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Childhood Obesity - Do you have an overweight child?
We offer tips to help your child lose weight and get fit!
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The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.
We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.
Susan Rubin and Amy Kalafa, two moms who are frustrated by the lack of nutritional value in most school food, have started a food fight. But rather than throw mashed potatoes, they're throwing punches - in the form of a documentary called "Two Angry Moms". "[Kalafa] was inspired by a state agricultural official who once said that it would take 2 million angry moms to change school food in the U.S. The women are fighting to remove foods such as chicken nuggets, French fries, cookies, candy, chips, doughnuts, snack cakes and sugary drinks from school vending machines and cafeterias." Some school officials are pushing back against the documentary, citing cafeteria and vending machine numerous recent changes in thousands of school districts across the country. Though Kalafa acknowledges that there have been many positive changes, she says schools still have a long way to go. Read more at LansingStateJournal.com. Labels: education, parents, schools
Following in the footsteps of Discovery Communications and Nickelodeon - who made similar announcements this week - Time Warner's Cartoon Network has announced that it will only allow use of its licensed characters for the marketing of nutritious products. House Energy & Commerce's telecom committee chairman, Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., called the move a "positive step forward." "The moves come as some critics question whether advertising and promotion of poor food choices is a part of the reason for increasing childhood obesity and demand marketers and media companies act to limit the ads kids see to better food choices." The Cartoon Network said that its new licensing agreements will be effective January 1. Read more at TVWeek.com. Labels: advertising, marketing, media influences
A team from the National Institutes of Health recently reported that the current teen generation is likely to be the first generation whose life expectancy will not increase. This fact is largely due, they say, to the surge in childhood obesity. "'Obesity prevention starts prenatally,' [Mary Margaret Gottesman, RN, PhD, CPNP, PNP] says. 'Although we don't understand exactly the mechanism, we have found that maternal overweight is a big predictor of overweight children.'" Gottesman and others recommend that nurses, who perform height and weight checks during office visits, should input the data into a BMI (body mass index) calculator and keep an on-going record of each child's BMI, alerting a parent or guardian if the child is at risk of becoming overweight or obese. She also supports nutritional discussions with the whole family during wellness check-ups. Read more at News.Nurse.com. Labels: body_mass_index, lifestyle, prevention
Many adults know firsthand the benefits of pilates. It improves flexibility, conditioning, and self-esteem. It can also help people learn how to focus. The same benefits that are experienced by adults can also be experienced by kids. "Seven's parenting expert Dr. Valerie Goode says what's great about this form of exercise is that if your child doesn't excel at sports, pilates is a great way to help build his or her self-esteem... In fact, pilates has been shown to increase flexibility, strength, endurance and coordination. Plus, it's a great stress-reliever." With childhood obesity rates on the rise, a low-impact form of exercise like pilates can get kids up and moving and enjoying the benefits that come from developing a strong body and mind. Read more at WSVN.com. Labels: exercise, self_esteem, stress
When a child is diagnosed as being overweight or obese, the first thing parents often think is that they have to help their kid lose weight. But, surprisingly, many experts say that the first goal is simply to not gain anymore weight. "If you remember that your child is going to keep getting taller as he approaches and goes through puberty, it makes it easy to understand why simply not gaining weight can be helpful. Even if your overweight child isn't losing weight, as long as he isn't gaining weight or at least isn't gaining weight as quickly, he can slim out and reach a healthy BMI as he gets taller." Once a child has met his goal of not gaining weight for a few months, you can work with a pediatrician to set actual weight loss goals. Read more at Pediatrics.About.com. Specialty high school boarding schools can help kids with emotional or behavioral issues. Oakley School is a private boarding school near Park City, Utah. Labels: body_mass_index, puberty, weight_loss
A recent study lead by Professor John Morrison at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center shows that overweight children with high cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels are at an increased risk for heart disease or strokes. "But losing weight significantly lowered health risks. 'This indicates [the risk of heart disease and stroke are] not hard-wired. Some clearly are more susceptible, but susceptibility isn't the same as inevitability,' says William Dietz, who heads the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention." The condition that Morrison studied is called pediatric metabolic syndrome, and is indicated by the presence of at three of the following factors: excess weight, low HDL (the good cholesterol), high triglycerides, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. Morrison found that weight was the key driver of the condition. Read more at LangingStateJournal.com. While being overweight or obese isn't healthy, neither is teenage drug addiction. Learn what signs to look for at Adolescent-Substance-Abuse.com. Labels: genetics, health_risks, heart_disease
