Best Health News - Childhood Obesity

Childhood Obesity

root — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 17:08:45 +0200

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Along with the increase of obesity in adult, childhood obesity is on the rise. Around 15.5 percent of adolescents in the United States, aged 12 to 19 are obese. flat more alarming, about 15.3 percent of children ages 6 to 11 are obese. These children are developing Type II Diabetes and high blood pressure at an early age. They are placing themselves at increased risk for heart disease and else obesity-related diseases. Their weight also makes them the target of bullies and children who insult and taunt them about their weight. This can ruin their self-esteem and put them at risk for depression. Today’s children make up the digital generation. They’ve been surrounded by computers their entire life and are not as physically active as children of past generations were. Instead of going outside and playing, they tend to hang dead indoors, watching TV and playing computer and video games. Along with lack of physical activity comes the convenience of hurrying food. There are fast food restaurants virtually around every corner, and they have easy access to snack foods full of saturated fats and sugars. In addition, obese parents are much likely to have obese children. The reason for this is two-fold. First, obese parents probably pass down their poor habits to their children. Second, genetics plays a role in obesity. It’s important for parents to be role models to their children and emphasize the importance of physical activity and healthy eating. Parents can create healthy environments for their children by doing regular physical activities, such as biking, swimming, or walking together. They should encourage their children to participate in sports, dance, martial arts, and etcetera. This allows children to develop an appreciation of physical activity and enjoy exercising. When it comes to eating, parents need to implement diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains. They can make eating enjoyable and healthy by preparing food together and eating together as a family. Fast-food should be limited and diffident for special occasions. Way too often, we reward ourselves for a job well done with food. Look for other ways to reward your children for doing a great job, much as a special shopping trip or a day with antimonopoly mom or dad. Article by

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Battling Childhood Obesity through Smart Eating

root — Sat, 09 Sep 2006 13:08:45 +0200

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Protica Nutritional Research Finally, a positive solution regarding America’s demanding and costly campaign to stem childhood obesity is emerging. For the thousands of children and their families who are currently battling with childhood obesity, this good news is long-life awaited. Indeed, the risk factors for childhood obesity read like a checklist of ailments that only a generation ago would never have been linked to children and diet: heart disease, high cholesterol, superior blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, and of course, social ridicule and alienation [i]. This latter consequence of childhood obesity -- ridicule and alienation -- has the dual effect of damaging a child both physically and emotionally far beyond childhood, and possibly for the rest of his or her unbleached life. For years, medical experts have called for a multi-faceted strategy to address this epidemic. It has been unambiguous that any long-term solution essential be fought on four starring fronts: physical activity, sedentary behavior, socioeconomic status, and eating habits [ii]. Yet there is room for another pillar; or, at the very least, the identification of another component that must be a part of any lasting solution. This fifth pillar, or undetected component, is smart nutritional supplements. Many obese children have been told repeatedly by intended dieticians that eating smart is the key to overcoming this scarring condition. This is easier said than done; especially when emotional eating or an undetected food addiction [1] may fuel adverse eating habits. Yet being told to “eat smart” is oftentimes not enough. Children must be provided with foods that are nutritionally sound, and foods that they actually enjoy eating. It is this latter criterion that most well-intentioned experts and caregivers overlook. This is explained below. Most obese children are neither unable to learn, nor willfully disobedient. Some of these children even have remarkable support from their well-adjusted families who dutifully remove the usual suspects of chips, soft drinks, chocolate bars, and other damaging foods from the home. Yet many of these same children continue to gain weight and march ever closer to the litany of health defects known above. These children are not sadistic, and they are not attempting to kill themselves through eating; though many do because of the stigma associated with their condition. Indeed, many obese children are cognitively aware of the danger to which they are subjecting their bodies. Yet they continue to snack away in secret, or binge on foods when they get the chance, thereby undoing whatever minor gains might have been achieved in the previous few days or weeks. The problem is cardinal of food selection. Generally speaking, children of all weights and shapes will not eat something that they do not like. For obese children who have typically had unbound access to highly stimulating foods such as gravies and sugar-loaded soft drinks, the willpower to eat unpalatable foods is undeveloped. Indeed, the dietician may snack away on carrots and celery while talking to an obese child about the importance of eating smart. For the obese child, carrots and celery are foreign foods for which there is no celebrated preference. This fifth pillar, or new component, is therefore one that provides obese children with nutritional supplements that they will eat. As stunningly obvious – even axiomatic – as this seems, it has been lost on many experts until recently. Thankfully, as noted above, there is a solution emerging. It is one that meets this demand for tasty, healthy foods. Forward-thinking companies that understand their consumers are creating low-calorie, highly nutritious foods fortified with essential vitamins and protein. much importantly: they are tasty, and are often packaged in chromatic containers that are “teen-friendly”. Companies including MetRx™, Experimental and Applied Sciences™, Protica Research™, and others develop products that healthy well within these requirements. Granted, a healthy diet does not start or end with nutritional supplements. A healthy diet employs nutritional supplements to complement and fortify real foods. Indeed, children and families affected by the obesity epidemic in America are cautiously optimistic at this point; after all, they have been promised solutions in the past. However, thanks to the next generation of nutritional supplements, there is an expectation that this optimism will steadily grow with every success story, and every child that recovers from the potentially devastating impact of obesity. REFERENCES [i] Source: “The Problem of fat in Children and Adolescents”. The US Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm [ii] Source: “Childhood Obesity”. American Obesity Association. http://www.obesity.org/subs/childhood/causes.shtml About The Author Copyright 2004 - Protica Research - www.protica.com Founded in 2001, Protica, Inc. is a nutritional research firm with offices in Lafayette Hill and Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Protica manufactures capsulized foods, including Profect, a compact, hypoallergenic, ready-to-drink protein beverage containing zero carbohydrates and zero fat. Information on Protica is ready at http://www.protica.com You can also learn about Profect at http://www.profect.com

