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

A study from Finland found that parents misclassify their overweight children as normal weight.

• Researchers from the University of Tampere asked parents of five-year-olds and 11-year-olds to fill out questionnaires about the weight class of their children.
  
• A majority of the parents of five-year-olds and half the parents of 11-year-old misclassified their overweight children as normal.
  
• Very few parents of normal weight children believed their children were overweight.

This study appeared in the journal Acta Paediatrica.

Labels: perceptions

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Overweight children have stiffer central arteries than do normal weight children, according to a new study from the Medical College of Georgia.

Dr. Catherine Davis and her colleagues examined 44 overweight children ages 8 to 11 years old and found that those with higher body mass indexes had less compliant arteries.

"It basically shows that the roots of the disease that may cause a heart attack at 40 or 50 or 60 years old are already growing in a child," Dr. Davis said. "It turns out that fat tissue is an organ, rather than just a silent mass. It is an active organ, secreting inflammatory factors and so forth."

The study was presented at the Society of Behavioral Medicine meeting.

Labels: health problems

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The City Council of Liverpool in Great Britain may outlaw the word "obese" as a word to describe children.

The council will use the term "unhealthy weight" in literature aimed at children because the word "obese has too many negative connotations" and may even discourage children from changing their habits, various news reports indicated.

At almost 50 percent, Liverpool has the highest rate of childhood obesity in Great Britain.

Labels: childhood_obesity

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Children under five years old need fat and carbohydrates, but so many parents worry about their children becoming overweight that they are restricting them to low calorie diets.

• A government study of nursery schools in 29 British councils found that some were offering children inadequate amounts of food because of pressure from parents.
• Some parents wanted their children to eliminate red meat, whole milk, and desserts, and yet the very young children cannot yet obtain adequate nutrition from fruits and vegetables alone.

"It is important that parents do not apply healthy eating messages designed for the whole population to small children," said Prof. Helen Crawley. "Poor nutritional status in toddlerhood is linked to permanent cognitive damage and a child never reaching their full potential, as well as shorter stature in adulthood."

Labels: diet, nutrition, parenting, health, toddlers

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Popular children are more likely to be average weight or thin, according to a new study from the University of Crete in Greece. Children in the study also were more likely to attribute positive characteristics to children of normal size, and negative qualities to overweight children.

• Researchers asked 414 children ages five to ten years old to look at pictures of three figures that varied only by size.
  
• The children tended to attribute positive qualities, such as athletic and artistic ability, to average weight and thin figures, and negative qualities to overweight children.
  
• All the children were asked to make a list of three children to invite to a party, and three that should not be invited.
  
• The popular children were more likely to have average or thin builds.

When asked to identify their own body size, 75 percent of overweight children placed themselves in the average weight category. Thin or average weight children overwhelmingly identified themselves correctly.

"This study highlights the need for early preventative educational programs, which address the high levels of anti-fat bias and social stigmatization of overweight or obese children and challenge the negative stereotypes involved," said lead author Dr. Eketerina Kornilaki.

This study was presented at the British Psychological Society's annual conference.

Labels: perceptions

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In an April 15 article by Jennifer Forker of the Associated Press, the clinical director of the Wellspring weight loss program advised parents about simple yet effective ways to help their children get (and stay) active:

If you want your teens to exercise, you need to get out there with them and show how it's done.

"Parents have an incredible, powerful ability to model behavior," says Daniel Kirschenbaum, a professor at Northwestern University Medical School in Chicago and clinical director of Wellspring, which provides treatment services for overweight youths and adults at several U.S. locations. ...

Kirschenbaum suggests buying an inexpensive pedometer for each member of the family.

Get one for everybody and have steps become a part of the language of the family, he says. He recommends that families work toward 10,000 steps a day, about 5 miles, which he says is double what most adults walk in a day.

"You start to look forward to ways to get steps. You park farther away" when shopping, for instance, says Kirschenbaum. "Studies show just getting a pedometer and wearing it regularly increases activity."

Labels: parenting, advice

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Helping kids establish healthy eating habits can prepare them for a lifetime of good habits, and help prevent the onset of things like obesity and diabetes.

Sugar contains "empty calories" -- it has no nutritious benefit whatsoever. Diets that include too many calories cause children to become overweight. Too much sugar can also cause tooth decay and diabetes.

Milk and fruit juices, though nutritious in many ways, contain high levels of sugar. Soda typically contains 10 teaspoons of sugar in an 8-ounce can ... So limit your children's consumption of beverages that have a high sugar content.

In addition, many health professionals suggest that parents talk to their kids about what they can and should eat, rather than emphasizing foods that are "off limits."

