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

The My Overweight Child blog will help you keep informed about the latest research, findings, and resources available to parents of overweight or obese kids. There are many knowledgeable people working on the increasingly dire problem of childhood obesity - and we want to give parents a place where they can check in regularly to see the latest studies and tips available to help you help your child lose weight and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

We invite you to add your comments - if you have feedback for the blog, would like some specific topics covered, or you just want to share your experience as a parent dealing with childhood obesity.

Wednesday, February 03, 2010

Experts Concerned about Prevalence of Teen Weight Loss Surgery

Weight loss surgery is advancing technically, and rapidly becoming an option not only for obese patients, but for those who are merely overweight. However, some doctors and nutritionists worry that these surgeries carry risks and can never replace improved diet and exercise as a long-term solution to weight control.

The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery reported that 220,000 people had procedures in 2008, representing a twofold increase from 2007.
This year, the Penrose Medical Center in Denver became one of the first surgical centers for obese teens. A surgery costs $9,500 and is not always covered by insurance.

"I am so disgusted with this," said Dr. Wendy Scinta, a pediatric specialist in childhood obesity on the board of the American Society of Bariatric Physicians.

"In children, it is still considered experimental. It's kind of young to be going through something so drastic," Dr. Scinta said. "We're at the point where the obesity epidemic is happening faster than we can get our arms around it, but especially with children, we do have time. We need to give them a shot at doing something less aggressive at first."

Labels: obese teens, weight loss surgery

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

One Year After Weight Loss Surgery, Severely Obese Teens Still Overweight

Waiting too long to have surgery for obesity may mean that a severely obese teenager will not achieve normal weight, according to a new study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

Dr. Thomas Inge and his colleagues studied 61 teenagers a year after they had gastric bypass surgery, an operation that involves stapling the upper portion of the stomach to create a small pouch that restricts the amount of food a person can eat at one time.
The group that was the most overweight managed to lose nearly 40 percent of their body mass index (BMI), but that did not mean they achieved a medically-recommended weight.
The ones who had the lowest BMIs going into surgery had the lowest BMIs a year after the surgery.

Having the weight loss surgery did help the teenagers reduce their blood pressure, cholesterol levels, and triglycerides.

The study appeared in the Journal of Pediatrics.

Labels: gastric bypass, obese teens, weight loss surgery

Saturday, November 03, 2007

Surgery for Obese Only Works with Lifestyle Change

Surgery is becoming an increasingly popular recommendation for the morbidly obese. The challenge is that surgery alone is not enough to make a lasting difference in someone's life – or weight.

"Although patients have a smaller appetite following the surgery, Ms Mathewson discussed their emotional needs surrounding food, and other psychological issues related to their eating habits such as body image."

People who struggle with obesity often have extremely low self-esteem, are depressed and socially withdrawn. If not addressed, these traits can continue even after a successful weight-loss surgery.

Labels: lifestyle, obesity surgery, weight loss surgery

Monday, October 08, 2007

Doctors Search for Alternatives to Weight Loss Surgeries

Weight loss surgeries seem, to many, to be a quick and easy solution to being overweight or obese. But along with the surgery come complications - over sixty of them - including diarrhea, depression, infections and weight regain. The list of complications has become so long that many primary care physicians are looking for alternatives to weight loss surgery.

"On October 18th, at the University of San Diego and on October 22 at the University of California, Los Angeles, [Laurel] Mellin and colleagues will launch a nationwide series of conferences for health professionals on a method that was developed at the University of California, San Francisco and which equips patients with the developmental skills to nurture and set limits from within, easing stress and enhancing joy. Research on its use with both adult and childhood obesity has supported its effectiveness."

Most attribute the rise in childhood obesity to fast food and video games, but Mellin and her colleagues have found that the availability of these new coping mechanisms is only effective because we've forgotten how to cope with negative emotions in healthy ways. Their seminar helps people learn to be more aware of their emotions and gives them five tools to help them not only cope, but move their stress level from a five down to a one. Margaret Suddeth, a program graduate, lost 60 using the method.

Labels: alternatives, pediatricians, weight loss surgery

Friday, February 16, 2007

Children's Hospitals Get FDA Approval to Perform Weight-Loss Surgery

More adults than ever are undergoing stomach surgeries to lose weight. Now these same surgeries may become available to obese teens and children.

Four major children's hospitals are participating in a large-scale study this spring to determine if the surgeries can benefit young people. The Federal Food and Drug Agency approved the study in February 2007.

The surgical techniques to be used include gastric bypass, in which doctors staple a pouch off from the rest of the stomach and connect it to the small intestine. Another technique is laparoscopic gastric banding, in which doctors put an elastic collar around the stomach to limit food intake.

Children rarely undergo such operations because they are risky and the long-term results are unknown. Over 177,000 adults had such surgeries last year.

However, a small study done at New York University Medical Center found that teens could benefit. Doctors operated on 53 teenage boys and girls, who had an average weight of 297 pounds. Most lost over half their weight after their surgeries. However, fifteen had complications that were mostly minor. This study appears in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of Pediatric Surgery.

Other hospitals participating in the new experiment are University of Illinois Medical Center in Chicago, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian.

Labels: FDA, gastric bypass, weight loss surgery

Friday, January 26, 2007

Fat Children Have Surgery More Often, Suffer More Complications than Leaner Kids

Overweight children have more surgery and experience more complications from their operations than normal weight children, according to a new study at the University of Michigan Health System.

Researchers studied the records of 6017 children who had surgery at the University of Michigan hospitals between 2000 and 2004. More than a third of them were overweight; half of those were obese. Many of the surgeries that the heavier children underwent had to do with being overweight, such operations for breathing problems, sleep apnea, and digestive issues.

The researchers also found that overweight children who had surgery experienced more complications, usually because of health problems associated with obesity and formerly diagnosed only in adults. For example, overweight children were more likely to be diabetic, which made them more prone to infections.

Michigan has one of the nation's highest rates of obesity, which means that what holds true there may not be the same in every other state. This study appears in the February 2007 Journal of the National Medical Association.

Labels: causes of childhood obesity, gastric bypass, obesity surgery, overweight children, weight loss surgery