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

Overweight children, particularly girls, tend to see themselves as slimmer than they are, according to a new study from University College, London.

• Researchers asked 205 boys and 194 girls, ages 7 to 14 years old, to match their body size to one of seven images, ranging from very thin to very heavy.
  
• The children were asked to describe their size as too thin, just right, or too heavy.
• Underweight and overweight children tended to see themselves as normal.
  
• Overweight girls in particular tended to match themselves to figures smaller than their own.
  

One problem that arises is that if individuals do not have realistic images of their body sizes, they will not try to manage their weight.

This study appeared in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Labels: self-image

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Young adults who are physically fit have higher intelligence levels and are more likely to go to college, according to a new study from Sweden.

• Researchers analyzed data on 1.2 million Swedish men in the military who were born between 1950 and 1976.
• They found a link between physical fitness and higher scores on IQ tests.
• They found no link between muscular strength and intelligence.

Professor Michael Nilsson of the Sahlgrenska Academy in Sweden said that physical fitness is about having good heart and lung capacity, which means that your brain gets plenty of oxygen. This may be why there is a link between high IQs and physical fitness, but not between high IQs and muscular strength.

The study was presented in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Labels: physical_health, intelligence

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South Dakota's most recent height and weight survey found that overweight and obesity have risen among the state's children. For the 2008-09 school year, the Argus-Leader newspaper reported, 33.6 percent of South Dakota students were overweight or obese:

The survey defines obese as above the 95th percentile body mass index-for-age when compared to children of the same age and gender. Overweight is between the 85th and 94th percentiles.

Kristin Biskeborn, a state nutritionist, acknowledges that South Dakota has much work remaining in the effort to address obesity issues. She also acknowledges that the issue of childhood obesity didnt spring up overnight, and wont be solved overnight either.

Labels: childhood_obesity, south dakota

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A study by Temple University found that the Head Start program goes "above and beyond" federal recommendation for promoting healthy eating and exercise

According to a Dec. 7 ScienceDaily article, a Temple survey of 1,583 Head Start programs found the following:

• Seventy percent of programs were serving only non-fat or 1 percent milk, and 59 percent never served chocolate milk.
• Three-quarters of programs reported having children participate in at least 30 minutes of adult-led physical activity per day.
• Ninety-four percent of programs reported serving some vegetable every day, other than French fries.
• Ninety-seven percent reported serving some fruit every day, other than 100% fruit juice.
• More than half (56 percent) provided children with at least 60 minutes each day of unstructured physical activity in addition to the 30 minutes of adult-led physical activity.

Labels: childhood_obesity, prevention, head start

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A study published in the journal Health Affairs found that obesity related conditions cost the United States almost $147 billion a year, or 9 percent of total medical spending.

The most common obesity-related conditions include diabetes, heart disease, joint problems, hypertension, and cancer.

Although health reform may be necessary to address health inequities and rein in rising health spending, real savings are more likely to be achieved through reforms that reduce the prevalence of obesity and related risk factors, the study's authors reported.

Labels: costs_of_childhoood_obesity

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In a continuing effort to make its products healthier, Campbell Soup has announced that it will reduce the sodium in its line of SpaghettiOs brand by up to 35 percent. This is second major sodium reduction in two years.

"Each one-cup serving of the new, lower sodium Campbells SpaghettiOs varieties will contain at least five essential nutria, for example, Vitamin A, fiber, calcium, iron or folic acid," BusinessWire reported. "To meet the FDA and USDA criteria for a healthy main dish, each one-cup serving will be low in fat, low in saturated fat; contain 90mg cholesterol or less, 600mg sodium or less, and provide a significant level of at least two positive nutrients."

The lower-sodium varieties will begin appearing on shelves in April, and will include varieties such as SpaghettiOs Disney Princesses that are marketed directly at kids.

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Not getting enough exercise puts teenagers at risk for high blood pressure, according to a new study in the American Journal of Epidemiology.

• Researchers in Canada studied 1,300 students (ages 12 to 13 years old) over a five-year period.
  
• They kept kept track of the children's exercise and measured their body fat and blood pressure regularly.
  
