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

Economic hard times may cause teenage girls -- but not boys -- to gain weight, according to a study in the journal Social Science and Medicine.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, researcher Jeremy Arkes, compared young people's body mass indices (BMI) to unemployment rates from the years 1997 to 2004. Arkes found that for every one percent rise in unemployment, there was a 1.8 percent rise in BMI percentile among girls ages 15 to 18 years old. The opposite was true for males, who tended to lose weight when unemployment rates increased.

Regardless of the cause of their weight gains, stressful times can be difficult for overweight children and teens, who may already be dealing with a number of weight-related physical and psychological challenges.

Labels: weight_gain, recession, girls

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A Harvard Medical School study linked the consumption of above-average amounts of red meat during adolescence with an increased likelihood of developing breast cancer as an adult.

Dr. Linda Frazier and her colleagues examined reports of food consumption from 38,268 pre-menopausal women who reported how often they had eaten red meat - including beef, pork, lamb, and processed meats such as hot dogs or bacon - when they were adolescents.

Women who reported eating more than two and a half servings per day (262 grams or more) had a 34 percent greater chance of developing breast cancer than did those who ate less than one serving. The kind of red meat did not matter. The average consumption was 68 grams per day.

"This study adds considerable evidence to the established adverse effect of red meat," Dr. Frazier said.

The work appears in the journal Cancer Epidemiology.

Labels: healthy_eating, cancer, girls

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Proper nutrition during adolescence is vital for girls' healthy development into adulthood. But studies have found that few teenage girls get enough fiber, calcium, iron, zinc, magnesium, or vitamins A, E, and B. Most also get too much sodium and saturated fat.

"One study showed that about 80 percent of kids who were overweight from ages 10 to 15 will be overweight as adults, and another found that 25 percent of obese adults were overweight kids. These children are at risk for weight-related health problems in the future..."

On average, girls between the ages of 14 and 18 should consume between 2,200 and 2,400 calories a day. While cutting calories may help an overweight teen shed a few pounds, it needs to be done healthfully to ensure that proper nutrition isn't compromised. Source: Reuters

Labels: nutrition, girls, development

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Researchers at Harvard University recently completed a study in which they measured the relationship between a girl's weight gain and her perception of her popularity. They found a surprising connection.

"...all of the girls had gained weight - no surprise, since they were all growing. But teens who had rated themselves at four or lower had gained more. In fact, girls who thought they were low in the social pecking order were at a 70 percent higher risk of gaining excess weight. The extra weight averaged about 11 pounds, or a two-point increase in BMI scores."

The study appears to indicate that educating young people about healthy living and the dangers of obesity can be undermined by "social variables" at school. They suggested that parents encourage their kids' participation in group activities and development of a healthy social network.

Labels: social_networks, girls, popularity

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An obesity prevention program called 5-2-1-Go! has been found to not only help prevent obesity, but reduce the risk of eating disorders among middle school girls. About 4% of girls who did not participate in the program developed disordered eating and weight loss methods, compared to just 1% of girls who did participate.

"The results suggest that it may be possible for school-based programs to help prevent obesity and eating disorder symptoms in adolescent girls."

The authors of the study feel further research is needed to determine if other obesity programs produce the same or similar results.

Labels: schools, prevention, girls

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Overweight girls who lose weight before they reach adulthood are less likely to develop diabetes, according to a new study from the National Institute of Health and Harvard University.

• Researchers analyzed data on 109,000 female nurses, of whom 3300 developed diabetes.
• If a woman was obese when she was 18 years old, she had nine times the risk of diabetes.
• If she had been overweight at age ten but not overweight at age 18, her chances of developing diabetes were no greater than those who were normal weight as children.

"These findings suggest that ensuring that overweight kids reverse their weight gain is critical to their future risk of diabetes as adults," said author Edwina Yeung.

This study appeared in the journal Diabetes Care.
 

Labels: diet, diabetes, girls

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