My Overweight Child: Does Good Nutrition Take a Summer Vacation too?

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

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.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008

Does Good Nutrition Take a Summer Vacation too?

Many parents point at school lunch and snack programs as primary culprits in rising rates of childhood obesity. But new research has found that those people may be pointing in the wrong direction.

"Data from kindergarteners and first graders found that body mass index increased two to three times as fast in summer as during the regular school year. Minority children were especially vulnerable, as were children already overweight."

Though this data doesn't absolve schools of all responsibility, it does indicate that nutritional standards often take a summer break. The research also emphasizes that healthy eating is important all year long. Source: The Providence Journal

Labels: healthy_eating, summers, vacations