Child Health Blog

New York Times - The National Institutes of Health and a nonprofit advocacy group, Common Sense Media, have another reason for President-elect Barack Obama to keep urging parents to “turn off the TV.�

In what researchers call the first report of its kind, a review of 173 studies about the effects of media consumption on children asserts that a strong correlation exists between greater exposure and adverse health outcomes.

In a clear majority of those studies more time with television, films, video games, magazines, music and the Internet was linked to rises in childhood obesity, tobacco use and sexual behavior. A majority also showed strong correlations — what the researchers deemed “statistically significant associations� — with drug and alcohol use and low academic achievement.

Common Sense Media presents these facts:
* Kids spend over 44 hours per week with media
* 61% of children 0-1 years old use screen media in a typical day
* 66% of kids 8-18 years old have a TV in their bedroom
* Most teens spend 30 minutes a day instant messaging
* 55% of online teens have a social networking profile like Facebook or MySpace

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 5:09 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In 2007, 1.3 million children ages 6 to 11 were members of a health club, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. A quarter of the IHRSA member clubs surveyed had children’s programs.

In my opinion, we need to do better. Perhaps it's time we take Canada's lead and offer parents a tax rebate for enrolling their kids into fitness programs.

Effective January 1, 2007, parents of young people under the age of 16 who register their children in programs that promote physical activity can claim a federal tax credit for up to $500 per year per child on registration fees and memberships.

Let's get this entered into legislation. Contact your congressperson today.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 1:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Nemours web site, KidsHealth, recommends that parents avoid these common food/eating behavior mistakes:

* Don't reward kids for good behavior or try to stop bad behavior with sweets or treats. Come up with other solutions to modify their behavior.

* Don't maintain a clean-plate policy. Be aware of kids' hunger cues. Even babies who turn away from the bottle or breast send signals that they're full. If kids are satisfied, don't force them to continue eating. Reinforce the idea that they should only eat when they're hungry.

* Don't talk about "bad foods" or completely eliminate all sweets and favorite snacks from kids' diets. Children may rebel and overeat these forbidden foods outside the home or sneak them in on their own.

If you eat well, exercise regularly, and incorporate healthy habits into your family's daily life, you're modeling a healthy lifestyle for your kids that will last. Talk to your kids about the importance of eating well and being active, but make it a family affair that will become second nature for everyone.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 8:31 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

New York Times — A new study finds striking evidence that children who are obese or have high cholesterol show early warning signs of heart disease. The study, presented Tuesday at the American Heart Association conference in New Orleans, found that the thickness of artery walls of children and teenagers who are obese or have high cholesterol resembled the thickness of artery walls of an average 45-year-old.

You know there's a serious problem when a 15-year-old and 45-year-old share the same level of cardiovascular health. The potential public health and economic impact is extremely significant. The most efficient way to reverse this trend is with lifestyle changes.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 11:53 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld, shares her secrets for getting her three kids to eat healthy. In Deceptively Delicious, she shares recipes that "even the most overwhelmed families can make — stealthily packed with unseen veggies, puréed so kids will never suspect."

Reviews of this book are split. The recipes are great if you have a food processor and aren't afraid to use it, not so great if you don't. The moral of the story here is that adding puréed veggies to the foods you serve your kids is a fantastic way to get them to eat healthy... without even knowing it!

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 8:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here's what U.S. president-elect, Barack Obama, has to say about the childhood obesity epidemic.

Obama addressed childhood obesity in his healthcare policy.

A generation ago, nearly half of all school-aged children walked or biked to school. Today, nearly 9 out of 10 children are driven to school. And once there, children are not very physically active- only 8 percent of elementary schools require daily physical education. Childhood obesity is nearly epidemic, particularly among minority populations, and school systems can play an important role in tackling this issue. For example, only about a quarter of schools adhere to nutritional standards for fat content in school lunches. Obama will work with schools to create more healthful environments for children, including assistance with contract policy development for local vendors, grant support for school-based health screening programs and clinical services, increased financial support for physical education and educational programs for students.

I hope Obama will work with schools to create more healthful environments, enforce strict regulations on DTC advertising of unhealthy products to children, support community coalitions that promote healthy children and encourage parental support. There are so many factors that are driving this epidemic.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 10:50 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Educating parents on healthy lifestyle may help get their overweight children off the couch and moving more, a small study suggests.

In a pilot study testing a program called Families for Health, UK researchers found benefits for both children and their parents. The children, who were all overweight or obese at the study's start, became less sedentary and managed to lose some weight.

Their parents, meanwhile, reported improvements in their relationships with their children, and in their own mental well-being. The success suggests that the program should now be tested in a larger study, the researchers report in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 12:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

YMCAs in the Rochester, N.Y., area are launching new fitness centers targeting “tweens,� loosely defined as children ages 8 to 12, to give them more opportunities to be physically active. Although YMCA facilities have always offered some tween programming, rising obesity rates have spurred the organization to create more dedicated spaces for this age group.

The Rochester-based “Tween Wellness Centers� are outfitted with age- and size-appropriate recumbent bikes, cardio stations and weight sets, as well as fitness-oriented video games such as Nintendo Wii systems and Dance Dance Revolution.

This movement could make a significant impact on increasing physical activity among this age group. Keep an eye on this movement, hopefully it will catch on and spread to the rest of the country.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 8:08 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

In a move certain to rock the restaurant industry, Yum! Brands, parent company to Taco Bell, KFC and Pizza Hut, on Wednesday will announce plans to begin posting product calorie information on the indoor menu boards nationwide at company-owned restaurants, USA Today reports.

