My Overweight Child

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.

Thursday, November 06, 2008

Too Much TV Increases Overweight Kids' Blood Pressure

Watching too much television leads to high blood pressure in obese children, according to a study from the University of California, San Diego.

Dr. Jeffrey Schwimmer and his colleagues studied 546 children (ages four to 13) who were enrolled in weight management clinics. Children who watched two to four hours of television a day were 2.5 times more likely to have high blood pressure, and obese children who watched that amount were three times more likely to have high blood pressure compared to those who watched two hours or less daily.

The American Pediatrics Association recommends that children watch no more than two hours of television a day.

This study appears in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.

Labels: TV, health_factors, blood_pressure

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Monday, October 01, 2007

Obesity Increases Risk of Heart Disease

Researchers have found that children as young as eight-years-old who are overweight or obese are seven times more like to be at risk for heart disease when they're teenagers. Risks like high-blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and elevated blood sugar were found in overweight or obese children who were just 15-years-old.

"The current results also suggest that doctors need only measure children's weight and height, and not their waistline, to get a good picture of their future heart risks. Childhood body mass index (BMI) - a measure of weight in relation to height - was more strongly related to future cardiac risk factors than waist circumference was."

The findings, which were published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, were based on observations of 172 children who had their BMI and waistline information documented at age eight, and then again at age fifteen. At fifteen, the children were also assessed for heart disease risk factors.

Labels: heart_disease, pediatricians, blood_pressure

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Thursday, September 20, 2007

High Blood Pressure More Common in Kids

For 40 years, the number of children and teenagers with high blood pressure and prehypertension remained relatively unchanged. But beginning in 1988, rates began a steady increase.

"For instance, from 1988 to 1994, 2.7% of kids and teens studied had high blood pressure and 7.7% had prehypertension. From 1999 to 2002, the percentage of kids with high blood pressure had risen to 3.7% and the percentage with prehypertension had reached 10%"

The high blood pressure and prehypertension rates began increasing in conjunction with childhood obesity. Rebecca Din-Dzietham, MD, PhD, MPH warns that, if the higher rates are not reversed, there could be an "explosion" of cardiovascular disease in young adults.

Labels: health_risks, blood_pressure, cardiovascular_disease

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