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

Obese teenage boys are more likely to have a marker for serious liver disease, according to a new study from the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

• Dr. Rose Graham studied 1323 children ages 12 to 19 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
• Boys who had metabolic syndrome -- that is, insulin resistance increased waist circumference, high blood pressure and abnormal levels of cholesterol -- were more likely to be at risk for serious liver disease.
• The same was not true of girls.
• Metabolic syndrome is associated with obesity.

Dr. Graham's study appeared in the Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology and Nutrition.

Labels: obese teens, boys, health_risks

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American adults believe that obesity is the number one problem facing their children today, according to an annual poll conducted by researchers at the University of Michigan.

Dr. Matthew Davis and his colleagues found that adults' top concerns for children are obesity, drug abuse, smoking, bullying, Internet safety, child abuse and neglect, alcohol abuse, stress, not enough opportunities for physical activity, and teen pregnancy.

These concerns ranked higher than other health issues including school violence, depression, attention deficit disorder, autism, sexually transmitted diseases, suicide, etc.

This is the first year that adults ranked stress among the top 10 problems facing children today. This was also the first year that Hispanic, Caucasian and African-American adults all agreed that obesity was the top concern facing children today.

Labels: childhood_obesity, research, health_risks

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The New York State Department of Health has issued a newly revised resource guide on diabetes in children. Titled Children with Diabetes: A Resource Guide for Family and Schools, the document is designed to assist families, school officials and others as they work to identify and prevent diabetes in children.

Approximately 9,000 children and youth in New York State are diagnosed with diabetes. Type 1 diabetes accounts for nearly 85 percent of diagnosed diabetes among youth. There are currently no known strategies to prevent Type 1 diabetes. (Source: EMax Health)

Diagnoses of Type 2 diabetes are also increasing in children, a trend that many experts attribute to disturbing rises in the prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity. New York's new resource guide addresses issues related to Type 2 diabetes and helps parents, children, school staff and health care professionals devise plans for working together.

Labels: childhood_obesity, diabetes, overweight children, health_risks

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An Australian study of 1,000 14-year-olds found that almost one in three is at risk for heart disease. Many of the children who had risk factors for heart disease were not overweight.

Researchers from the University of Western Australia and Perth's Telethon Institute for Child Health Research set out to identify risk factors from measures of blood pressure, weight, and levels of insulin, blood glucose, and cholesterol.

The researchers plan to reassess the children when they are 18 years old.

This study appeared in the Diabetes Care Journal.

Labels: heart_disease, health_risks, teenagers

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Rates of child and teen obesity in the United States have tripled over the past 30 years. Child and teen obesity is a serious medical problem that is affecting more and more young people. Due to excess weight, many children and teens are experiencing health problems that were once associated only with adults, including high blood pressure, diabetes, and high cholesterol.

Overweight children and teens are also at higher risk for skin infections, sleep disturbances, depression, anxiety, metabolic syndrome, and liver disease. Experts have begun to address this problem by exploring risk factors and behaviors that are common among obese youth, and developing exercise and weight loss programs specifically designed for overweight young people.

Although a small percentage of overweight children suffer from medical conditions that cause weight gain, the vast majority of child and teen obesity is due to a simple equation of too much food and too little activity. Unlike adults, children naturally eat to gain weight; they must consume calories in addition to what is necessary for daily activities in order to support the growth of their bodies. When children consume enough calories to support daily activities and growth, their weight gain will remain in proportion to their growth. When they consume more than this amount, however, they begin to store the excess calories as fat.

According to information from the Mayo Clinic, risk factors for childhood obesity fall into several categories. Risk factors can include diet, activity level, genetic predisposition, psychological health, family environment, and socioeconomic status. Dietetic causes of obesity are generally identified as high-fat, high-sugar foods, such as fried foods, candy, soda, baked goods, and fast food. Low levels of physical activity, often due to sedentary activities like playing video games, watching television, and surfing the Internet, are also linked to child and teen obesity.

Many children overeat, like adults, to help deal with emotional problems. Family eating habits have an enormous impact on child and teen weight problems simply because youth are not responsible for choosing the foods that are brought into the home; if parents encourage and/or facilitate poor eating habits, a child will emulate these habits. Research shows that children from low-income families are more vulnerable to weight problems. Some experts believe that this may be due to the fact that lower income parents may lack the time, financial resources, and information to help their children eat healthy foods and get enough exercise.

Parents who are concerned that their children may be overweight are advised to seek a professional opinion. Children carry weight differently than adults, and not all excess weight is necessarily a symptom of a weight problem. It is especially important for parents to consult a physician or nutritional specialist before placing a child on a restricted diet or starting a weight loss program. Children and teens have nutritional and emotional needs that are different from adults, and child and teen weight loss efforts should always be supervised by a professional.

