Posts Tagged ‘Obesity’

Kids in New York City Have High Obesity Rates

Monday, September 6th, 2010

40% of children kindergarten through 8th grade in New York City are either overweight or obese. Of that, 22% are obese and 18% are overweight. The study was based on the  254,076 children from 2008-2009. It was conducted by the Departments of Education and Health.

Pretty shocking.

Also sad is that the poorest children tended to be the heaviest. What to do? The schools have gone to 1% fat milk instead of whole milk. They’ve banned drinks with sweetened with sugar from school vending machines. They plan to focus on getting kids to be more active.

I hope New York City can turn things around. Maybe community gardens? More education and offering healthy choices in school lunch (that wasn’t addressed in the article).

More at: http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90777/90852/7131826.html

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September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Wednesday, September 1st, 2010

September starts the nations’s first  National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. The month-long focus on childhood obesity was passed by Congress earlier this year. The focus is on ways to prevent and educate about this serious health risk.

A new website www.HealthierKidsBrighterFutures.org has resources including a toolkit with fact sheets, sample letters to the editor, and  scripts for public service announcements.

A study released about the issue asserts that as much as 21% of children who are obese have not been categorized that way. That’s because parents tend to underestimate their kid’s weight.

When we have an obesity rate of over 30% for our children it is alarming! However, as I’ve pointed out before, reversing it would take a huge cultural shift. We would have to approach food differently. Restaurants serve food with loads of hidden fat and calories – more than we need in an entire day. Our schools are full of pop and candy machines that help pay for education. Stressed out parents grab dinner from a fast food drive through.

I like the focus on the issue but until we change policy and make cultural changes I’m afraid this problem will be like our bellies — growing larger by the year.

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Obesity Not Just a US Problem

Tuesday, August 24th, 2010

If you thought the US was bad.  The obesity rate among Saudi men and women has risen to 70%! That’s according to the Saudi Diabetes and Endocrinology Society. So globally we’re having a collective problem with our weight.

Report Gives America an ‘F,’ and that Stands for ‘Fat’

As a side note I saw my neighbor last night who has lost considerable weight. I asked her what she did – her response? “I work out 70 mins. a day.” I guess if you work out that much you don’t have to diet as much (is that true?).

34% of middle-aged men are obese, the figure rises to 45% of middle-aged women. Also, like the US children are gaining and more of them are obese.

The culprits? Saudis are getting richer, there are more fast food restaurants, they aren’t eating as healthily and not getting enough exercise. Sound familiar?

Dr. Basim Fota, head of the Society’s Health Education Unit, said there have been adverse changes in the quantity and quality of food people eat and a four-fold increase in amount of fat in current meals. So like them we’re getting fat because we’re eating A LOT more of the substance.

The organization is working to help teach women how to prepare healthy food. They hold programs on healthy shopping, preparing food lists, cooking healthy dishes, nutritional analysis, nutritional evaluation of prepared dishes, arranging the dining table and the healthy Ramadan table.

I wish I had better news – but so far the trends show obesity is a growing problem.

He said the program is the first of its kind to provide information about preparing healthy meals, healthy shopping and low-calorie meals to emphasize the role of healthy nutrition in countering obesity, diabetes and osteoporosis among women in Saudi Arabia.

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Michigan Fights Obesity with Grants from Insurer

Wednesday, August 18th, 2010

Saginaw County in Michigan has an obesity rate near 40%, and a health insurance company is stepping in with grants to help reverse the trend.

A grant program by insurer UnitedHealthcare is offering grants of up to $1k to help schools and organizations fight rising obesity rates in youngsters.

To quality the programs are to be proposed by the community. They must encourage youth participation, help student academic achievement and improve workplace skills.

The insurer knows that obese children lead to obese adults — and obesity can be costly. It’s best to start early to fight it. According to the 2009 America’s Health Rankings,43% percent of adults will be obese by 2018 at a cost of over $340 billion in health care costs.

The current obesity rate among all people in Saginaw County is almost 37%

Past projects funded by the grants include healthy cooking classes, planting gardens, runs and walks. Some organizations used the grant to raise more funds for programs.

Idea: “We had a program that, instead of a spelling bee, it was a health bee competition between Boys and Girls Clubs in different cities,” Thompson said.

