San Mateo County fights back in ways to combat child obesity

As a parent, one's worst fear is to bury their child as opposed to the other way around. This has become most prevalent amongst Latin community, especially since Latin children show a higher rate of obesity than youth of other backgrounds. San Mateo County has taken on the challenge of childhood obesity by translating the "Shapedown" weight management program into Spanish. Shapedown is a program that works with families, teaching them healthful eating habits, good nutrition, and the importance of daily physical activity.

The organization has recently received grants worth $60,000, in an effort to get the program professionally translated. The Peninsula Health care district donated $50,000 and $10,000 dollars was contributed from the Silicone Valley Community Foundation. However, it has been estimated that the project still needs about $90,000 to make coursebooks, handouts and other materials available in Spanish.

"We have seen a great need to have (program materials) in Spanish," said Liliana Ramirez, a Health Plan educator. "Since (Shapedown) is not translated, it limits availability to a large population."

Article taken from: Inside Bay Area.

Are we reaching the end of the growing epidemic of childhood obesity?

The New York Times recently reported childhood obesity has recently reached a platue after a rising climb of more than two decades. This new found hope is greeted with guarded optism. It is still unclear whether the lull in childhood weight gain is permanent or if there is any prevelance of public anti-obesity efforts to limit junk food and increase physical activity in schools.

According to Dr. David Luwig, director of the childhood obesity program at Children’s Hospital in Boston, “After 25 years of extraordinarily bad news about childhood obesity, this study provides a glimmer of hope. But it’s much too soon to know whether this is a true plateau in prevalence or just a temporary lull.”

The most recent data is based on two surveys — one in 2003 to 2004 and one in 2005 to 2006 — that included 8,165 children ages 2 to 19. In that group, about 16 percent of children and teenagers were obese, which is defined as having a body mass index at or above the 95th percentile on United States growth charts. By comparison, about 5 percent of children and teenagers in the United States were obese in the 1960s and 1970s. The good news is that from a statistical standpoint, obesity rates have not increased since 1999.

Researchers can not give a clear explanation for the leveling off of childhood obesity rates. One concern is that the lull could represent a natural platue, but data collected from various obesity programs around the country suggests the trends may be real.

Are marketing techniques fueling child obesity?

Are advertisers purposely preying on our children's vulnerability? Everyday children are bombarded with advertisements, often with products that are harmful to them. According to Dale Kunkel, a communications professor at the University of Arizona, the average child sees about 40,000 commercials on television alone. The majority of ads targeted at them are for candy, sugared cereal, soda and fast food.

Marketing is the primary culprit of childhood obesity. A recent Stanford study found that children who spend the most time watching TV, videos and video games are more likely to be overweight. According to a 1999 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, reveals that exposure to food commercials influences children' s food preferences and requests.

HULIQ reports that the persuasiveness of marketing to children is troubling due to kids' inherent vulnerability of persuasion. Children under eight do not understand the intent of ads, and and tend to accept them as accurate and unbiased.

It is then fair to say that media and advertisers have a responsibility to do better by our nations kids. Some have recognized the effects their business practices have on children and are taking important steps toward acting in children's best interest.

In January, Kraft Foods decided to stop advertising its low- nutrition foods during children's programs and replace them with ads for more nutritional snack products. Sesame Street recently teamed with Earth's Best to launch a new line of organic and "nutrient-rich" breakfast foods and snacks for children. Nickelodeon refused to allow one of its characters, Dora the Explorer, to be used for a Burger King kids' meal unless a piece of fruit was included in the meal.

Fighting the battle of childhood obesity

An epidemic of childhood obesity plagues the lives of millions of American children, with virtually every major organ at risk the greater damage is probably irreversible. According to the Washington Post boys and girls in elementary school suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and painful joint conditions; a soaring incidence of type 2 diabetes, once a rarity in pediatricians’ offices; even a spike in child gallstones, also once a singularly adult affliction. Studies reveal that one in three children in this country overweight or worse, the future health and productivity of an entire generation, and a nation can very well be in jeopardy! The cumulative effect could be the country's first generation destined to have a shorter life span than its predecessor.

