My Overweight Child

NC Obesity Prevention Project Hosts Family FunFest

The Childhood Obesity Prevention Demonstration Project of Watauga County (NC) has spent seven months promoting healthy living. This month it is celebrating the accomplishments of all its participants by hosting Family FunFest. The fest is scheduled for Saturday, May 30, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., at Boone Mall:

Family FunFest will feature a number of activities for participants of all ages including inflatables – a giant rock wall, giant slide, obstacle course, moon walk, and a hula hoop contest. There will also be free food samples from our Healthy Cooking Contest finalists, as well as budget-friendly cooking tips.” (Source: High Country Press)

The Obesity Project partnered with the Eat Smart, Move More N.C. program, which encourages communities, schools and businesses to promote healthy eating and physical activity.

Families who are looking for additional ways to improve their children's eating and exercise habits may also want to consider the many benefits of a healthy weight loss summer camp.

Labels: childhood_obesity, families, prevention

Family Involvement Key to Kids' Weight Loss Efforts

A new study from the Netherlands found that family involvement is a key factor in helping overweight teens and children lose weight.

Hiltje O. Luttikhuis of the University Medical Center in Groningen, the Netherlands, studied whether changes in lifestyle, family involvement, surgery, or drugs were effective in helping young people lose weight.

Family lifestyle interventions that included behavioral therapy and changes in diet and exercise worked better than self-help programs. Teens and children on drug therapy suffered some adverse effects.

"While there is limited quality data to recommend one treatment program over another, this review shows that combined behavioral lifestyle interventions compared to standard care or self-help can produce a significant and clinically meaningful reduction in overweight in children and adolescents," the study's authors wrote in the journal Cochrane Review.

Labels: families, involvement, weight_loss

Family Involvement Key to Kids' Weight Loss Efforts

A new study from the Netherlands found that family involvement is a key factor in helping overweight teens and children lose weight.

Hiltje O. Luttikhuis of the University Medical Center in Groningen, the Netherlands, studied whether changes in lifestyle, family involvement, surgery, or drugs were effective in helping young people lose weight.

Family lifestyle interventions that included behavioral therapy and changes in diet and exercise worked better than self-help programs. Teens and children on drug therapy suffered some adverse effects.

"While there is limited quality data to recommend one treatment program over another, this review shows that combined behavioral lifestyle interventions compared to standard care or self-help can produce a significant and clinically meaningful reduction in overweight in children and adolescents," the study's authors wrote in the journal Cochrane Review.

Labels: families, involvement, weight_loss

Grandma's Weight Predicts Child's

Having obese grandparents increases the likelihood that a child will be overweight, even if his parents are normal weight. However, if both parents are obese, a child has double the risk for overweight, regardless of the weight of his grandparents.

Researchers examined data from 2,591 children ages 5 to 19 years old and from their parents and grandparents - the first study to do so. They concluded that overweight patterns are cross-generational.

"Primary care physicians should engage families in discussions about generational patterns of weight as both a window on the children's risk of overweight and an opportunity to discuss familial patterns of diet and physical activity that can affect the health of multiple generations," according to the report published in the Journal of the American Board of Family Practice.

Labels: families, genetics, predictors

Study: Overweight Teenagers Influenced by Overweight Friends, Family Members

Overweight teenagers have overweight friends and parents, who in turn may influence them to remain heavy, according to a new study from RTI International.

Teens and their friends were likely to be close to the same weights, regardless of their socio-economic status, smoking status, and household characteristics. Overweight girls, in particular, were more likely to have overweight friends. The researchers used data on children in the seventh to 12th grades that had been collected during the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health.

Dr. Justin Trogdon, the author of the study, said the results help to explain why so many more teenagers remain overweight.

This study appears in the Journal of Health Economics.

Labels: families, influences, peers

Fun Ways to Eat Healthier

As concerns over childhood obesity continue to build, parents and caregivers have the unenviable responsibility of helping children learn how to make healthy choices about their food and level of physical activity. A contributing writer at About.com offered ten tips for getting kids to eat good food.

"1. Prepare healthy meals together. Engaging children in the preparation of kid-friendly healthy dishes is so fun and so very messy, but children are more likely to eat something that they've helped to prepare."

Other tips included: Take Children Grocery Shopping, Plan a Family Taste Test, and Show Kids How to Grow Food. Habits developed during childhood often stay with a person throughout his or her life, so setting a healthy example is important. Source: About.com

Learn more about healthy eating and exercise at Weight Loss Central.

Labels: families, having_fun, healthy_eating

Weight Program Involves Whole Family

The program TrimKids was created 18 years ago by an exercise physiology professor who wanted to encourage entire families to get fit together. The program has been implemented into several New Orleans-area YMCAs.

"Through weekly meetings, nutrition lessons, exercise sessions and visits with behavior counselors, children learn how to control their weight and make healthy choices."

Louisiana's obesity rate is currently higher than the national average. A trend it's hoping to change through programs like TrimKids. Source: The Times - Picayune

Labels: exercise, families, nutrition

Spring Into Family Fitness

The best role models kids can have for physical activity and healthy eating are their parents. Studies have shown that overweight parents are far more likely to have overweight children. With spring right around corner, there are lots of things the family can do to increase physical activity.

"Limit the amount of time you watch television. By doing this, you will find it easier to limit the amount of time your child watches TV and movies, or plays video and computer games. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends a maximum of two hours of viewing time for children each day."

Pick some favorite family outdoor activities like playing Frisbee, hiking, or gardening. Modeling a healthy lifestyle while kids are young will go a long way toward ensuring they become healthy adults. Read more at SeattlePI.com.

Wellspring offers a family camp geared to getting families on the road to a healthy lifestyle. Learn more at WellspringFamilyCamp.com.

Labels: families, fitness, role_models

Tips for Parents to Prevent Childhood Obesity

ABC News posted ways for parents to help their children in the battle of the bulge. By using simple planning strategies provided by the American Obesity Association, families can incorporate healthy eating habits and exercise into their lives. Some of the tips include:

"'Create a family activity that involves fitness, such as walks, bike rides or Rollerblading' and 'Find other families in your neighborhood and schedule time for basketball, hide and seek and other active games.'"

Read more tips to get and stay healthy online.

Labels: families, healthy_living, tips