As the United States faces an ever-increasing waist line, some doctors and nutritionist are concerned that parents' attempts to keep their kids "healthy" will actually cause a backlash of poor choices, low self-esteem, and possibly eating disorders. "No one would deny that being overweight poses risks to physical and emotional health or that an increasing number of American youth are facing those risks. What's troubling to some are the overt approaches to helping these kids - the focus on 'red light' foods, the after-school nutrition classes, the forced gym memberships, the public tsk-tsking." Instead, doctors and nutritionist recommend that parents simply make sure they're preparing healthy meals and have healthy snacks in the house. Teach kids how to eat what they need without overeating, and allow them to sample a wide variety of foods. Read more at Coloradoan.com. Low self-esteem may turn into a teenage drug addiction. Learn about self-esteem, adolescent substance abuse, and more about teen drug use at Teen-Help-Directory.com. Labels: eating_disorders, healthy_eating, self_esteem
A study from the University of Florida has found that kids of parents who are distressed or depressed often have a lower quality of life, which can hinder an overweight child's attempts at weight loss. Emotional factors caused by things like peer bullying also make it difficult for a child to adopt a healthy lifestyle. "From the study, the researchers concluded that tending to the needs to distressed parents could be one of the best ways to help children." Talking about quality of life also gives kids a better focus for weight loss when fears of developing health problems like type 2 diabetes don't motivate them. Read more at AndhraNews.net. Labels: influences, lifestyle, parenting
Vanderbilt University is conducting a study to determine how much energy kids really burn. A total of 200 children will participate in the study. "The team says data from their study will result in a device that more accurately assesses calorie burning by kids in real life." The study will take place on the Vanderbilt University campus, where kids will each spend a full day and night in a metabolic chamber. The chamber will measure their calories used during activities like using a treadmill or sitting at a desk and coloring. Read more at Wave3.com. Labels: metabolism, research, studies
In Wales, 3% more children are physically active now than were two years ago. The figures were part of the Sports Council for Wales Children's Participation Survey, which also found that parents have a powerful influence over their children’s activity levels. "Around 54% of the children who reported that both of their parents played sport met the 5x60 target [60 minutes of physical activity, 5 days a week] compared with just 39% of children who recorded that neither of their parents played sport." The increased popularity of things like video games, the Internet and television, which are mainly sedentary activities, coupled with parents who say they're too busy for anything but fast food means fewer and fewer kids are getting the exercise they need. Getting kids involved in sports at an early age not only helps combat obesity, but builds their self-esteem and helps them handle stress. Read more at ICWales.ICNetwork.co.uk. Labels: exercise, influences, parents
A professor and his student assistants from the University of California – Merced will spend the next decade studying the causes of obesity among Central Valley children. The project will survey the exercise and eating habits of 8- to 18-year-olds in the area. "The UC Merced students spent the last year surveying teenagers at Merced, Golden Valley, Buhach Colony and Atwater high schools. 'We asked a lot of questions about what they were snacking on, if they watch TV while they eat, their exercise patterns,’ said 19-year-old UC Merced student Jessica Romo." Professor Rudy Ortiz hopes to discover where Central Valley children are in relation to Centers for Disease Control figures which show that 17.4 percent of 12- to 19-year-olds are overweight. Read more at MercedSunStar.com. Labels: causes of childhood obesity, research
Though there's no "obesity-carrying" virus, researchers at the University of California - San Diego have found that one of the most significant determining factors of obesity is one's close friends. "The report documented that if a person became obese, his or her friends had a 57 percent higher chance of becoming obese also. If the friendship was a close one and considered mutual by both parties, that risk jumped to 171 percent." The findings show that people are at greater risk for obesity if the overweight or obese person in their life is a close friend as opposed to a family member. The close friends influenced each other even if they weren’t living in close proximity. The researchers studied data from over 12,000 people that had been tracked from 1971 to 2003. Read more at Buzzle.com. Labels: friends, influences, relationships
The U.S. will spend over $1 billion on nutrition education for school children. Despite that, obesity problems are steadily increasing. "...an Associated Press review of scientific studies examining 57 such programs found mostly failure. Just four showed any real success in changing the way children eat – or any promise as weapons against the growing epidemic of childhood obesity." National obesity rates among children ages 6- to 11-years old have increased to nearly five times what they were in the 1970s, and tripled among teenagers. Most doctors agree that, though childhood obesity programs often target schools, parents have the biggest influence over what their kids eat. Read more at Boston.com. Labels: education, nutrition, schools
Gilbert, Arizona has received a $39,000 grant from the Safe Routes to School Program. The program is designed to decrease traffic and increase the use of walk and bike paths to and from schools. "Plans for the program call for printing maps of walking and biking routes and working with neighborhoods to encourage more students to walk or bike to school." Some, however, worry about safety, and some elementary schools won't let their youngest students bike or walk to school. In all, a dozen Arizona cities and governments received grant funding for similar projects, aimed at reducing childhood obesity by encouraging children to walk to school. Read more at AZCentral.com.Labels: exercise, safety, walking
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