A 2005 analysis by a team of scientists forecast a two- to five-year drop in life expectancy unless aggressive action manages to reverse obesity rates. Since then, children have only gotten fatter.

According to a study by Thomson Reuters, the epidemic is expected to add billions of dollars to the U.S. health-care bill. Treating a child with obesity is three times more costly than treating the average child.

The internal damage does not always take medical testing to diagnose. It is visible as a child laboriously climbs a flight of stairs or tries to sit at a classroom desk, much less rise out of it. On a playground, obesity exerts a cruel price.

“It robs them of their childhood, really,” said Melinda S. Sothern, of the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans. “They’re robbed of the natural enjoyment of being a kid — being able to play outside, run. If they have high blood pressure, they have a constant risk of stroke."

As we all know we are undergoing a major epidemic all throughout the world. We must first take responsibility of our own bodies, as well there needs to be more involvement from the health care communities all the way to the federal government.

Childhood obesity - county measure or not?

In a recent report by the Daily Herald resident Dick Graff, of Kane County, Illinois is disappointed at a recent decision to spend tax dollars on a campaign to fight childhood obesity. Graff agrees that while the cause is noble, taxpayers should not be picking up the tab on this initiative. It is not an arena that should be invested in at a county level.
Although the issue is sad, he feels the Government can't take on social responsibility of trying to make people do the right thing. Graff proposes that there are plenty of organizations that are devoted to the issue of obesity amongst our youth. And therefore, asks the county to rescind the funding for this program.

If you have $500,000 for this campaign, the county has too much money at its disposal.

Is obesity holding back your child's education?

These days, the health of our youth is more compromised than ever with the proportions of young Americans who are overweight has tripled since 1980. According to the California Department of Education, more than 32 percent of all youth in California are overweight and approximately 74 percent are unfit. As a result, chronic illness, such as juvenile diabetes, asthma, high blood pressure and even heart disease will be endemic among our youth in the future. At the current pace of weight problems, 75 percent of adults and nearly 24 percent of U.S. children and adolescents will be overweight or obese by 2015.

According to a report released by the California Department of Education,
support for nutrition education and training declined from more than $600,000 to
less than $70,000 between school fiscal years 2002-03 and 2004-05, a reduction
of $530,000, or 88 percent.

The San Francisco Gate reports that children who are healthy, active and well-nourished children and youth are more likely to attend school and are more prepared and motivated to learn. Therefore, individuals are questioning whether a child even needs to sit at a desk to learn. Just as classrooms are designed to promote effective teaching, we must also design learning experiences that promote good health. School districts across the country are working on restoring nutrition and excercise to students in schools.

Five schools replaced sodas with fruit juice and milk; scaled back snacks to meet fat and calorie restrictions; banished candy; encouraged active participation at recess; gave raffle tickets for wise food choices toward bikes and jump ropes; and spent hours teaching kids and parents about good nutrition. A school in Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Leadership Academy, has removed refined flour, red meat and sugar from school lunches for healthier menus. Texas is trying a three-pronged approach - passing laws mandating more physical education, less junk food in schools, and an educational component for parents to emphasize basic nutrition facts. Many states are enacting laws that address nutrition and obesity.

Are you living the recipe for a shorter life?

As we all know an overweight child most often becomes an overweight adult. The majority of obese children leave adolescence for an adult life already ripe with health concerns. And according to a study by Harvard’s School of Public Health, those lives often end prematurely. The Harvard study evaluated the health habits and medical records of more than 100, 000 women, through this study researchers found that those women who were overweight or obese at age 18 had a far greater risk of dying from cancer or heart disease before reaching middle age.
According to Dr. Pavel Bence more than one-third of U.S. children are overweight or on their way to becoming overweight.

The physical and emotional strain on an overweight child is compounded by the type of behavior uncovered in this study. The obese youth were found less likely to exercise, and more likely to have smoked and consumed alcohol. Let me be the master of the obvious: This is a recipe for a shorter life, states Dr. Bence.

Study taken from Advisor Source.

Is surgery the answer to curb your child's weight gain?