In 3 years, UnitedHealth has given grants to 361 schools and communities across the nation; 6 were awarded to Michigan communities last year.

See www.YSA.org/HEROES to apply. Applications are due Oct. 22; recipients will be notified in December and January.

We like to see these private partnerships – like how Whole Foods Donated Salad Bars to Schools) where companies contribute to solving this serious problem. The government is also involved. Can we do it without major cultural changes? That’s the question.

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Could Sleep Deprivation Contribute to Childhood Obesity?

Monday, July 19th, 2010

Over the weekend I read an interesting book called Nurture Shock by Po Bronson and Ashley Merryman. In it there are many studies about childhood including a segment about obesity.

The authors note that watching TV isn’t as much of an issue as we might think when it comes to obesity. Instead, it could be linked to sleep deprivation. Also that parents don’t do very well at guessing how many hours of sleep their kids actually get. We tend to underestimate it.

“Several scholars have tried to figure out how accurate parents are at accessing their children’s amount of sleep…parents frequently overestimate the time their kids are asleep by at least a half-an-hour — even as much as an hour and a half.”

How much are we off?

One report said in 1997 children age 3-5 years old were getting 10.8 hours of sleep at night. The National Sleep Foundation said 3-5 year olds in 2004 were getting 10.4 hours. Older kids were down to 9.5 hours. The data comes from all over the world saying that kids are not sleeping as much as they once did. Overall kids sleep about an hour less every day in 2010 than they did in 1997.

Lack of sleep contributes to ADD issues and emotional ups and downs. It affects how kids do in school. But here’s the startling data – scholars have found that getting less sleep in elementary school means they can predict the chance of the kids being obese by age 32. There seems to be a correlation. While not conclusive, there’s enough research to suggest it should be one of the possible things contributing to the problem.

So when recommending solutions to childhood obesity, we should remember to talk about eating healthy foods and exercise.  Another often overlooked recommendation is to get a full night of sleep – including putting children to bed on time and eliminating distractions. I know many parents who don’t give their kids bedtimes at all. (See http://www.webmd.com/parenting/guide/sleep-children)

WebMD gives a list of recommended hours of sleep by age. For a 3-6 year old it  is 10-12 hours per day. How much are your kids getting?

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Over 70% of Americans Want to Lose Weight

Monday, July 12th, 2010

A new study shows surprising numbers of Americans are concerned about their weight. 70% say they are concerned about their weight status, and 77% are trying to lose or maintain their weight.

What are we doing about it? 69% are eating less; 63% are changing the type of foods they eat; and 60% are getting more active. 65% of Americans report weight loss as the reason they are trying to eat healthier. Still there’s a lot more to be done.

This comes from the International Food Information Council Foundation’s 5th annual Food & Health Survey.

We need to do something — just 2 countries have more obese people than the United States. And the rates are headed up not down.

What is the culprit? According to the study we don’t understand the impact of calories. To avoid gaining weight we have to burn more calories than we eat. For many of us that means tracking calories. It means knowing how many calories we use in a day. It’s also an economic problem – cheap food and fast food is often very high in calories. Combined with a more sedentary lifestyle and yes, we have a collective weight problem.

I think they should start with Disneyland – the happiest place on earth has the worst foods for our waistlines. Walt Disney couldn’t stay slim on the kinds of foods for sale. I was recently on a trip to Disney World and got a look at kids from all over the country. Many were overweight.

I also saw a movie showing the first men to walk on the moon. I was surprised at how trim the astronauts were.

Almost all of us have a few extra pounds to lose. We hope to not only become more educated but to make better choices about food and exercise.

More at www.foodinsight.org

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How the White House Plans to Fight Childhood Obesity

Wednesday, July 7th, 2010

Did you know there was a Childhood Obesity Task Force? Their aim is to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. They have a new report and got  input from 12 federal agencies. Citizens also weighed in with 2,500 submissions  from parents, teachers, doctors, nurses and others. The Let’s Move program has a YouTube channel that you can check out.

