, an educational organization."

The task force on media and childhood obesity led by Senators Sam Brownback (R-Kan.) and Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) is working on a report on media and childhood obesity.

Read more at LATimes.com.

Labels: advertising, junk_food, marketing

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The MEND program is designed to teach kids and their parents how to battle the eating and exercise habits that cause childhood obesity. MEND stands for Mind, Exercise, Nutrition...Do it!

"During the first hour [of the program] they look at healthy eating and during the second hour the children take part in physical activities while their parents continue with classroom based tasks."

This past weekend, eight children graduated from the program in Tower Hamlets.

Read more at 24dash.com.

Labels: healthy_eating, education, exercise

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A recent paper by scientists at Yale and the University of Hawaii found that "profound and potentially lasting harm" is done to children who are stigmatized by peers and parents because of their weight.

"The study analyzes published research gathered from psychological, medical, social science, and educational databases. Over 100 studies were included that offered evidence on the associations between obesity, stigma and a variety of negative consequences..."

Negative consequences included low self esteem, social exclusion and eating disorders.

Read more at WebWire.com.

Labels: self_esteem, influences, eating_disorders

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Dole Food Company, Inc has become the first (and so far the only) produce company to sign the Memorandum of Understanding created by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Memorandum sets forth industry guidelines on foods that are sold in schools.

"The Dole Nutrition Institute will collaborate with the Alliance on school demonstration projects that promote student acceptability of fruits and vegetables, provide food service staff with training on preparing and serving healthier food items, and communicate recommended nutritional practices within the educational setting and to parents."

Dole will also partner with the Alliance in identifying schools in which fruits and vegetables need to be made more readily available. Read more at Home.Businesswre.com.

Labels: nutrition, healthy_eating, schools

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A seminar this past Tuesday focused on teaching Head Start administrators about a new project being used to combat childhood obesity. The program is called "I am Learning, I am Moving" and uses songs to get children up and moving.

"[Dr. Linda] Carson said a big reason childhood obesity has reached a crisis mode in our country is physical inactivity. 'Our children need to be encouraged to be physically active', Carson said."

The program also stresses healthy choices for meals and snacks. Read more at CBS46.com.

Schools can help kids get an education in fitness, nutrition, and living a health lifestyle. Read Getting an Education in Fitness to see what schools can do to help combat childhood obesity.

Labels: schools, education, fitness

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Overtime Fitness Inc., in Mountain View, California, is one of the only gyms in the country that caters to teenagers. Founded by Patrick Ferrell, Overtime offers traditional fitness equipment as well as activities that appeal specifically to teens.

"Overtime, which opened in September and still hasn't turned a profit, is entering the market as established chains are trying to get kids to become lifetime members. San Ramon-based 24 Hour Fitness just started 'Hoopology,' a summer basketball pilot program in the San Francisco Bay Area for boys and girls ages 8-17."

Currently, the company is considering asking local businesses to fund membership for lower-income teens. Read more at KSDK.com.

Labels: exercise, fitness, gyms

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The Nation Association of Chronic Disease Directors has established an Obesity Workgroup intended to focus strictly on obesity prevention in America.

"Today's environment does not always promote healthy food and physical activity choices... Our nation's children are facing a burden of chronic diseases, which will impact the quality of their lives, and ultimately, may cripple the U.S. health care system."

The Workgroup will create an open forum where health departments from various states can dialogue and brainstorm prevention and health promotion ideas. Read more online.

Still looking for a summer camp for your overweight child? Check out Wellspring Camps to find a camp near you.

Labels: prevention, exercise, healthy_living

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All of the talk about childhood obesity is causing some parents to panic. Their panic is leading to extreme food restrictions and criticisms of their children that may be making the problem worse.

"Food restrictions, pressuring and criticism don't work at any age, but especially not during adolescence, said [David] Ludwig, who believes such coercive strategies can have negative consequences. 'These methods teach children what not to do instead of what to do,' he said. 'They can leave a child feeling upset, erode self-esteem and take a toll on the parent-child relationship.'"

Studies have shown that restricting a child's food actually has the reverse effect. A child who's denied certain types of food, is more likely to become preoccupied with food and more like to overeat when given the chance. Read more at TheOlympian.com.

More important that rapid weight loss, are learning how to make healthy lifestyle choices. Learn how to make small, but important changes, in the Guide to Behavior Change.

Labels: diet, parenting, criticism

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Believe it or not, children gain more weight during the summer than they do during the school year. Though kids are outside playing more, they're also snacking more and eating fewer structured meals. Keeping healthy snacks in the house will help your kids not only eat well but avoid the customary summer weight gain.

"With simple substitutions, brown rice instead of white, wheat pasta with cheese instead of that orange and blue mac and cheese box, children will stay fit and healthy this summer."

Do your best to avoid enriched flour and use things made with whole wheat instead. Also consider mixing some dark green veggies into a standard iceberg lettuce salad. Read more at 9WSYR.com.