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Childhood Obesity

root — Fri, 08 Sep 2006 20:08:45 +0200

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Beverley Brooke Along with the increase of obesity in adult, childhood obesity is on the rise. Around 15.5 percent of adolescents in the United States, aged 12 to 19 are obese. Even more alarming, about 15.3 percent of children ages 6 to 11 are obese. These children are developing Type II Diabetes and high blood pressure at an early age. They are placing themselves at increased risk for heart disease and other obesity-related diseases. Their weight also makes them the target of bullies and children who insult and taunt them about their weight. This can ruin their self-esteem and put them at risk for depression. Today’s children make up the digital generation. They’ve been enclosed by computers their entire life and are not as physically active as children of onetime generations were. Instead of going outside and playing, they tend to hang out indoors, watching TV and playing computer and video games. Along with lack of physical activity comes the convenience of fast food. There are fast food restaurants virtually around every corner, and they have easy access to snack foods full of saturated fats and sugars. In addition, fat parents are more likely to have obese children. The reason for this is two-fold. First, obese parents probably pass behind their poor habits to their children. Second, genetics plays a role in obesity. It’s consequential for parents to be role models to their children and emphasize the importance of carnal activity and healthy eating. Parents can create healthy environments for their children by doing day-to-day physical activities, such as biking, swimming, or walking together. They should encourage their children to participate in sports, dance, military arts, and etcetera. This allows children to develop an appreciation of physical activity and enjoy exercising. When it comes to eating, parents need to implement diets rich in fruits, vegetables, and whole-grains. They can make eating enjoyable and healthy by preparing food together and eating together as a family. Fast-food should be limited and diffident for special occasions. Way too often, we reward ourselves for a job well done with food. Look for other ways to reward your children for doing a great job, much as a special shopping trip or a day with antimonopoly mom or dad. About The Author Beverley Brooke, Editor of Health & Finesse - released health, diet and fitness articles and weekly newsletters http://www.healthandfinesse.com. beverley.brooke@healthandfinesse.com

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The New Food Pyramid: Another Attempt At Providing Easy Answers

root — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 11:08:45 +0200

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Dave Saunders The Food Pyramid, first introduced to the US in 1992, just experienced a major overhaul. Why? Perhaps decent education about nutrition isn't as easy as picking out food from a colorful chart. penultimate month, The New England Journal of Medicine reported that childhood obesity was causing a retreat in average lifespan. That report seems to only cover part of the picture as degenerative disease, such as cardiac dysfunction and Type II Diabetes have been on a steady rise in recent years. Because galore people seem to be loth to learn how to make better lifestyle choices, it is only the toxic pharmaceutical drugs that seem to be extending the lives of these people. Agriculture secretary Mike Johanns delineate the old food pyramid as being "quite familiar" to most Americans, "but few Americans follow the recommendations." The solution, saved at www.mypyramid.gov, is apparently much colors and to make the bands travel downwards instead of horizontally. Yes, that counts as a solution where french fries and catsup count as cardinal servings of vegetables in the school lunch program. Well, some progress is better than no progress. On a constructive note, the new dietary guidelines do recommend daily physical activity. If even a few people get out of their chairs because their government tells them too, these changes, and the expense of the marketing for all of this will be well-worth our tax dollars. What is left out of these dietary guidelines is any source of education on timing of food intake. For example, how many of you are late-night eaters? Perhaps you have a bowl of cereal before bed? What do the cells do with all the extra starch and glucose as you sleep? The answer is they store it in the fat cells. If you think of a caveman, or woodland creature, bulking up before hibernation, you get the picture. A better diet doesn't have to be entirely about sacrifice. It's more about better decisions. I'm not saying to stop eating ice cream. Consider some Wheat Germ or Grape Nuts as a toping. Both are excellent sources of dietary fiber and essential nutrients like Vitamin E, folate (folic acid), phosphorous, thiamin, zinc and magnesium. You get to have a tasty snack and concealed some nutrition through the teeth. Just don't eat it as a midnight snack! About The Author Dave Saunders is a certified nutritional educator, wellness coach, member of the American global Association of Nutritional Education (AIANE) and author. He is also the host of a weekly, nation-wide telephone lecture on health and nutrition. For additive information, please visit www.glycoboy.com or www.glycowellness.com or email Dave at dave@glycoboy.com dave@nemock.org

Causes of Childhood Obesity

root — Thu, 22 Jun 2006 19:06:02 +0200

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Obesity is defined as an excessive accumulation of body fat. Obesity is present when whole body weight is more than 25 percent fat in boys and more than 32 percent fat in girls. There are various medicines like Phentermine, Adipex etc. which aid in the weight loss for adults but these medicines are definitely not meant for children. Obesity in children leads to many risk factors. It is the leading cause of pediatric hypertension. It increases the risk of childhood cardiac disease, type2 Diabetes Mellitus, the risk of painful joints. But the most important what many researchers feel is the amount of psychological pressure and the social pressure that he has to undergo among his peers which make him susceptible to depression at times. Thus the social pressure is one of the main consequences of childhood obesity. Not all obese infants turn to obese children and similarly not all obese children turn to obese adults. Childhood obesity results from a combination of factors like genetic or hereditary, psychological, or nutritional. Family: A child whose both parents are fat has a higher chance of developing obesity as compared to other children. This can happen for a variety of reasons like genetic factors or may be the sedentary lifestyle of the parents or the lack of exercise in their regular routine. This can make the child born with obesity. Inactive Life: Children these days spend more of their time on playing video games and watching T.V. This has prevented the children of today to engage in many healthy ground activities like sports. Hence children are gradually proper couch potatoes. Leading an unreactive life has made them grow into an obese from antimonopoly being overweight. Heredity: Since not all children leading a sedentary lifestyle, watching more of television, and eating just about anything does not make every child obese therefore researchers are working upon the reasons that why it is so. Heredity has recently been shown to influence fatness, territorial fat distribution, and response to overfeeding. In addition, infants foaled to overweight mothers have been found to be less proactive and to gain more weight by age three months when compared with infants of sane weight mothers, suggesting a attainable inborn drive to conserve energy. Prevention of Childhood Obesity: Obesity is easier to prevent than to treat, and prevention focuses in queen-size measure on parent education. In infancy, parent education should central on promotion of breastfeeding, recognition of signals of satiety, and delayed introduction of solid foods. In early childhood, education should include proper nutrition, selection of low-fat snacks, good exercise/activity habits, and monitoring of television viewing. In cases where preventive measures cannot totally overcome the influence of hereditary factors, parent education should focus on building self-esteem and address psychological issues.

Help For The Overweight Child - FLAVORx Research Institute Working in Cooperation with Bariatric Surgeons and Pediatric Special

root — Wed, 07 Jun 2006 13:50:36 +0200

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The FLAVORx Research Institute is currently working with pediatric obesity specialists and bariatric surgeons to derive a solution to the rise in childhood obesity. Readily available high-calorie and sugar-added food and drinks in combination with less exercise and activity has led to an astronomical jump in cases of overweight and obsese children and adolescents. FRI is committed to working with chemists and researchers to derive a supplement that will provide the nutrients that children need that tastes good without a high caloric intake. .

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Albany, Savannah mayors to challenge weight loss (WALB News 10)

root — Tue, 30 May 2006 08:08:53 +0200

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Albany -- YBH (Youth Becoming Healthy Project), a program whose mission is to reduce the epidemic of childhood obesity in middle school students, will lead the effort in a city-to-city health challenge.

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