Quick Facts about Childhood Obesity

The report makes recommendations on how to fight childhood obesity in 5 key areas:

  1. Getting children a healthy start on life which means good prenatal care.
  2. Empowering parents and caregivers with clear information to help make healthy choices for children
  3. Providing healthy food in schools and educating kids about healthy food choices.
  4. Improve access to healthy, affordable food and reducing hunger.
  5. Getting children more physically active which includes “improving access to safe parks, playgrounds, and indoor and outdoor recreational facilities.”

I’m impressed by the effort and involvement of citizens and we’re glad that you’re building playgrounds around the country where kids can be active.

Please tell us ways your community is getting involved or what you’re doing as a parent to prevent obesity. As for me – my son is so skinny that so far it hasn’t been a worry – I worry more about keeping him well fed!

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Report Gives America an ‘F,’ and that Stands for ‘Fat’

Wednesday, June 30th, 2010

“Marx once predicted that the capitalist countries would become so bloated that the bourgeoisie would actually pay to lose weight.” – From a comment on USAToday

That prediction has come true – the rich and poor are paying to lose weight. Many people in America are not only overweight — we’re getting fatter. If they were being graded on it, we’d get an F. This is according to a report by the Trust for America’s Health and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Two-thirds of adults are overweight, which is double what we were in 1980. Too many of our children and even our pets are overweight. (see Quick Facts about Childhood Obesity)

Utah, Colorado and California, are doing better than the rest of the nation but are also gaining. Issues like  poverty, a sedentary work force and less time for recess and play at schools and child care centers factor in, according to Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America’s Health.

“Millions of Americans still face barriers, like the high cost of healthy foods and lack of access to safe places to be physically active, that make healthy choices challenging.” It’s worse for low-income Americans and minorities.

A 2008 survey in Utah found that 21.5 percent of elementary students were overweight. In this survey a sampling of students were weighed and measured —  unlike this national survey which was done by telephone. I find that a frightening number.

We spend a lot of time sitting in cars, then on couches and not nearly enough time in playgrounds, outside or moving around. Exercise was once built into our life but now we have to make time for it. Also, you have to go out of your way and it’s more expensive to eat healthy than it is to prepare food that is healthy.

Are we headed towards life like is shown on the movie Wall-e where we get so fat we are carted around all on a platform and have machines take care of us? What do you think we should do about the issue?

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How you Can Help Fight Childhood Obesity?

Monday, June 21st, 2010

I’ve been writing about Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” initiative to fight childhood obesity. Rubberecycle supports these efforts and encourages parents to take their kids to the park this summer. There are parks for children of all ages — including a video game park — which I’ll write about in a future post. The idea is to help your children be more active. They’ll sleep better, be happier and more fit.

Here are some ideas to help families make healthy food choices and choose ways to encourage physical activity:

  • Launch a city website with information for parents on healthy living.
  • Create a healthy food promotional campaign, and offer a “healthy eating” designation to restaurants who offer healthier food and beverages and reasonably-sized portions.
  • Form a community coalition tasked with identifying local barriers to healthy living.
  • Promote local community organizations that provide access to healthy activities.
  • Through public service announcements and community events:
  • Serve as a role model in your own community by adopting a healthy lifestyle.
  • Encourage parents to become healthy role models for their children.
  • Encourage parents to help children get off to a good start by promoting breastfeeding.

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Quick Facts about Childhood Obesity

Monday, June 14th, 2010

This information about childhood obesity comes from the Get Moving! web site and is Michelle Obama’s initiative.

The childhood obesity problem
Here are some facts about childhood obesity:

  • Over the past three decades, childhood obesity rates in America have tripled
  • Nearly 1 in 3 children in America are overweight or obese
  • 1/3 of all children born in 2000 or later will suffer from diabetes at some point in their lives
  • Other chronic obesity-related health problems include heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma
  • A recent study put the health care costs of obesity-related diseases at $147 billion per year.
  • Obesity is now one of the most common reasons people are disqualified for military service.

The Let’s Move! campaign aims to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. The idea is to come up with common sense, innovative solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids. One of those is taking the kids to the playground this summer.

Try getting the kids to a playground. When I was little I played ‘kick the can’ almost every night. We also played badminton in the back yard until it was so dark we couldn’t see the birdie anymore.

This web site has some other games you could play: http://www.playgroundfun.org.uk/

The next few posts will have more ways to get moving with your kids and how to encourage your community and schools to join in. Please tell us your favorite playground game.

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