Labels: causes of childhood obesity, health_risks

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As more teens become overweight, instances of severe liver damage are also on the rise.

Non-alcoholic fatty liver disease now affects two to five percent of all American children over five years, according to a study from the American Liver Foundation. As many as half of all obese children have the condition, which can progress to life-threatening cirrhosis, liver failure, or liver cancer. Many of today's teens will someday need liver transplants.

Children with belly fat and obesity-related conditions such as diabetes, heart problems and high cholesterol are more likely to have fatty liver diseases, which can be detected by a simple blood test.

Labels: health_risks, liver_damage, fatty-foods

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A recent study has discovered a link between gestational diabetes and obesity. Researchers at the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research (CHR) in Portland, Oregon found the onset of gestational diabetes during pregnancy significantly increases the child's risk of becoming obese if the diabetes isn't treated.

"Hillier and colleagues analyzed the medical records of 9,439 women who gave birth between 1995 and 2000 in Portland, Ore., Washington State and Hawaii. They discovered that tots of pregnant women with untreated high blood sugar levels were 89 percent more likely to be overweight and 82 percent more likely to be obese by the ages of five to seven years... than were children of moms without gestational diabetes."

Teresa Hillier, the study's lead author, advises pregnant women to make sure their ob-gyn is screening for blood sugar levels and that women diagnosed with gestational diabetes stick to their treatment program. Read more at SCIAM.com.

Labels: research, diabetes, health_risks

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The health risks associated with childhood obesity are well-documented and well-known. What many parents don't know is how much simple dietary changes can reduce a child's risk of becoming obese.

"In Philadelphia, five schools revised their cafeteria menus. They got rid of the sodas and replaced them with water, low-fat milk and 100 percent fruit juice. They also made sure that the snacks in the vending machines and cafeterias met certain nutritional requirements. Parents were also encouraged to give their children more fruits and vegetables."

A team of researchers then tracked Philadelphia students from fourth through sixth grade. They found that twice as many students became obese in the schools that did not revise their menus and snacks. Source: OnHealthyLiving.com.

Labels: diet, nutrition, health_risks

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Two new studies linking overweight in childhood with adult heart disease gives "a frightening glimpse of what we have in store," according to David S. Ludwig of Harvard Medical School.

The studies are the first to confirm that children who are overweight have a significantly higher risk of developing heart disease as adults. These conclusions are important because the percentage of overweight children in the United States has tripled since 1976 and now numbers over nine million.

Researchers from the Institute of Preventive Medicine in Copenhagen, Denmark, examined the height/weight charts of more than 276,000 Danish children between 1955 and 1960, and then looked through hospital records from 1977 to 2001 to find the ones who had been hospitalized for heart disease.

"Even a few extra pounds put a child at risk," said Jennifer Baker of the Copenhagen Institute.

If the child lost weight before age 13 years and remained at normal weight, his chances of developing heart disease returned to normal.

A second study from the University of California at San Francisco produced similar results using U.S. federal statistics.

"Overweight children are losing their childhood," said Melinda Sothern, and expert on childhood obesity at Louisiana State University. "They can't do the same types of activities as healthy weight children. Now they will lose their early adulthood as well."

Labels: health_risks, activity, quality_of_life

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Concern over the health impacts of obesity is not new. But the focus is usually on issues like diabetes and heart disease. The most recent issue of Orthopedic Nursing turns its focus to obesity's effects on the musculoskeletal system.

"Pearson-Ceol's literature review (p. 289) on the effects of obesity on the knee joint reveal the increase of osteoarthritis in the knees of obese patients and believes that future nursing research is indicated for improving this problem. Looking at the problem of how obesity is related to the health of the hip& and to the spine& also reveals that increased weight impacts and affects other areas of the body."

Many who are dangerously obese turn to bariatric surgery (an operation that reduces the size of the stomach), but studies have shown that patients also lose bone density, which can be a dangerous trade-off.

Labels: health_risks, bone_density, weight_loss_surgery

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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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A recent study lead by Professor John Morrison at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center shows that overweight children with high cholesterol, blood pressure and sugar levels are at an increased risk for heart disease or strokes.

"But losing weight significantly lowered health risks. 'This indicates [the risk of heart disease and stroke are] not hard-wired. Some clearly are more susceptible, but susceptibility isn't the same as inevitability,' says William Dietz, who heads the division of nutrition, physical activity and obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

The condition that Morrison studied is called pediatric metabolic syndrome, and is indicated by the presence of at three of the following factors: excess weight, low HDL (the good cholesterol), high triglycerides, high blood pressure and high blood sugar levels. Morrison found that weight was the key driver of the condition. Read more at LangingStateJournal.com.

While being overweight or obese isn't healthy, neither is teenage drug addiction. Learn what signs to look for at Adolescent-Substance-Abuse.com.

Labels: genetics, heart_disease, health_risks

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