This is a risky move for the chain. I'm skeptically questioning their motive. McDonald's does set the bar rather high in regards to their calorie full-disclosure and low fat options. Is this just an attempt to compete? Or is it in response to consumer demand? Hmmmmmm... Either way I'm happy to hear that more restaurant chains are jumping on board with this trend.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 7:19 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

FCC Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein has called on the FCC to act on a 2004 proposal by the commission that would ban interactive advertising targeted at kids, Broadcasting & Cable reports.
"With the growing convergence of TV and the Internet, we need to set the rules before interactive advertising becomes an established business model," said Adelstein.

“Interactive advertising has rapidly become one of the most reliable forms of marketing, providing consumers with messages about products and services they care about," Adonis Hoffman, senior VP and counsel to the American Association of Advertising Agencies told B&C Friday. "These technologies allow marketers to deliver ads to consumers based on their proven preferences as opposed to ads that have no relevance. I would not think that our policymakers would want to stifle this kind of service and innovation.�

Adequate government regulation on consumer advertising directed toward children is a step in the right direction. Particularly advertising that effects health-related behaviors. It is very smart of the FCC to understand that children aren't merely accessing media through television and traditional mediums. Children are more tech savvy than ever and we (government and parents) need to monitor the information they're accessing. Bravo FCC.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 6:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Last week's post, "Childhood Obesity Rates Level Off" covered a highly discussed CDC research study that reported a leveling off in childhood obesity rates.

A recent interview with University of Minnesota childhood obesity researcher, Dr. Simone French, uncovered a discerning local perspective on these findings:

KG: CDC reported a plateau in the prevalence of childhood obesity in the United States. Do you believe a downward trend will follow?

SF: My answer is speculative because I have no crystal ball, but based on my experience and research, I do not believe a downward trend will follow. While I do believe that the childhood obesity epidemic is receiving more attention on the media and among funders and policy makers, the problem is
entrenched in our culture and lifestyle choices, and the fabric of the society we live in. I believe that much broader changes will be needed to flatten out the childhood (and adult) upward obesity trend. Some hint of movement in that direction is occurring now, so if that continues, there is hope of achieving some real impact. I do not see that happening right now. Particularly among low income and ethnic minority groups (Hispanic and African American groups), the problem of childhood obesity is huge.

KG: Are you seeing the same trends in your research?

SF: No. We still have not been able to identify interventions that are effective in changing populations. At the individual level, we have identified interventions that work with parents to reduce the trajectory of their child's obesity. But these require intensive interventions with parents and require motivated and organized parents. For general population approaches I believe policy and environmental changes are important and will be most effective in the long run.

KG: Can the results be attributed to public health efforts for regulating nutrition and physical activity in schools?

SF: What results?

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 12:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The University of Minnesota Medical Center reported today:

Many parents overlook their children's weight problems because they think their kids' weight is healthy,
says an Australian study that looked at 2,100 children and their parents.

The University of Melbourne researchers found that 43 percent of parents with overweight or underweight children believed their children had an average weight. Among overweight children, that percentage was nearly half, BBC News reported.

"Parents are more likely to take the necessary preventative actions if the perception of their child's weight -- whether underweight or overweight -- is correct," noted study leader Dr. Pene Schmidt.

The results aren't surprising, said Tam Fry of the National Obesity Forum in Australia.

"There was recent research in this country which showed that a similar proportion of health professionals were unable to make the distinction," Fry told BBC New. "We live in a society were being big is becoming far more common, and is seen as normal."

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A Time magazine article, The Trouble with 'Healthy' Kid Foods reports on a new Canadian study that found many foods with kid-friendly packaging - some of which also makes nutritional claims - aren't as good for kids as their parents might assume.

Researchers at the University of Calgary analyzed the nutritional benefit of more than 360 products and found that nearly 90 percent of such "fun-food" products don't meet established nutritional standards. The study, funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health and published in Obesity Reviews, also showed that of the foods with positive nutritional claims on the packaging, 62 percent were found to be of poor nutritional quality.

The article goes on to note that many of the products are advertised directly to children, and that public interest groups and Congress have pushed for companies to stop targeting children. But these groups aren't as well funded as large corporations, so how will they ever be able to match the financial might?

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 4:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

After three decades of stable increase in childhood obesity rates, it appears there may be a glimmer of hope. Earlier this year, a study published in Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows some evidence that the childhood obesity "epidemic" may finally be leveling off. Researchers led by Cynthia Ogden of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analyzed survey data gathered between 1999 and 2006, and found that the prevalence of overweight and obesity among American schoolchildren has plateaued at about 32%.

What does this mean though? Many health journalists are reporting these numbers with more than slight trepidation. Of course it's great that the problem is not getting any worse, but most of us want more. We want it to get better. As a New York Times Editorial writes, "tens of millions of young people will be at risk of illness and death unless this country commits to reversing, not just stabilizing, the epidemic."

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 12:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It’s estimated that one in three children in the United States between the ages of 2 and 19 is overweight, so it’s fitting this blog – the Child Health Blog – would be launched today, on the 80th annual National Child Health Day.

According to Center for Disease Control (CDC), an estimated 1 in 6 U.S. children between 2 and 19 is overweight, a risk factor for serious health consequences including asthma, diabetes and heart disease.

You can help solve this serious – and growing – health problem.

Take the Surgeon General's pledge to:

* Be a role model by making healthy choices for myself.
* Help children be physically active through everyday play and participation in sports.
* Support children's healthy eating habits.

A healthy future is our gift to our children.

Posted by Kimberly Grodahl at 9:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)