Med page Today reports that stomach suturing may be the answer to reduce teen obesity. Reports from a pilot study indicate that a minimally invasive stomach reduction procedure helps obese teens lose large amounts of weight safely. A new procedure that is performed orally by a gasrtoenterologist, passes an endoscope down the patients throat which in turn, reduces the patients stomach and thereby restricts food intake.
Roberto Fogel, M.D., of Hospital de Clinicas Caracas in Venezuela reports that 12 obese adolescents (ages 14-17) who underwent this procedure lost a mean of 62.2% of their excess body weight within six months.
The procedure is minimally invasive with no complications, it said to take about 40 minutes and patients may leave within a few hours after the procedure.

The sutures are placed such that food passes only through the top part of the stomach on its way to the small intestine. "You feel full after maybe 10 bites," said Dr. Fogel.

It sounds like a great way to approach a very common problem," commented Mark H. DeLegge, M.D., a gastroenterologist and nutrition specialist at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston, who chaired the session at which the study was presented.

In theory this procedure sounds like the miracle cure for obesity, but does this really solve the root of the problem?

Illinois is stepping up to fight an an epidemic of obesity!

In Springfield, Illinois Governor Blagojevich urged his state workers to celebrate the 14th Annual Fitness Day taking place on May 21, 2008. As part of the annual National Employee Health, Fitness day kicked off with exercising, choosing a healthier diet and becoming a role model of good health habits for their children.
The IGNN reports an alarming national trend toward growing obesity among children living in rural, suburban and urban neighborhoods. Health experts observe that children in the U.S. have poorer eating habits and get less physical activity than did children in previous generations. A recent Illinois survey showed almost 40 percent of 8-year-olds were already overweight. What is to blame for the growing rate of overweight and obese children? The culprits to this growing epidemic are, the boom of vending machines on school premises, schools offering junk food, the increase of time being spent playing video games and computer time, and lastly families opting for fast food menus that offer "super sized" portions.

Is a bulging waistline the new trend for the summer?

All of us know that children are our future, but what does the future hold for
children who are suffering from obesity? With millions of American children
compromising their lives due to this growing epidemic, escalating problems
reveal just how vulnerable young bodies are to the toxic effects of fat.

In ways only beginning to be understood, being overweight at a young age appears to be far more destructive to well-being than adding excess pounds later in life. Virtually every major organ is at risk. The greater damage probably is
irreversible.

What does this mean for the future of our children? The Washington Post indicates that many will never overcome being overweight, up to 80 percent of obese teens become obese adults. Experts fear that exponential increase in heart disease, strokes, cancer and other health problems as the children move into their 20s and beyond. The evidence suggests these conditions could occur decades sooner and could greatly diminish the quality of their lives. Many could find themselves disabled in what otherwise would be their most productive years.

As well this epidemic is expected to add billions of dollars to the U.S. health care bill.

Treating a child with obesity is three times more costly than treating the average child, according to a study by Thomson Reuters. The research company pegged the country's overall expense of care for overweight youths at $14 billion annually. A substantial portion is for hospital services, because those patients go more frequently to the emergency room and are two to three times as likely to be admitted.

We all know childhood obesity is on the rise, isn't it time we start to do something about it?

Is your child living the couch potatoe lifestyle?

The couch potato life style and a growing appetite for fast food is blamed for our boys and girls weighing in near the top of a 27-country fat league. Mail online has recently reported that British children are among the worst in a Europe-wide obesity league table, with around a third weighing more than they should.

With technology expanding the industry is selling us more television to watch, more computer games and gaming systems to play, and even more dvd's to sit down and watch. Obesity experts blame the couch potato lifestyle as the main culprit for this growing epidemic. With television dinners replacing the traditional family meals and computer games being prefered to outdoor activities, it is no question that doctors are warning that surgery such as stomach stapling will have to be used on children soon to tackle the obesity crisis.

Childhood obesity - What Do The Candidates Have To Say

With childhood obesity nearly tripling in the last two decades, health experts warn it is a growing epidemic. What do our future leaders propose to save these young lives at risk. Recently the Washington Post asked each presidential candidate of their views of the growing pandemic of childhood obesity. Here is what the candidates had to say.

When asked as a president, how would you make the issue of childhood obesity a national health priority?

Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton pledged to ban junk food in schools by
requiring all schools that participate in the school lunch or breakfast programs
to make available only foods that meet or surpass [U.S. Department of Agriculture] nutrition standards. And she has proposed . . . to make the school
breakfast program universal for all students in low-income communities and to
double the summer feeding program.

Democratic candidate Barack Obama would convene a high-level task force [for] regularly examining federal budgets, policies and programs. . .; identifying opportunities for coordination and collaboration across departments; and establishing consensus regarding priorities for action. Equally important, Obama will ensure the
departments had the appropriate resources and authorities to implement any
recommendations from the task force.

Republican candidate John McCain believes that solving the problem of obesity in children can help prevent a lifetime of chronic health conditions. To accomplish that, we must do a better job of teaching children and their parents about child health, nutrition and
exercise.

To see more of what the presidential candidates had to say, click on the Washington Post above.

Girls you need to get off the couch if you want to prevent a future without breast cancer!

There is now a reason more than ever to get your daughters off the couch, research shows that excersice during teen years, starting as young as the age of twelve, can help girls protect themselves from breast cancer when their older. A recent report in the Star Tribune indicates more than half of all insured Americans are taking prescription drugs regularly for chronic health problems, the most widely used drugs are those to lower high blood pressure and cholesterol -- problems often linked to heart disease, obesity and diabetes.

It has long been advised that middle-aged women get active to lower their risks of breast cancer post menopause. New research points to the benefits of sustained physical activity from adolescence through the adult years, to get the maximum benefit.

Women who were physically active as teens and young adults were 23 percent less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer than women who grew up sedentary, researchers report today in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

Now is the time more than ever for girls to endure in more physical activity and engage in a healthier lifestyle. Parents get your daughters off the couch and save them from diseases in their future.

How far would you go to save your child?

In the battle against child and teen obesity, Memphis is fighting back with programs aiming to get their children moving. Gyms, athletic centers, churches and others are taking aim to fight against this growing epidemic. Kid yoga, Pilate's, kick boxing, belly dancing and even healthful cooking classes are just a handful of programs aiming to get children moving as well as, raise their self esteem. According to commercial appeal parents can no longer rely on thier children's schools to meet their physical education needs.

Elementary schools often suffer from too few qualified PE teachers, while
PE for high school students typically ends after their freshman years, states Paula Kuna, spokeswoman for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

It has been estimated that more that 12.5 million children in the United States , 17 percent of children and youths ages 2 to 19 years of age, are overweight, up from 13 percent almost a decade ago, reports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lack of exercise as well as unhealthful eating habits have made childhood obesity one of the country's foremost health challenges. Closely linked to their expanding waistlines is a quickly rising trend of kids diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which can result in blindness and kidney failure as well as dramatically boost their risk of heart disease and stroke. We are loosing our youth to diseases that were once only associated to adults. So the question remains, how far would you go to save your child?

Could having a cesearian section be the predictor of teen obesity?

A new study explores the fetal origins of adolescent obesity. New research is being conducted by the University of Utah and Utah State University states, teenage obesity may be predicted from the earliest moments of life; from a mother's prenatal care to the way a baby was delivered are the possible links to teen obesity. According to the Salt Lake Tribune

research found a teen is more likely to be overweight, for example, if
his or her mother smoked during pregnancy or gave birth via a cesarean
section. But the prenatal factor that appears to have the biggest impact on
adolescent weight is a mother's pre-pregnancy weight.

It has been said that,

a child born to a woman who is overweight or obese is almost two to four
times more likely to be overweight as a teen as a child born to a woman with
normal weight.

Researcher Rebecca Utz, assistant U. sociology professor, can't say whether the mother's weight plays such a large role because of nature or nurture. Other risk factors that have been evaluated are, the passing of poor genes and poor diet and exercise. Neither have been determined as the link yet.

Analyzing the fetal origins of health isn't new, but connecting the womb environment to childhood obesity is relatively unusual.

"Utz's study does provide the first data I've seen, especially Utah-specific data, that makes that correlation," said Lois Bloebaum, manager of the Utah Department of Health's Reproductive Health Program.

