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Preventing Childhood Obesity Tips A toxic American diet is responsible for the epidemic of child obesity. A high-calorie, low-fiber American diet promotes hormonal imbalances that encourage children to overeat. New research shows that one third of kids nationwide are overweight now; other stats show that the percentage of children who are obese has more than tripled since the 1970s. Experts are now worrying about the collateral damage, too: A 2006 University of Minnesota study found that 57 percent of girls and 33 percent of boys used smoking, fasting, or skipping meals to control their weight and that diet-pill intake by teenage girls had nearly doubled in five years. Last year, nearly 5,000 teens opted for liposuction, American kids eat too much. Over a 10-year period, the average child consumed up to 165 calories more than he or she needed each day -- the equivalent of an entire can of soda. And the fattest teens took in as many as 1,000 calories more each day than they needed -- almost as much as two Big Macs. Many American kids are suffering from an "energy gap," in which they take in more calories than they burn. An estimated one in three American kids is either obese, a step beyond overweight or in danger of becoming obese. Overweight children face increased risk for asthma, low self-esteem, type 2 (adult onset) diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. In a comprehensive review of obesity research published in the August 2006 edition of the journal Nature Clinical Practice Endocrinology & Metabolism, Robert Lustig, MD, professor of clinical pediatrics at UCSF Children's Hospital, says that food manufacturing practices have created a "toxic environment" that dooms children to being overweight. "Empty" calories from sugar-sweetened sodas and fruit drinks are blamed for contributing to childhood obesity. A new Canadian study looked at whether young children who regularly had sweet drinks between meals, specifically, were more likely to become overweight before age 5. Mothers of 1,500 children completed detailed dietary questionnaires when the children were 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 years old. The children's weight and height were measured at age 4.5 years. The study found, children who regularly had sugar-sweetened soda or fruit drinks for snacks -- at least four to six times each week -- were more than twice as likely to become overweight as children who had no sugary drinks between meals. This did not include children who drank only 100% pure fruit juice. The findings, which are published in the June 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, suggest that parents should limit preschoolers' intake of sugar-sweetened drinks, the researcher say -- and that goes for meal time as well as snack time. Beverages offering a better nutritive value, such as milk and 100% fruit juice, are better choices for children, adolescents and adults. According to the National Institutes of Health, the number of children who are overweight in the United States has doubled during the past two decades. Currently one child in five is overweight. The increase is true for children and adolescents of all age groups and races and for boys and girls. Diseases that once were only seen in adults, like type 2 diabetes, now are occurring in increasing numbers in children. Overweight children tend to become overweight adults, which also puts them at greater risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke. Children who are obese also are socially ostracized and teased, putting them at risk for depression and other psychiatric conditions. Our toxic Western diet has become highly insulinogenic, as demonstrated by its increased energy density, high-fat content, high glycemic index, increased fructose composition (high fructose corn syrup), decreased fiber, and decreased dairy content. Fructose (too much) and fiber (not enough) appear to be cornerstones of the obesity epidemic through their effects on insulin. It has long been known that the hormone insulin acts on the brain to encourage eating through two separate mechanisms. First, it blocks the signals that travel from the body's fat stores to the brain by suppressing the effectiveness of the hormone leptin, resulting in increased food intake and decreased activity. Second, insulin promotes the signal that seeks the reward of eating carried by the chemical dopamine, which makes a person want to eat to get the pleasurable dopamine "rush." Calorie intake and expenditure normally are regulated by leptin. When leptin is functioning properly it increases physical activity, decreases appetite, and increases feelings of well-being. Conversely, when leptin is suppressed, feelings of well-being and activity decrease and appetite increases -- a state called "leptin resistance." Changes in food processing during the past 30 years, particularly the addition of sugar to a wide variety of foods that once never included sugar and the removal of fiber, both of which promote insulin production, have created an environment in which our foods are essentially addictive, he adds. Children cannot be blamed or expected to take personal responsibility for their dietary behavior in an environment when the foods they are offered -- especially cheaply prepared "fast foods" that are full of sugar and devoid of fiber -- are toxic. The concept of personal responsibility is not tenable in children. No child chooses to be obese. Furthermore, young children are not responsible for food choices at home or at school, and it can hardly be said that preschool children, in whom obesity is rampant, are in a position to accept personal responsibility. Overweight children are stigmatized by their peers as early as age 3 and even face bias from their parents and teachers, giving them a quality of life comparable to people with cancer, a new analysis concludes. Children who report teasing, rejection, bullying and other types of abuse because of their weight are two to three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts as well as to suffer from other health issues such as high blood pressure and eating disorders. "The stigmatization directed at obese children by their peers, parents, educators and others is pervasive and often unrelenting," researchers with Yale University and the University of Hawaii at Manatoa wrote in the July 2007 issue of Psychological Bulletin. Obesity Cited as Elementary School Absenteeism Predictor It's not illness that keeps elementary school children away from the classroom most often, it's obesity, say University of Pennsylvania and Temple University researchers. They believe obesity is the best predictor of school absenteeism. According to Andrew B. Geier, the study's lead author at the University of Pennsylvania, obese elementary school children, on average, miss a couple more school days each year, and that's a prediction for possible major problems down the road. "It's clear in all the literature that the more days of school you miss, it really sets you up for such negative outcomes: drugs and AIDS and (teen) pregnancy." "At this early age to show that already they're missing school, and missing school is such a major setup for big-time problems, that's something school policy people have to know," Geier said. The study was confined to the schools in the poorest areas of Philadelphia in order to keep the test group as homogeneous as possible. The study didn't examine physical health issues associated with being overweight. Rather, it dealt with emotional or psychological reasons behind the absenteeism. They're missing school because they don't want to be bullied and called names. (August 2007 issue of the journal Obesity.) By 2010, it is estimated that almost 50 percent of children in North America and 38 percent of children in the European Union will be overweight. If we don't fix this, our children will continue to lose. Children — and adults — should eat when they're hungry and stop when they're full, even if food remains on the plate.
Parents in particular need to be aware as their children grow that they not consume excessive calories from large portions and sugar-sweetened beverages, and that they remain physically active. Many school districts have eliminated "recess" from the elementary school day - a time when children can be free to burn calories. Children and adolescents also need to be provided with physical-education classes (K-12) in their schools and encouraged to be more active after school. | Dangers of Falling | Benefits of Bananas | Benefits of Honey | Benefits of Peanuts | Childhood Obesity | Dangers of Parasites | Benefits Red Wine | Broccoli Benefits | Dangers of Uric Acid | Fast Food | Benefits of Prunes | Birth Control | Golf Injuries | Tennis Injuries | HPV Vaccine Controversey | Dangers of Salt | Peanut Butter Diet | Nip and Tuck | Flexatarian Benefits | Boob Jobs | Affordable Dentistry | Affordable Dental Implants | | Return Home | Jewelry | Health Articles | Femhealth Products | Great Links | Health Conditions | Contact Us | Gifts | Site Directory | |
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