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

The heaviest American children are getting even heavier every year, according to a new study in the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity.

• Researchers from the Johns Hopkins University used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 1988 to 2004.
• The waistlines and weights of children in the heaviest groups increased over the past 10 years at the highest rate.
• For example, children's waistlines grew an average of one inch during the period of the study, but for children in the top percentile for being overweight, average waistlines increased by three inches.
   

Labels: overweight, obese teens

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

A group of Kentucky parents have taken the initiative to start an after-school program aimed at keeping kids away from video games and junk food. Together, they met with officials from Berea (KY) Community Schools and asked that a fitness program be created.

“Children in kindergarten through fifth grade will be able to participate in the program with the parks department on Mondays from 2:20 to 3:30 p.m. On Fridays children will have the opportunity to participate in Zumbatomic (Zumba designed for children). This program will be offered to children free of charge…” [Source: The Richmond (KY) Register]

Maggie Kriebel, director of Berea’s Parks and Recreation Department, said the parks department is excited to work with the parents and offer the program. It’s a great example of what parents and government officials can do together in the fight against childhood obesity.
 

Labels: schools, prevention, exercise

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 2 Comments

A couple from Georgia was charged with felony child cruelty, because they were rearing their two children under unhealthy conditions. Their five-year-old daughter weighs 158 pounds and their four-year-old daughter weighs 89 pounds. Average weight for these ages are 35 and 40 pounds respectively.

Although some people may believe that parents of extremely obese children are child abusers, experts say that is not necessarily the case.

Dr. Keith Ayoob, a professor of medicine at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said that hormonal imbalances or medical conditions such as Prader-Willi Syndrome can cause extreme obesity. He acknowledged that while some children seem to be born with abnormally ravenous appetites, many parents simply feed their children too much food.

"This can happen when mothers are constantly bottle-feeding or if they start solid foods too soon," he said. "They think every time the child cries, the baby is hungry."

Obesity puts children at risk for serious medical conditions such as diabetes, early-onset heart disease, hypertension, knee and joint problems, and psychological issues such as depression.

"Obesity is usually part of a much bigger problem," said Linda Spears, vice president of policy and public affairs at the Child Welfare League of America. "The question is, what is going on with the family that is causing the situation in which you have an obese child with health consequences that are not being addressed."

She and others predict an increase in criminal and child protective services cases involving childhood obesity, because there are more children who are severely overweight.

Labels: parenting, abuse

Posted By: CRC Health 3 Comments

As parents, schools and doctors across the country work to address our nation’s childhood obesity issues, some think our solutions are incomplete. In a letter to the editor that appeared in the Aug. 30 edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Marc Tinsley of Tinsley Health Services added his name to this list:

“Simply replacing a child’s unhealthy foods with healthier selections without explanation or incentives won’t cut it. Instead of cooperating, the child is thinking, ‘You’re taking away my favorite food,’" Tinsley wrote.

"Similarly, when we tell our children to go outside and play, they are hearing ‘You can’t watch your favorite show.’" he continued. "The children should be learning about the benefits of wellness and the consequences of unhealthy habits so that they can make healthy choices for themselves”

Labels: nutrition, parenting, prevention, exercise

Posted By: My Overweight Child 1 Comment

More bad news when it comes to teens, weight problems and sleep deprivation: A new study has found that teenagers who get less than eight hours of sleep on weeknights are more likely to eat fatty and high-calorie foods than are teens who get eight hours of sleep or more. Over time, the unhealthy patterns can become habits and lead to weight gain.

“It’s not clear why sleeping less may send teens to the fridge more often. One explanation involves the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which regulate appetite. Not getting enough sleep has been shown to reduce the production of these hormones, which can make a person feel hungrier and fuel cravings for high-calorie snacks.” [Source: Health.com]

Cultural and social norms affect teens eating habits as well, but this latest study makes a compelling case for the importance of getting a good night’s sleep.

Labels: weight_gain, sleep, snacks

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 1 Comment

Experts believe the rate of childhood obesity in the United States may be even worse than government statistics indicate, because one in five parents underestimates their children's weights, according to new research presented at the annual meeting of American College of Sports Medicine.

• Professors Daniel O'Connor and Joseph Gugenheim studied the heights and weights of 1,430 children, and then compared them with the values their parents reported.
• Their findings indicate that 21 percent of the parents did not correctly identify their children as obese.