IS YOUR PARENTING LEADING TO YOUR CHILD'S WEIGHT GAIN?

As a parent do you use food as a reward for your child's behavior? Is food used to comfort your child? If you answered yes to either of these questions, you could be aiding your child to a lifestyle of obesity or eating disorders.

According to a new book "What Every 21st-Century Parent Needs To Know," by Debra W. Haffner parenting style does make a difference in childhood weight issues.

Research shows that parents who are too strict or too permissive are much more likely to have children that are overweight by as early as the first grade.

So, what should you do if you're concerned about your child eating either too much or too little? Haffner proposes five tips to help parents teach their children techniques to propose healthy attitudes and behaviors about food.

1. Model healthy eating and exercising habits.

Parents should model the behavior they want from their children. The
most important thing parents can do is eat healthy themselves and
engage in physical excercise as a family. This is turn will create an
environment that children will model.

2. Don't make negative comments about your own weight.

Parents need to guard against making negative comments about their own bodies as well as the weight of their children.

3. Educate your children about the power of advertising.

Researchers now think it is children's exposure through media to food advertising and marketing that may be behind the correlation between childhood obesity and television viewing. Talk with your children about why food companies use popular cartoon characters to help sell their food, and help them critique commercials.

4. Talk with your children about healthy eating.

By teaching children how to read labels and properly assess the information, children will be able to determine whether or not the product is healthy.

5. Make family dinners part of your routine.

Regular family dinners may be the best way to curb obesity and keep a vulnerable child from an eating disorder. Family dinners also provide you with an opportunity to talk to your children and find out what's going on with them. Children and teens who have dinner with their parents five or more times a week do better in school, have fewer behaviors problems, and lower rates of sex, alcohol, and drug use.

Taken from a posting by Miami Herald.

Childhood obesity and its link to the silent killer!

Headlines of All Africa. Com reveals the alarming proportions of childhood diabetes (the silent killer) as the direct correlation with obesity amongst Africa's children. Diabetes is a disease in which the body does not produce or properly use insulin. Insulin is a hormone that is needed to convert sugar, starches and other food into energy needed for daily life. Although the causes of diabetes remains ambiguous, childhood obesity is said to be the cause if this mystery.



Diseases that were at one time only associated with adults, are now becoming universal regardless of age. Diabetes, cardiac problems, and hypertension are now claiming even their youngest victims.

A report published by the International Journal of Pediatric Obesity states
that an estimated 22 million children worldwide below the age of five are
overweight.

Childhood obesity is generally occurs within the ages of five and six but does not discriminate towards adolescents. Children that weigh higher than normal should be a warning signal for parents to make necessary changes in diet and lifestyle.

Mrs. Margaret Atuahene, Nutritionist and PhD Candidate at the School of Public Health at a Ghana Health Service (GHS) proposes the greatest components of obesity is stemmed towards children's consumptions of food high in cholesterol coupled with a lack of exercise.

"These days they sit in front of television sets and play video games always. Now every room has a television and everybody is using the remote control instead of getting up to regulate TV."

She reports that Ghana is now beginning to see children diagnosed with type two diabetes, which years ago was limited to only adults, especially those whose fat level is so high . This in turn is posing a threat to Ghana's leaders of tomorrow.

How far should legislation go to curb teenage obesity?

In this month's issue of the Ledger-Enquirer teachers, administrators, and students are coming together in opposition of a Bill that seeks to set minimums for the amount of daily exercise students will be required to have in school, which in turn will cut or eliminate choir and other electives from the curriculum. Sponsored by House Majority Leader Ken Guin, the bill seeks to address adolescent obesity. Amongst the United States, Alabama ranks highest in overweight teenagers.
Guins bill proposes an exercise regiment of a minimum of at least 200 minutes a week for elementary schools students and 225 minutes for middle school and high school students as a way to solve this growing epidemic. Both students and teachers agree there is a need for more exercise, but are in opposition of the reform taking away extra curricular activities.
High school student and classical guitarist, David Zeigler perception of the bill is:

"High school teaches us to be well-rounded and I believe in fueling the body.
But what about everything else? What about the soul? And that's what music
is all about."

