How to Fight Trend of Preschool Obesity

Institute of Medicine Calls for New Policies to Promote Exercise and Healthier Eating

By Salynn Boyles
WebMD Health News

June 23, 2011 -- A growing number of preschool-age children in the U.S. are overweight or obese and greater efforts are needed to address the problem, the health policy group Institute of Medicine (IOM) says.

In a new report, an IOM committee outlined policies designed to reduce obesity by promoting healthy eating, exercise, and sleep habits among infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.

But instead of focusing solely on what parents can do, the report highlighted ways federal and state regulators, doctors, and child-care workers can help prevent obesity in very young children.

One in 10 infants and toddlers in the U.S. and one in five children between the ages of 2 and 5 are overweight.

"Contrary to the notion that chubby babies are healthy babies and that young children grow out of their baby fat, it is looking like children who are overweight early may be more likely to be overweight and obese later on," committee chair Leann L. Birch, PhD, tells WebMD.

Limit TV Time

Birch, who directs the Pennsylvania State University Center for Childhood Obesity Research, says addressing the problem in very young children is critical because obesity-related conditions such as diabetes and high blood pressure are occurring with greater frequency among older children, teens, and young adults.

The IOM report included these recommendations for state and federal regulators:

• Requiring day care centers and preschools to provide the opportunity for at least 15 minutes of physical activity per hour to toddlers and older children, while allowing infants to move freely at times with appropriate supervision.
• Limit TV and other screen time to no more than 30 minutes for half-day day care programs and one hour for full-day programs.
• Day care centers and other child-care providers should be required to promote healthy sleep times during the day.

Kids Need More Sleep, Exercise

Birch says just like their parents, very young children appear to be sleeping less overall these days. Studies show that insufficient sleep time is a risk factor for obesity.

It is recommended that children age 2 and under get 12 hours or more of sleep each day and children between the ages of 2 and 5 get at least 11 hours of sleep.

Keeping TVs out of bedrooms, creating environments that promote naps and nighttime sleep, and establishing sleep routines are all important to promoting healthy sleep habits, IOM committee member Debra Haire-Joshu, PhD, MPH, of Washington University in St. Louis tells WebMD.

The report stressed the importance of giving young children plenty of opportunity to be active during the day.

"We know that children in many day care settings are not getting enough physical activity during the day," Birch says.

She says several states now require day care centers to provide the opportunity for at least two hours of physical activity during an eight-hour day.

"Children tend to be active in short bursts, so if they have the opportunity for activity throughout the day they are likely to expend more energy," she adds.

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Is Obesity a Lifestyle or Disease?
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The Proposed Arizona “Obesity Fine” Focuses on Overweight Medicaid Recipients

The Fat, as They Say, is in the Fire

Arizona is rapidly overtaking Florida and Texas in the race to generate news items that make late-night talk show gag writers dance with joy. Latest example: Governor Janet Brewer, who has firmly established the fact that illegal immigrants are not on her Good People list, is apparently looking to add the very overweight to the tally.

In specific, she has proposed levying a surcharge of $50 on obese Arizonans who are enrolled in Medicaid unless they adopt a supervised weight-loss program prescribed by their doctor. A similar fee would apply to enrollees who are smokers. As Jay Leno might (and perhaps will) observe, “Evidently if you’re a hopeless alcoholic or a heroin addict, you’re not a health problem.”

This is a story tailor-made for America’s chat rooms. Among the aspects of interest:

• Most of Brewer’s political moves thus far have brought cheers of support from the Tea Party folk, but how will they react to the notion of state government fining people for unhealthy behavior? According to a spokesperson for Arizona’s Medicaid program, that was one express goal of the surcharge, along with driving home the point that obesity is a drain on health care resources. How will Brewer respond to charges that she’s engaging in that anathema to conservatives, “social engineering”?
• This is would be the first such “irresponsibility” fee (or fine, or surcharge) in Medicaid history, and more than a few state governments, absolutely desperate for revenues, will seriously consider following Arizona’s lead, if it becomes law. Given that over 25 percent of Arizonans were obese as of 2009, and roughly 45 percent of the state’s Medicaid enrollees are smokers, at $50 a head, we’re talking some serious change. Imagine how much revenue a “fat fee” could generate in Mississippi, Alabama or Arkansas.
• On the one hand, as liberal opponents of the proposal point out, the fee could unfairly penalize those whose weight is, for whatever reasons, genuinely beyond their control. On the other hand, obesity carries with it very definite and significant health care costs above the norm, and in most cases is due to lifestyle behavior, not genetics or biochemistry.
• Ultimately, the proposed fee will wind up in court, first because such tinkering with Medicaid rules generally requires permission from Washington, which is already unhappy with Governor Brewer’s infringing on the federal government’s immigration turf, and second because such details as the definition of “obesity,” and who decides whether a weight-loss program is being adequately followed, have yet to be hashed out.

Our advice to the Governor and her Medicaid administrators: Don’t start counting the fee revenues just yet.

(By Robert S. Wieder for CalorieLab Calorie Counter News):

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Are Our Drinks Making Us Fat?

Recently obesity has become American's number one health concern. The level of obesity in this country has risen to shocking proportions.