"Parents tend to overestimate boys' height and underestimate girls' height," said Dr. O'Connor. "This error was larger when the reporting parents was the opposite sex of the child. Almost half of the parents underestimated their child's weight, and errors in reporting weight tended to be larger for girls and increase with age."
 

Labels: statistics

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 3 Comments

With students across the country now back in school, many parents are faced with the difficult challenge of making sure their kids eat healthy while away from home.

Though some schools have been struggling to increase the nutritional value of the food they serve, the good news is that many school cafeterias continue to offer healthier options.

The best advice for parents iincludes monitoring the options that are available in your children's schools, talking to children about nutrition, and packing a lunch when the school's offerings don't meet your standards.

Labels: nutrition, schools, cafeterias

Posted By: My Overweight Child 3 Comments

Good news from the realm of media influences on childhood obesity. Children are seeing fewer advertisements for food on television shows, according to new research from the Institute for Health Research and Policy.

• Study leaders Lisa Powell, Glen Szczpka and Frank Chaloupka analyzed Nielsen Media Research television ratings for children and adolescents between the years 2003 and 2007.
• Preschoolers were watching 14% fewer food ads, and ages 6 to 11 years old, nearly 4% fewer.
• However, food ads were slightly up for teenagers by 3.7%. Ads for candy bars and cookies were down by 41% for preschoolers, almost 30% for 6 to 11-year-olds, and 12% for teenagers.
• Ads for bottled water increased but those for sugar-sweetened soft drinks were down.

African-American children were exposed to 1.5 times more television ads for foods because they watch more television than other ethnic groups.

This study appears in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
 

Labels: television, junk food, advertising, media influences

Posted By: CRC Health 1 Comment

Children under five years old have sleep problems at night are at higher risk for becoming overweight, according to a new study from the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Washington.

• Professors Frederick Zimmerman and Janice Bell studied almost 2000 children ages one to 13 years old,
• The researchers tracked their from 1997 to 2002.
• Among children under five years old, and inadequate sleep at night was a risk factor for obesity.
• Inadequate sleep did not raise the risk of obesity for individuals ages five to 13 years old.
• Naps did not affect obesity.

"There is a critical window prior to age five years when nighttime sleep may be important in for subsequent obesity status. Insufficient nighttime sleep among infants and preschool age children appears to be a lasting risk factor for subsequent obesity . ... Sleep duration is a modifiable risk factor with potentially important implications for obesity prevention and treatment," the authors wrote in their report published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
 

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 3 Comments

Overweight teenagers are at high risk of being overweight as young adults, according to a new study from Australia. The research team also found that the older people get, the more likely they are to be overweight.

• Starting in 1992, Dr. George Patton and his colleagues followed 1520 people from age 14 to 24 years old.
• As teenagers, only one in five participants was overweight; however, by age 24, it was one in three.
• Those who were overweight for less than a year as teenagers, particularly if they were girls, were likely to be at their normal weights at age 24.

"For the group who were consistently obese as teenagers, over 60% were still obese and none got to a healthy weight," Dr. Patton said.

The study appears in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
 

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 1 Comment

Forty percent of elementary school children in New York City are overweight and 22% are obese, according to a new study from the New York City Department of Education Office of School Wellness.

In some zip codes, over half the children are overweight. Nationally, 35% of children ages 6 to 11 years old are overweight, according to figures from United States Centers for Disease Control.

In the largest study ever of the New York city school system, researchers used Fitnessgram assessments of more than 635,000 children in grades kindergarten through eighth. Fitnessgrams are personal health evaluations based on strength, endurance, flexibility, and body mass index.

"While it would be great if we saw the numbers go down, it is encouraging that they are holding steady," said Laurie Benson, director of the Office of School Wellness.
 

Labels: childhood_obesity, elementary_school_students

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 3 Comments

A study from West Virginia University School of Medicine found a link between non-stick cooking pans and higher cholesterol in children.

Dr. Stephanie Frisbee examined records on over 12,600 children and teenagers. She found that if they had higher concentrations of common chemicals found in nonstick cooking ware and water proof fabrics, they also tended to have higher levels of bad cholesterol.

The study appears in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
 

Labels: cholesterol

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 2 Comments