Senior Kylie Drury plays softball for Smiths Station High School and sings in the choirs.

"It's a hard thing for me because I am an athlete and a musician -- I can't choose between the two," she said. "I am so involved in my sports and always have been. But when I got to high school I got involved in my music and it's become such a part of me that I'm going to college in secondary education to teach and coach, but my minor will be in music. For a lot of kids, it deprives them of the opportunity to grow in what they have."

Senior soprano Katherine Buck is also the drum major for the Smiths Station marching band.

"I completely see the point of the bill. We do need more exercise -- America is obese and that's a fact," she said. "But I don't see why we need to take out music or any other extracurricular. It's been proven that any type of music you do involves using both sides of your brain. It is proven that students who participate in music are your smarter students."

Exploring the links between cardiovascular disease and adolescent obesity.

With obesity increasingly on the rise from the past twenty years in the United States researchers investigate the direct correlation of cardiovascular disease that are manifested in adulthood may actually have begun in childhood. The May issue of Science Daily explores the correspondence of endothelial dysfunction and the correlation of coronary artery function in adults with heart disease.

Healthy endothelium is a single layer that lines all blood vessels in the body,the key to maintaining proper vascular health. Therefore, endothelial dysfunction is a primary contributor to the buildup of fatty deposits within the inside of the wall of the arteries known as atheroschlorosis. Which in adults have been related to an increase risk of heart attacks, strokes and congestive heart failure.

Researchers felt:

endothelial function can be measured non-invasively in children using venous
occlusion plethysmography (VOP), a technique that measures responses of arm
blood vessel responses to an inflatable cuff that externally halts and restarts
blood flow. This method has been shown to correlate with coronary artery
function in adults with heart disease.

Judith Groner, MD, the presenting author of the study, a pediatrician in Ambulatory Pediatrics at Nationwide Children's Hospital and a faculty member of The Ohio State University College of Medicine, said,

"My colleagues in the Research Institute at Nationwide Children's and I found that regardless of age, race or sex, obesity in children and adolescents negatively impacts their endothelial function. Considering the connection between endothelial function and heart disease, this information is alarming given the high prevalence of childhood and adolescent obesity in our country."

With investigations such as these, we can no longer turn a blind eye to this rising epidemic. Childhood and adolescent obesity does not discriminate as we can see from this current inquiry. Given this information isn't it time that we start adcocating to make a change?

How far would you go to fit in? Adolescent obesity and the drastic measures that are being taken to "fit" in with their peers.

Obesity is an epidemic that has spread world wide. This debilitating disease has spread over from adults to teenagers, but has modern technology become the new cure for this very curable disease? The Courier mail reports that teenagers are now turning to gastric banding surgery from patients ranging in age from 14 to 18 years old within the past two years.

The lap-banding relevations have come to fruition as child and adolescent obesity have have hit epidemic proportions. State government officials of Australia distribute figures depicting twenty one percent of children aged 5 to 17 were overweight or obese. Unfortunately, this story has spread over to adults.

According to the National Health and Medical Research Council
two-thirds of adult Australian men and 50 per cent of women as overweight or
obese.

Is lap-banding the answer? According to surgeon Dr. George Hopkins

it was "scientifically proven" that weight loss programs, including diet,
exercise and psychological counselling, failed to achieve sustained and
significant weight loss in the morbidly obese. People scream at me, 'has it
really come to this? Health policymakers say to me, 'it (obesity surgery for
children) is outrageous. We just need to make bigger parks to give them exercise
and more bike tracks'. But you can make all the bike tracks you like.
Some of these kids have gone beyond that. They can't get on the bike.

This is why teenager Katie Lesage, elected to undergo the gastric banding surgery from Dr. Hopkins, expressing she chose this surgery because she was not fitting in with her peers.

I didn't feel comfortable not being able to wear the same stuff as them (her
friends) and not doing everything they do.

The question remains, is surgery the answer to childhood obesity? I am strongly opposed to this procedure as quick fix to childhood weight challenges. We must encourage and educate children as well as adults to develop healthy and active lifestyles. On the other hand, I do understand that surgery is sometimes the only way to avert problems that come from this debilitating condition such as heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, infertility, and depression.