• When the children failed to exercise, their blood pressure readings tended to increase.

The recommended amount of exercise is 30 minutes of low-level intensity exercise such as walking every day, and 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week. The researchers noted that half of all Canadian children do not get sufficient exercise.

Labels: health, teens, exercise, hypertension

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Some people may have a genetic predisposition that makes it hard for them to both lose weight and keep it off once they do, according to new research from Spain's University of Navarra:

• Dr. Estibaliz Soto and his colleagues studied 180 people on a low calorie diet for eight weeks.
• The researchers evaluated the participants at six months and 12 months intervals.
  
• Those with certain mutated or altered genes were not only less likely to lose any weight, they were more likely to gain it back if they did manage to lose some pounds.

Labels: genetics, weight loss

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A Pennsylvania college has created a controversy because it is requiring overweight and obese students to enroll in a fitness course that students of normal weight can avoid -- and has threatened to withhold degrees from students who fail to complete the course.

A Nov. 30 CNN article by Elizabeth Landau provided a glimpse into two divergent opinions about the school's policy:

Students at Lincoln University with a body mass index of 30 or above, reflective of obesity, must take a fitness course that meets three hours per week. Those who are assigned to the class but do not complete it cannot graduate. ...

"I didn't come to Lincoln to be told that my weight is not in an acceptable range," [LU student Tina Lawson wrote in an editorial in the school paper]. "I came here to get an education which, as a three-time honor student, is something I have been doing quite well, despite the fact that I have a slightly high Body Mass Index."

But James DeBoy, chairman of the school's Department of Health and Physical Education, says the requirement is just like courses to help students' communications or math proficiency. The faculty also has a priority to be honest with students, he said.

"We, as educators, must tell students when we believe, in our heart of hearts, when certain factors, certain behaviors, attitudes, whatever, are going to hinder that student from achieving and maximizing their life goals," he said.

Labels: overweight, students, college, bmi

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Two new reports on diabetes in the United States indicate that the problem is becoming more prevalent throughout the nation, and especially among individuals who are severely overweight:

• According to research from the University of Chicago, the incidence of diabetes is expected to double in the next 25 years but the cost of treating it will triple, Spending will increase from $113 billion a year to $336 billion in 2034, when an estimated 44 million Americans will have the disease.

• The second study from Loyola University Health System found that one in five people with diabetes are morbidly obese. Morbid obesity is defined as having a body mass index over 40. A 5'2"person weighing 218 pounds and a 6'2"person weighing 311 pounds are considered morbidly obese.

"The greatest increase in obesity has been among diabetics who are morbidly obese," said Dr. Holly Kramer, author of the report.

Type II diabetes, which was previously referred to "adult-onset", is considered a preventable disease.

Labels: health, diabetes, morbid obesity

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An study on animals has revealed that a high-fat diet takes an immediate toll on short-term memory and the ability to exercise.

• Researchers at Cambridge University in Britain fed rats a low-fat diet and trained them to complete a maze.
  
• Then half the rats were switched to a high fat diet.
  
• Within just four days, the rats on the high fat diet began to fail the maze test, and they performed 30 percent worse on treadmills.

"We expected to see changes but not so dramatic and not in such a short space of time," said Professor Andrew Murray. "It was really striking how quickly these effects happened."

The study appeared in the Journal of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

Labels: diet, brain_activity, research, exercise, memory

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Parents who drop their children off at day care every day may think their young ones are getting hours of playtime and stimulating activity. But according to a Nov. 28 CNN report, what the children may actually be getting is a lot of time in front of a television set:

New research published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics found that kids in child care settings could be watching as much as 2.4 hours of television on an average day.

A study from the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute examined 168 child care programs and found that 70 percent of home-based and 36 percent of center-based programs showed television to preschool kids.

"Most parents don't know what happens at their children's preschool," said author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, who directs the Center for Child Health in Seattle, Washington. "They really want to believe that they leave their children there, it's preparing them for school, it's a stimulating, enriching environment. And I don't know that they're aware that in fact, a lot of time is spent watching TV."

Labels: television, daycare

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