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

Arresting the mother of a 550-pound boy for child abuse may set a bad precedent, according to some experts studying a South Carolina case. Jerri Gray faces charges of child neglect, because her son, Alexander Draper, became morbidly obese by age 14.

Alexander is in foster care, and Gray was released on a $50,000 bond.

Linda Spears, vice president of policy and public affairs for the Child Welfare League of America, said criminal charges like this should only be a last resort.

"I think I would draw the line at a place where there are serious health consequences for the child and efforts to work with the family have repeatedly failed," she said.

The Gray case appears at a time when 20 states require students to go through weight-related exams, and some send home "weight report cards" to parents.

Ron Jones, a corporate wellness expert, believes parents should be held responsible for their children's weight.

"If you gave your child a drug, you'd be held in court," he said. "But if you kill them with food, that seems to be acceptable."

Labels: parenting, overweight children, laws

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Health care reform is a top priority in Washington, D.C. this year. While the debate over national health care rages on, New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand is working to keep preventative measures at the forefront.

Senator Gillibrand is authoring legislation that would ban trans-fats in public schools. Any school that receives federal reimbursements would be required to remove food containing trans fats from the school. Schools would have a five year window to implement the policy. -- Source: News Channel 34 (Binghamton, NY)

Senator Gillibrand is also working on legislation that would give the U.S. Department of Agriculture more authority over the types of foods that are served in schools.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, childhood obesity rates have more than doubled in the last thirty years. Senator Gillibrands legislation aims to quickly reverse that trend by making healthy foods more accessible to all school children.

Labels: childhood_obesity, legislation, prevention

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In the continued fight against childhood obesity, some experts are beginning to believe that encouraging healthy eating and an active lifestyle aren't enough. In the July issue of Therapy Today, experts discussed the need to understand the psychological issues that may lead to overeating:

Therapy has a key role in identifying the reasons why people overeat rather than simply focusing on what they eat. It can also provide compulsive eaters with the psychological tools and strategies needed to lose weight and keep it off.

Studies have found that few overeaters have secure social or emotional attachments. Without these support systems people resort to unhealthy self-soothing techniques during times of stress.

Labels: emotional eating, compulsive eating

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A study of more than 8,000 children from the University of Missouri found that overweight children are at higher risk for loneliness, anxiety, and depression. Even overweight kindergartners had more social problems than did slimmer peers

"We found that both boys and girls who were overweight from kindergarten through third grade displayed more depression, anxiety and loneliness than kids who were never overweight, and those negative feelings worsened over time," Professor Sara Gable wrote in the journal Applied Developmental Science, which published the study.

Young girls felt more negative impacts of being overweight than boys, Dr. Gable noted. "Teachers reported that (overweight) girls had less positive social relations and displayed less self-control and more acting out than girls who were never overweight," she wrote.

Dr. Gable and her colleagues took into consideration the age when the children became overweight, the length of time they were overweight, and their social and behavioral development.

Labels: childhood_obesity, depression, anxiety

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Ah, summertime -- a chance for young people to get out of the classroom and into the fresh air, where they can get ample amounts of exercise and shed unwanted (and unhealthy) excess weight.

Or not.

A study of more than 5,000 kindergarten students and first-graders from more than 300 schools across the country found that children are more likely to gain weight over the summer than during school months. Although summer is the traditional time for swimming, riding bicycles and other physical activities, more children are spending time in sedentary activities like watching TV and playing video games during the summer.

A separate study from the University of Wisconsin of overweight middle school students found that while they improved their fitness scores during the school year, all these beneficial changes were lost over the three-month summer break.

Nutrition expert Susan Nitzke of the University of Wisconsin advises parents to share physical activities with their children, eat meals together as much as possible, limit television and video games, keep junk food out of the house, enroll children in summer camps and programs, and give children gifts that encourage physical activity, such as jump ropes and balls.

Labels: weight_gain, summers

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An audit of New York City schools has revealed that the schools routinely make junk food available to students -- a move that New York City Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli says is undermining efforts to encourage students to follow a health diet plan:

Auditors found that school stores and vending machines at 20 of 30 city schools visited sold candy, soda, and other unhealthy snacks to students during lunch periods in direct violation of the Chancellors policies and in direct competition with the healthy lunches offered by the Department of Education. (Source: Empire State News)

The auditors also found that 14 out of 15 audited schools made unhealthy food available throughout the day, not just during lunch.

Labels: causes of childhood obesity, schools, junk food

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In an effort to promote healthy eating and reduce levels of childhood obesity, Junior Leagues in several nations have been inviting young people to participate in the "Kids in the Kitchen" program

Inspired by the Junior League of Calgary's Junior Chefs program, the Junior Leagues' Kids in the Kitchen initiative began in 2006 with the goal of engaging kids in the preparation of healthy meals as a means to educate them and their parents regarding nutrition and healthy choices.

