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

People who feel stressed at work and then come home and "veg out" in front of TV are more likely to be overweight and obese, according to a new study from the University of Rochester Medical Center:

• Dr. Diana Fernandez and her colleagues studied almost 3,000 employees in a large factory in New York, and found that the ones that were working in the most high job strain conditions were heavier than those who worked in more passive areas.
  
• About one third of the people in the study were overweight and another 35 percent were obese, which mirrors the American population in general.
  
• If a person went home and watched more than two hours of television, they were more likely to be obese. Watching four or more hours of TV a day increased the risk of obesity by 150 percent.
  
• Eating a diet high in fruits and vegetables did not protect against being overweight, although those who managed to exercise were better able to cope with stress and maintain their weight.

"We are not sure why television is so closely associated with being overweight," Dr. Fernandez said. "Other studies have shown that adults tend to eat more fatty foods while watching television."

Previous studies have identified watching too much television as a potential risk factor for childhood obesity.

This study appeared in the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine.

Labels: parenting, causes of childhood obesity, television

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Parents who drop their children off at day care every day may think their young ones are getting hours of playtime and stimulating activity. But according to a Nov. 28 CNN report, what the children may actually be getting is a lot of time in front of a television set:

New research published in the December issue of the journal Pediatrics found that kids in child care settings could be watching as much as 2.4 hours of television on an average day.

A study from the Center for Child Health, Behavior and Development at Seattle Children's Research Institute examined 168 child care programs and found that 70 percent of home-based and 36 percent of center-based programs showed television to preschool kids.

"Most parents don't know what happens at their children's preschool," said author Dr. Dimitri Christakis, who directs the Center for Child Health in Seattle, Washington. "They really want to believe that they leave their children there, it's preparing them for school, it's a stimulating, enriching environment. And I don't know that they're aware that in fact, a lot of time is spent watching TV."

Labels: television, daycare

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

With childhood obesity continuing to plague nations throughout the world, a wide range of causes and solutions are being explored. Recently, a team of researchers from the University of California-Davis studied the type and frequency of commercials on childrens networks.

The UCD study appeared in the November/December edition of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. A Nov. 4 press release included the following details about the research team's findings:

• When compared to television for a general audience, children's networks in this study exposed young viewers to 76 percent more food commercials per hour than did the other networks, with the Saturday morning 7-10 a.m. time slot being more saturated with food commercials.
• Out of 5,724 commercials recorded, 1,162 were food-related, with 91.2 percent of food promotions in English, and 8.7% in Spanish. Only 1 commercial was bilingual.
• Overall, nearly 1 in 5 advertisements was for a food or nutrition-related product, with 5.2 food advertisements presented every hour.
• Fast-food restaurants, sugary food, chips/crackers, and sugar-added beverages collectively accounted for more than 70 percent of food commercials.
• 34 percent of the commercials were for ''food on the run,'' fast-food restaurants and convenience food.

"Approximately 7.7 food commercials per hour appeared in programming on the children's networks," the release notes, "which is approximately one food commercial every 8 minutes."

Labels: television, commercials, advertising

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Overweight children spend more time watching TV, playing video games and using computers than do children whose weight falls within the normal range, according to a new study from the Canadian Institute for Health Information.

• Researchers analyzed three behaviors of boys and girls ages six to 11 and ages 12 to 17 years old.
  
• The behaviors studied were eating fruits and vegetables, spending time in front of screens, and physical exercise.
  
• Seventy-five percent of overweight teenage boys spent two hours or more in front of screens, as did 50 percent of all overweight children ages six to 11 years old.
  
• Among normal weight children, 69 percent spent less than two hours a day in front of TVs, video games or computers.

These findings illustrate the value of getting kids off the couch, said Mark Tremblay, an officer for Healthy Active Kids Canada.

Labels: television, overweight children, computers

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

A new study from Australia recommends that children watch no more than two hours of television a day. ore than that amount leads to a decline in physical fitness, according to research from the University of Sydney.

• Dr. Louise Hardy had 2,750 children ages 11 to 15 years old undergo physical fitness tests.
• Dr. Hardy and her team also surveyed the children about how often they played computer games and watched television.
• Almost 10 percent of the children spent more than six hours a day engaged in "small screen" time.
• The children who spent more than two hours a day watching television were less likely to pass the physical fitness tests.

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children watch no more than two hours a day -- a recommendation that Dr. Hardy said is supported by her team's research.

"As it turned out, the experts were fairly spot-on," Dr. Hardy said. "The two hours [limit] is a good benchmark.

Labels: television, screen_time, exercise

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments

Two-thirds of television food advertisements shown during the hours children watch are for junk foods, according to research presented at the European Congress on Obesity meeting. In the United States, things are even worse: 90 percent of the ads during the time period in question are for junk foods.

Bridget Kelley and her colleagues monitored television shows broadcast during the hours children are most likely to watch in Australia, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia, and North and South America. She found that children see between 4,000 and 6,000 ads a year, with 2,000 to 4,000 for junk food.

"There is a lot of attention on unhealthy food marketing as an influence on childhood obesity and a lot of governments are reluctant to regulate," Kelley said.

The excessive consumption of junk food has been associated with many of the health consequences of childhood obesity.

Labels: causes of childhood obesity, television, advertising

Posted By: Aspen/CRC 0 Comments