Summertime is great for getting outside to play and exercise. Get an Education in Fitness from the WeightLossHelpDirectory.com.

Labels: weight_gain, snacks, unhealthy_food_choices

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The California legislature has passed two bills that take effect this Sunday and are intended to impose tougher nutrition standards in public schools. One of the bills implements stricter nutrition standards for food; the other does the same for beverages.

"The school nutrition bills grew out of former Sen. Martha Escutia's struggles with gestational diabetes when she had her second child eight years ago. Her research on diabetes and its links to obesity led to a 6-and-a-half-year campaign against school junk food."

The standards for food limit the amount of salt, saturated fat, sugar and calories a snack food can contain; while the beverage bill requires than at least half the drinks sold at schools are healthy and something other than soda.

Read more at MohaveDailyNews.com.

Labels: nutrition, healthy_eating, schools

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A recent report from the American Medical Association calls for doctors to stop using "fuzzy" terms like "at risk for overweight" to describe children who are overweight or obese.

"The committee didn't identify a specific BMI score to classify overweight kids, yet recommended any child in the 84th to 95th percentile should be considered overweight and urged by pediatricians to drop some body fat. While no one is suggesting that doctors become less sensitive to kids or parents, there is a strong sentiment that fuzzy terms let everyone off the hook."

Dr. William Dietz, director of nutrition and physical activity at the Centers for Disease Control, says the agency will "fully discuss" the recommendations before deciding whether to adopt the new terms. Read more online.

Confused about the terms overweight, obese, BMI and childhood obesity? Read this factsheet on Obesity and Overweight in Children and Teens for clarification and programs to help your teen lose weight.

Labels: parenting, pediatricians, sensitivity

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Representative Ed Markey, D-Mass, said if food marketers don't restrict ads marketing unhealthy foods to kids he's going to ask the FCC to do it for them. Stating that the Federal Communications Commission has a responsibility to protect children, Rep. Markey has threatened to push the agency into developing a rule that will restrict the kinds of products that can be marketed to children.

"Kids food ads have been attracting more attention in Washington, with TV ads for 'junk foods' cited by critics as one cause of rising childhood obesity, a charge food and advertising groups deny."

Rep. Markey wrote several letters urging food and beverage companies to follow the lead of Kellogg Co. who has promise to re-engineer their less healthy food or stop marketing it to kids.

Read more at TVWeek.com.

Labels: nutrition, legislation, marketing

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Amid pressure to provide healthier products, and the country's growing problem with childhood obesity, Kellogg announced that week that it will be modifying products like Pop Tarts and Fruit Loops to make them healthier. If the products can't be re-made while maintaining their flavor, the company has vowed to stop marketing them to children under 12-years-old.

"The company already has a policy under which it does not advertise to children under the age of 6. As part of its new commitments, Kellogg won't market to children any food that has more than 200 calories, 2 grams of saturated fat, 230 milligrams of sodium, 12 grams of sugar, or any trans fat, per single serving. This means that Kellogg products that don't meet these criteria can't be advertised on television, radio, print and third-party Web sites whose main audience is young children."

Kellogg hasn't said how much the modification process will cost, but has said that all of its products that don't meet these new standards will either be reformulated or remarketed by the end of 2008.

Read more at Money.cnn.com.

Labels: nutrition, healthy_eating, marketing

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Most parents do their best to find healthy foods for their children, and most of them rely on a food's packaging and nutritional information when making decisions about which cereals or breads to buy. The labels can be tricky, however, and sometimes even misleading.

"Kid's cereals often say 'Whole Grain' to appeal to parents, but the cereals are usually loaded with...sugar. A box of Cheerios, for example, has eight separate and prominent health claims... However: Sugar, honey and brown sugar syrup are numbers 2, 5 and 6 on the ingredient list."

The best thing a parent can do is look for foods that have short ingredient lists. Your kids may not like these simpler foods at first, but they'll get used to them over time.

Read more at LiveScience.com.

Labels: nutrition, healthy_eating, labels

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Shaq has a new television show. Titled "Shaq's Big Challenge", the first episode aired last Tuesday, with the goal of motivating kids to lead healthier lives. Six Florida middle school students participate in the Big Challenge and the show tracks their progress.

"To combat complacency among his six young participants, O'Neal enlisted a 'dream team' of experts, including his own physician and trainer, Dr. Carlon 'Doc' Colker, personal trainer Tarik Tyler, nutritionaist Dr. Joy Bauer, and childhood obesity expert Dr. William Muinos."

O'Neal and his team hope to be a catalyst for young people, their communities, and the shows viewers. Read more at OCRegister.com.

Wellspring Family Camp is the world's first weight loss camp for young children and their parents. Children ages 5-13 attend Family Camp accompanied by one or more parents or grandparents for a two-week session or an intensive one-week session. There are still openings at camps starting later this summer. Visit www.wellspringfamily.com to learn more.

Labels: healthy_eating, exercise, lifestyle

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