Junior Leagues in more than 200 locations provide lessons and demonstrations related to preparation of healthy meals and snacks in partnership with local community organizations, chefs and nutritionists.

Over 215 Leagues in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom and the United States conducted the Junior Leagues' Kids in the Kitchen program in their communities in 2009. (Source: Kids in the Kitchen website)

According to its website, the Association of Junior Leagues International Inc. (AJLI) is an organization of women committed to promoting voluntarism, developing the potential of women and improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained volunteers. Its purpose is exclusively educational and charitable.

Labels: childhood_obesity, prevention, education

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A study of 700 children found that the overweight children were more likely to have sleep-disordered breathing problems.

Dr. Edward Bixler and his colleagues at Penn State University College of Medicine said that sleep-disordered breathing is linked to behavioral problems, hyperactivity, and falling asleep in school.

"Because sleep-disordered breathing in children is not just the outcome of anatomical abnormalities, treatment strategies should consider alternative options, such as weight loss and correction of nasal problems," Dr. Bixler wrote in the journal Sleep.

Dr. Bixler's findings are similar to those of Dr. Judith Owens, whose 2008 research project explored the link between sleep disorders, ADHD, and weight problems in children.

Labels: research, overweight children, sleep disorders

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Overweight male teens are showing signs of heart disease even though they have normal blood pressure, according to a study from the Medical College of Georgia.

Researchers studied 126 boys ages 15 to 17 years old. Those who were overweight had elevated levels of aldosterone, a hormone associated with heart disease, even though they did not necessarily have elevated blood pressure.

Dr. Dayal D. Raja said that this study might indicate that certain boys should receive early treatment and intervention, especially if they have a family history of heart disease.

Dr. Raja presented his study in May during the American Association of Clinical Endocrinologists' 18th Annual Meeting and Clinical Congress in Houston.

Labels: heart_disease, overweight children, boys, teens

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As many as 50 percent of overweight or obese children believe they are of normal weight -- or even underweight -- according to a new study from John Hopkins University that appeared in the journal BMC Public Health:

• Dr. Youfa Wang studied children from four Chicago public schools.
• The average age of the children who were studies was 12, and about 40 percent were overweight or obese.
• Thirty-one percent of the overweight girls and 62 percent of the overweight boys listed their weight as normal or underweight.
• About one in four of the overweight group said they were dissatisfied with their weight.

The children who were trying to lose weight actually spent more time watching television than their slimmer counterparts, and their diets were not any healthier than were the diets of other children. Dr. Wang said that this finding indicates that adults need to guide overweight children in the healthiest and best ways to lose weight.

Labels: overweight children

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Young adults who score low on physical fitness tests are two or three times more likely to develop diabetes two decades later.

Researchers with Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine reached this conclusion after analyzing data on almost 4,000 people ages 18 to 30 years old. The data had been collected during the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults study. Study subjects who did poorly on treadmill tests were at higher likelihood of developing diabetes 20 years later.

"These young adults are setting the stage for chronic disease in middle age by not being physically fit and active," Professor Mercedes Carnethon, the report's lead author, wrote in the journal Diabetes Care. "People who have low fitness in their late teens and early twenties tend to stay the same later in life or even get worse. Not many climb out of that category."

Labels: diabetes, fitness, teenagers

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A new study from Australia recommends that children watch no more than two hours of television a day. ore than that amount leads to a decline in physical fitness, according to research from the University of Sydney.

• Dr. Louise Hardy had 2,750 children ages 11 to 15 years old undergo physical fitness tests.
• Dr. Hardy and her team also surveyed the children about how often they played computer games and watched television.
• Almost 10 percent of the children spent more than six hours a day engaged in "small screen" time.
• The children who spent more than two hours a day watching television were less likely to pass the physical fitness tests.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch no more than two hours a day -- a recommendation that Dr. Hardy said is supported by her team's research.

"As it turned out, the experts were fairly spot-on," Dr. Hardy said. "The two hours [limit] is a good benchmark.

Labels: television, screen_time, exercise

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Dr. Joe Thompson, the surgeon general of the state of Arkansas, brought an important message to the kids at the Fayetteville Boys & Girls Club: Progress has been made in the fight against obesity, but theres more work yet to be done.

"Dr. Joe Thompson thanked participants in the clubs summer programs for participating in physical activities through the organization, saying places like the club are 'exactly what we need,'" reported the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette "He encouraged the students to find a physical activity they enjoy and stick with it throughout their lives."

Based on body mass index screenings, Arkansas seems to be turning a corner in its campaign to prevent childhood obesity. Dr. Thompson, a pediatrician, has served as the state's surgeon general for four years.

Labels: childhood_obesity, prevention, exercise

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