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

Previous academic studies have shown that if you associate with overweight people, you are more likely to become overweight yourself, especially if you eat together often.

Now a new study from the University of Georgia indicates that hanging out with people who have self-control can help you develop that quality yourself.

• Prof. Michelle vanDellen and her colleagues devised three different studies to find out if self-control can be contagious.
  
• In one study, for example, the research team assigned 36 volunteers to think about a friend who had either good or bad self-control.
  
• Those who thought of a friend with good self-control persisted longer at a task commonly used to measure that trait.

"The take-home message of the study is that picking social influences that are positive can improve your self control," said Dr. vanDellen. "By exhibiting self-control, you are helping others around you do the same."

The study appeared in the journal Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin.

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A study that was conducted through the University of California (San Diego) School of Medicine found that overweight teenagers who weigh themselves at least once a week exhibited healthier overall behavior, including eating more fruits and vegetables and getting more exercise.

"We think that regular weight monitoring may increase a teen's awareness of weight fluctuations or gradual weight gain, enabling him or her to appropriately adjust their diet and exercise, said [Kerri] Boutelle. They also reported less daily calorie intake, less junk-food consumption and greater use of a structured diet." (Source: MediLexicon)

Some people have expressed concern that teens who regularly weigh themselves are more likely to develop body dissatisfaction and eating disorders. But this new study shows that the opposite appears to be true for teens who are overweight or obese.

Self-monitoring is encouraged by a number of highly effective and reputable weight loss and wellness programs, including the Structure House residential weight loss program.

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A study that was conducted at the University of Michigan found that children who can't practice delayed gratification are more likely to gain weight. This was true whether their lack of control was related to food or toys.

[In the study] children were asked to choose candy, animal crackers, or pretzels as their preferred food, and [were] left alone with two plates of different quantities of the food. Children were told that they would be allowed to eat a larger quantity of the chosen food if they waited until the examiner returned. (Source: EmaxHealth)

Forty-seven percent of the children who participated in the study were unable to wait for the examiner to return - and those who displayed a limited ability to wait were 29 percent more likely to be overweight as they got older.

Researchers pointed to their findings as proof that parents need to teach the benefits of delayed gratification and model this behavior themselves.

Labels: overeating, self-control, overweight children, studies

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Nine-year-olds who demonstrate self-control are less likely to be overweight as teenagers, according to a new study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

• Researchers used data on 844 children enrolled in the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development.
• When the children were nine years old, parents and teachers rated them on a three-point scale on measures of self-control, such as "controls temper during arguments" and "keeps room neat."
• By age 15 years old, one-third of the children were overweight. This group had self-control measures of 1.2 at nine years old compared to 1.35 for teenagers who were normal weight.

The study appears in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.
 

Labels: self-control, childhood_health

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Researchers throughout the world have studied obesity, and in many cases have concluded that the cause is simple: too much food and not enough physical activity. Is it possible to teach those who are prone to overeating to enjoy being self-controlled?

“In one study, the researchers asked participants to hold pieces of candy between their fingers, and put it in their mouths and then take it out. ‘The goal of this task was to let people perform tasks with the candy but not be able to actually eat the candy,’ the authors explain. Once the participants completed the initial tasks they moved on to taking unrelated surveys.” - Source: MediLexicon

The surveys measured participant perception of the task. Those who were more self-controlled viewed the task as a game – they were playing with the candy. Those who had less self-control viewed the task as work. In a similar study, participants exhibited more self-control when a task was labeled as “fun.” Researchers believe the study results show that self-control can be improved if it’s perceived as being fun rather than an obligation.

 

Labels: self-control

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