Source: KTVI-TV (St. Louis)

Labels: nutrition, parenting, healthy_eating

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A professor of psychology at Harvard Medical School blames many modern problems on the fact that human genes have not caught up with the modern era.

"We still have Stone Age brains inside contemporarily clothed bodies," Professor Deirdre Barrett said. "So we cannot really trust our instincts, we need to trust our intellects."

In some cases, these outdated instincts may be responsible for overweight and obesity, Dr. Barrett noted.

People may crave fat, salt and sugar because it was very scarce years ago, she said, adding that it takes about 10,000 years for genes to catch up to modern conditions.

"Our genes haven't had time to stop craving those things and start craving green leafy vegetables," she noted.

Labels: genetics, brain_activity, brain_development

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Think that a few extra pounds might provide potentially life-saving protection in the case of an automobile accident?

Think again.

Researchers with the University of Virginia found that overweight individuals have no advantage because they have greater maximum forward pitch when they are thrown forward during an accident, and because they are more likely to be injured in their ribs and lungs.

The researchers had to use cadavers because there are no obese crash dummies.

The study appeared in the journal Obesity.

Labels: overweight, research, accidents, safety

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More evidence that compulsive overeating may not simply be a failure of willpower. A new study from the Scripps Research Institute in Florida found that high calorie, high-fat foods can be addictive in laboratory animals.

• Dr. Paul Kenny and his colleagues allowed one group of rats to eat as much bacon, sausage, cheese cake, frosting, and other high calorie foods as they wanted.
  
• These rats quickly became obese, but the researchers also found that they developed a tolerance to the pleasure they got from food.
  
• Like drug addicts, they had to keep eating more to experience the same pleasures.
  
• Overeating caused levels of dopamine receptors in their brains to drop, a phenomenon associated with drug addiction and obesity.

"People know intuitively that there is more to overeating than just low will power," said Dr. Kenny. "There is a system in the brain that has been turned on or over-activated, and that is driving overeating at some subconscious level."

The study appeared in the journal Neuroscience.

Labels: overeating

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The government would have to increase taxes on soda and junk food by 18 to 20 percent in order to influence people not to buy these products, according to a new study from the Rand Corporation.

• Roland Sturm and his colleagues analyzed data from 7,300 fifth graders who were surveyed in 2004 about their height, weight, and soda consumption.
  
• Some children lived in states that had special taxes on soda that amounted to four to seven cents on the dollar.
  
• These taxes had a small effect on a few children, mostly those whose families earn less than $25,000 a year.
  
• However, Sturm calculated that the tax would have to be more like 18 to 20 cents on the dollar to make a significant difference on consumption.

The study appeared in the journal Health Affairs.

Labels: sodas, taxes

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Psychologist Dr. Peta Stapleton from the Griffith University School of Medicine seems to have found a technique that reduces food cravings and could help people who are overweight or obese. She calls it “psychological acupuncture” or – more formally - the Emotional Freedom Technique.

“Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) combines gentle tapping on pressure points while focusing on particular emotions and thoughts… [Dr. Stapleton’s] research also showed the impact on food cravings was almost immediate and long lasting. Food cravings significantly reduced after just four, two-hour sessions and were maintained at a six-month follow-up.” [Source: Research Australia]

Though the study didn’t show any significant impact on body weight or body mass index after six months, 12-month results were still being analyzed. Changes in eating may not be enough to promote weight loss, but it can be significantly beneficial for people who also exercise regularly.

 

Labels: prevention

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

On her way back from Mexico, first lady Michelle Obama stopped to visit a community farm in San Diego to help promote her anti-obesity initiative:

Obama toured the New Roots Community Farm to promote her ‘Let’s Move!’ campaign against childhood obesity. The event kicked off a $1 billion project by the California Endowment to fund healthy living initiatives in 14 communities across the state." (Source: The Associated Press)

The farm is planted, maintained and harvested by about 80 farmers who have immigrated to the San Diego area from countries around the world. Many of the workers plant the same crops that they grew in their native countries, giving the farm a decidedly international flair. The crop is used to feed the neighborhood, and is also offered for sale at local Farmer’s Markets.

Labels: childhood_obesity, prevention, awareness, obese teens

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

A new law in Santa Clara County, California, would prohibit fast food restaurants from putting toys in children's meals.

The County Board of Supervisors passed the law which bans toys only if fast food restaurants do not come up with a voluntary program for improving the nutritional value of their children's products.

The law was controversial even among the supervisors.

"This ordinance prevents restaurants from preying on children's love of toys to sell high calorie unhealthful food," said supervisor Ken Yeager.

Supervisor Daniel Gage was not so sure.

"If you cannot control a three-year-old child for a toy, God save you when they get to be teenagers," he said.

 

Labels: fast food

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments