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

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.

Monday, December 10, 2007

4-year Old Dies from Obesity Complications

We hear the statistics about overweight and obese kids. We hear about the dangers - that childhood obesity can even be life-threatening. But we don't believe it until we hear a tragic story in which the very worst actually happened. The worst happened to Bonnie Zertuche, who lost her 4-year-old to complications caused by obesity.
"The jovial youngster stood 3-foot-6-inches tall. He weighed 120 pounds... Rolando went into cardiac arrest in a Corpus Christi hospital... The cardiac arrest sent him to San Antonio. There, the youngster went into a coma."
Bonnie says her son was born heavy. Obesity runs in her family, she says. But had she known it would cost her son his life, she would have been more persistent about changing his exercise and eating habits.

Labels: death, health_care, cardiovascular_disease

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

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

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments