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

A study conducted by the University at Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences has found that friends and other social factors play important roles in a child's eating habits. According to an Aug. 5 ScienceDaily article, the Buffalo researchers found that friends may act at "permission givers" for kids who are overweight or obese:

The study involved 23 overweight and 42 normal weight children between the ages of 9 and 15, who were randomized to participate with either a friend or an unfamiliar person of a similar age. After randomization, there were 33 friend pairs and 39 "unfamiliar" pairs. ...

Results showed that friends who ate together consumed more food than participants who were paired with someone they didn't know, and that friends were more likely to eat similar amounts than participants paired with a stranger.

However, overweight children who were paired with an overweight peer, whether friend or stranger, ate more than the overweight participants who were paired with a normal weight youth.

"Given the impact of friends on eating behavior, it appears that if we hope to change the growing obesity epidemic among children, friends and family need to be involved," researcher Sarah Salvy, Ph.D., said in the ScienceDailyarticle.

The Buffalo research was published in the August issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Labels: research, overeating, social_networks

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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

Posted By: My Overweight Child 1 Comment

A new 98-page report is being presented to the Federal Trade Commission this week. In it, several well-known companies are cited as using digital marketing techniques to advertise junk food to children. Many of these techniques, which involve social networking sites, Instant Messaging and text messaging, go undetected by parents.

"'As our research shows, major food and beverage brands are utilizing a variety of new venues - including cell phones, instant messaging, video games, user-generated video and three-dimensional virtual worlds - in their efforts to target children and adolescents and to foster ongoing personal relationships with them, often under the radar of parents...'"

The report calls for the FTC to carefully scrutinize the link between these new marketing methods and childhood obesity. It cites a 23.2% increase in spending on Internet-based advertising in 2006.

Read more online.

Labels: social_networks, marketing, media influences

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments