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

A new study has associated sleep problems with unhealthy weight gain.

People who sleep either too much or too little are in danger of gaining abdominal fat, according to researchers from Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

• Dr. Kristin Hairston and her colleagues studied 332 African-American and 775 Hispanic-American adults over the age of 18 years old. The researchers asked about their subjects' sleep, diet, exercise, and other lifestyle habits, and then followed up with them five years later.

• Study participants who slept five hours or less a night had a greater accumulation of abdominal fat, and the same was true for those who slept five hours or less.
  

• People who got less than average sleep had a 32 percent gain in visceral fat and those who slept eight or more hours a night gained 22 percent.

• Study subjects who slept six or seven hours a night, which is the average, averaged a 13 percent gain.
  

Dr. Hairston was unsure why sleep duration might affect fat gain, but she said that among the group that sleeps too few hours, it may be related to becoming overtired and thus being unable to exercise. Among that group that sleeps more than eight hours a night, she theorized that they may tend to gain fat because they are too inactive.

Dr. Hairston also said that she believes that sleep is a factor that changes the levels of appetite-regulating hormones.

The study appeared in the journal Sleep.

Labels: weight_gain, sleep

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A study of 40,000 people found that those who drank one sugared beverage per day were 27 times more likely to be overweight than those who did not drink such beverages as frequently.

This study, from the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) also concluded that drinking one soda a day for a year adds up to 39 pounds of sugar.

"We drink soda like water," said Harold Goldstein, a researcher who participated in the study. "But unlike water, soda serves up a whopping 17 teaspoons of sugar in every 20 ounce serving."

Labels: sodas, weight_gain

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Ah, summertime -- a chance for young people to get out of the classroom and into the fresh air, where they can get ample amounts of exercise and shed unwanted (and unhealthy) excess weight.

Or not.

A study of more than 5,000 kindergarten students and first-graders from more than 300 schools across the country found that children are more likely to gain weight over the summer than during school months. Although summer is the traditional time for swimming, riding bicycles and other physical activities, more children are spending time in sedentary activities like watching TV and playing video games during the summer.

A separate study from the University of Wisconsin of overweight middle school students found that while they improved their fitness scores during the school year, all these beneficial changes were lost over the three-month summer break.

Nutrition expert Susan Nitzke of the University of Wisconsin advises parents to share physical activities with their children, eat meals together as much as possible, limit television and video games, keep junk food out of the house, enroll children in summer camps and programs, and give children gifts that encourage physical activity, such as jump ropes and balls.

Labels: weight_gain, summers

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Economic hard times may cause teenage girls -- but not boys -- to gain weight, according to a study in the journal Social Science and Medicine.

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth, researcher Jeremy Arkes, compared young people's body mass indices (BMI) to unemployment rates from the years 1997 to 2004. Arkes found that for every one percent rise in unemployment, there was a 1.8 percent rise in BMI percentile among girls ages 15 to 18 years old. The opposite was true for males, who tended to lose weight when unemployment rates increased.

Regardless of the cause of their weight gains, stressful times can be difficult for overweight children and teens, who may already be dealing with a number of weight-related physical and psychological challenges.

Labels: weight_gain, recession, girls

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Infants who are in the care of people other than their parents gain more weight in their first year of life, according to a new study from Harvard University and the University of Illinois.

The finding was troublesome because more infants than ever are in day care, and too much weight gained during the first year of life is a risk factor for becoming overweight as an adult.

Dr. Juhee Kim and Dr. Karen Peterson analyzed data from more than 8,150 children age nine months. Half received nonparental care for at least part of their day. Infants in part-time day care gained 175 grams more than those who were cared for full-time by parents. Infants cared by relatives at least part-time gained 162 more grams. One pound equals about 450 grams.

Labels: weight_gain, daycare, babies

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Spending more than sixteen hours per week online, not getting enough sleep, and drinking too much increase a teenaged girl's chances of gaining weight, according to a new study from Harvard Medical School.

Dr. Catherine Berkey examined lifestyle factors as they pertain to a teen's gaining weight over the course of one year. Using records from over 5,000 girls ages 14 to 21 years, Berkey determined the following:

• Girls who spent long hours of recreational time on the Internet had a 57 percent risk of gaining at least four pounds a year.


• Sleeping fewer than five hours a night and drinking more than two glasses of alcohol a week was also associated with weight gain.


• Coffee drinking was not associated with weight gain.

This study appears in the Journal of Pediatrics.

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Believe it or not, children gain more weight during the summer than they do during the school year. Though kids are outside playing more, they're also snacking more and eating fewer structured meals. Keeping healthy snacks in the house will help your kids not only eat well but avoid the customary summer weight gain.

"With simple substitutions, brown rice instead of white, wheat pasta with cheese instead of that orange and blue mac and cheese box, children will stay fit and healthy this summer."

Do your best to avoid enriched flour and use things made with whole wheat instead. Also consider mixing some dark green veggies into a standard iceberg lettuce salad. Read more at 9WSYR.com.

Summertime is great for getting outside to play and exercise. Get an Education in Fitness from the WeightLossHelpDirectory.com.

Labels: weight_gain, snacks, unhealthy_food_choices

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For years, there's been a commonly held belief that 100% fruit juice (possibly because of its high sugar content) increased the risk for weight gain among children. But the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has shown that not to be true.

"In fact, children aged two to three who drank the most juice were nearly three times less likely to be overweight than children who drank no juice at all."

Kids who drank 100% fruit juice also consumed higher amounts of vitamin C, potassium, riboflavin, and magnesium. They were also more likely to consume whole fruit than kids who drank very little, or no, fruit juice. Read more at CTV.ca.

Labels: nutrition, weight_gain, junk_food

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More bad news when it comes to teens, weight problems and sleep deprivation: A new study has found that teenagers who get less than eight hours of sleep on weeknights are more likely to eat fatty and high-calorie foods than are teens who get eight hours of sleep or more. Over time, the unhealthy patterns can become habits and lead to weight gain.

“It’s not clear why sleeping less may send teens to the fridge more often. One explanation involves the hormones leptin and ghrelin, which regulate appetite. Not getting enough sleep has been shown to reduce the production of these hormones, which can make a person feel hungrier and fuel cravings for high-calorie snacks.” [Source: Health.com]

Cultural and social norms affect teens eating habits as well, but this latest study makes a compelling case for the importance of getting a good night’s sleep.

Labels: weight_gain, sleep, snacks

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