58 Million Americans are overweight

40 Million Americans are obese

3 Million Americans are morbidly obese

Eight out of 10 people over the age of 25 are overweight

In 2001 25% of Caucasian children were overweight

33% of African American and Hispanic children were overweight as of 2001

Doctors and researchers have been looking for clues to why the obesity rate has risen so dramatically. Obviously, our lifestyle habits have changed, and our new habits are making us fat. The habits that seem to be significantly contributing to the rising obesity rate are:

Activity Level

More of us than ever are sedentary. Even today's children seem to spend most of their leisure time participating in activities that involve sitting on the couch. The number of children who have never participated in any sports activity has risen each year for the past ten. Regular exercise is one of the important keys to losing weight and keeping it off.

Aim for 30 minutes of exercise a day at least 3 times a week. In addition, if you can supplement with weight training, you'll build muscle, which in the long run, will help keep you slim. Muscle, even when resting, burns more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have the more calories you burn all the time.

You don't need to join a gym or have expensive equipment in your home to be able to get regular exercise. Walking, for example, requires no special equipment, other than a good pair of shoes, and is an excellent way to get your exercise. Walking works your heart, strengthens your core and build muscle in your lower body.

Where your children are concerned, you needn't plan significant exercise outings. Running and playing in the yard are a great way for your children to burn off that excess childhood energy and keep fit at the same time. Just get them off the couch!

Diet

We are a fast food, on the run, never eat at the table society. And, it's catching up with us. When we eat takeout and fast food we're eating far more calories than if we ate a home cooked meal at the table. So, try to consider the following things for your family's diet.


Stop the fast food and processed foods

Try to eat meals cooked at home as much as possible

Watch the white flour and the processed sugars

Include more lean protein and less simple carbohydrates

Try to include lots of fruits and vegetables in your diet. Fruits and vegetables are low calorie and extremely filling. Plus, they ensure that you're getting your daily dose of anti-oxidants, which are critical to a long and healthy life. Try adding green tea as a favored beverage. It's low calorie, and will also help ensure you get the anti-oxidants you need.

Stop the Soda!

One of the big differences in diet between this generation and the one before it is the amount of soda and other sweetened drinks we consume. High calories soda can add hundreds of calories a day to our diet.

One study, reported by the UK Tea Council highlights the significant calorie increase our society has seen in terms of sodas and other high calorie beverages. This study concludes that 50% of our excess calories today come from sodas and other sweetened beverages.* One of the ways that we can make a huge impact in the number of calories we consume each day is to ensure that we cut out the high calorie drinks, particularly the ones that provide no nutritional value.

Keep in mind that when we consume milk and fruit juice, we are taking in calories. However, we are getting vitamins and other nutrients from the calories in these drinks. With sodas and other high calorie sweetened drinks, we load up on the calories, but gain no nutritional value. The study mentioned above concluded that we could significantly cut the excess calories that are leading to our overweight society by simply replacing high calorie, low nutrition drinks with low calorie ones.

To be sure, the battle of the bulge is no easy one. It takes time, education and motivation to keep the calories under control. However, it's critical to our health that we get our weight under control. Obesity leads to a number of illnesses, all of which are entirely preventable by maintaining a healthy diet and activity level, and a healthy weight. Some of the most significant weight related health disorders include:

Type II Diabetes

Heart Disease

High Blood Pressure

Sleep Apnea

Higher risk for many forms of cancer

High Cholesterol

Congestive Heart Failure

Arthritis

Stroke

Gout

Pregnancy Complications

Our country must get the wake up call and learn to control our weight. Our health, and the health of our children is dependent upon our ability to get our eating habits and our activity level to a healthy balance.

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About the Author:
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Jon M. Stout is the Chairman of the Golden Moon Tea Company. Golden Moon Tea carefully selects the finest rare and orthodox teas, which are processed slowly and handcrafted with extreme care. At their website, you can learn more about their current tea offerings, including their exceptional green tea, white tea, black tea, oolong tea (also known as wu-long and wu long tea) and chai. Visit http://www.goldenmoontea.com for all details concerning the Golden Moon Tea Company's fine line of teas.

Article source: Article Realm

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Children Should Be Taught Not To Eat Junk Foods.

Those colorful and attractive packaging of junk foods combined with its flavorful content makes it hard for children to resist the urge to eat junk foods. It really could be very addictive.

Most junk foods nowadays claim that it contains vitamins and antioxidants as printed on their labels but the amounts are negligible compared to fruits and vegetables.

Many times have I seen parents ask their children what they want to eat. The children automatically scans the junk foods area of the store and point their favorites. Parents who are concerned with their kids' nutrition says discouraging remarks and suggests other foods that are best for them. The children frown of course. Others insist and others obey but with disgust in their hearts.

Junks foods are a regular snack for most children and concerned parents find it hard to encourage them to eat nutritious substitutes for their hunger. Often times, the intake of these snack foods are large enough that their stomach are still full when the regular meal comes.

Some parents though are happy to treat their children with these junk foods not knowing that the effects for the poor nutrition will be evident only in later years. One effect for improper nutrition which has been observed is macular degeneration which could possibly lead to blindness. We don't want our children to lose their eyesight when they get older, do we?

Another ill effect is getting overweight. This has been observed in India where overweight children are growing at an alarming rate. The government of India has responded to this by giving guidelines to both public and private schools for the proper nutrition of children. They are also extending the guidelines to the parents of the schoolchildren as well. The schools were also requested to ban junk foods in their cafeteria..

If children can be taught on proper nutrition, the more productive their life can be. Eating fruits and vegetables must be encouraged because it contains natural nutrients, vitamins and antioxidants to keep them in top shape. It's up to the parents and the schools to find ways of getting the idea into the minds of the children.

How about you? Do you have any ideas or ways that can make the children turn away from junk foods? If you have, you can share them and post them here as comments.

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