Tag Archives: childhood obesity

Parents Might Underestimate Their Child’s Obesity

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Your child isn’t obese, right? It’s just “baby weight” that will go away on its own. He’s big for his age, just like his dad was. She has inherited the big bones that run in the family. But, your child certainly couldn’t be obese. Are you sure? A study shows that parents can underestimate their child’s obesity. A study was published in the British Journal of General Practice in April of 2015. It was called “Child obesity cut-offs as derived from parental perceptions: cross-sectional questionnaire”. The purpose was to compare parental perception of their child’s weight with objectively derived assessment … Continue reading →

Tips for a Healthy Happy Birthday

Birthdays are a time of celebration.  Kids look forward to the gifts, balloons, candy, cake and ice cream.  It is a time to indulge.  However, indulging does not mean you have to regret eating a second piece of cake.  It does not mean you give up on health and reasonable portion sizes for the day.  Sure, you can stretch the boundaries of your diet a little.  I know my son wants to have his cake and eat it too on his birthday.  Yet, he also knows that an influx of sugar and fat are not good for his health.  While, … Continue reading →

New Incentive to Get Parents to Walk Kids to School

What would it take for you to carve time out of your hectic schedule to walk your children to school? Granted, if you live 10 miles from your child’s kindergarten class, walking is simply not feasible. However, there are millions of families around the world who live within walking distance of schools yet they still opt to bypass this money-saving, environmentally practical option. That might soon change in places like England where the government is providing incentives to parents to spend more time with their children by walking them to school. According to news reports, walking children to school could … Continue reading →

A New Way to Fight Childhood Obesity

Perhaps the American government could learn a lesson from South Korea… on how to curtail childhood obesity. In a plan that has shocked some families, South Korea’s health ministry officials recently announced that the government is planning to help parents of obese children pay for health club memberships and other activities that can help kids lose weight. The announcement comes on the heels of a new report, which reveals that the rate of childhood obesity in South Korea has tripled over the past three years due to a changing diet of fatty foods and a more sedentary lifestyle. According to … Continue reading →

New York Ramping Up Fitness for School Kids

School administrators in New York want to promote a “culture of fitness” among students, but the new program they have in place to do so is raising some eyebrows. Last year state lawmakers passed legislation (which went into effect this month) requiring public schools outside of New York City to collect and report a summary of students’ weights and body mass indexes (BMIs) as part of an effort to combat childhood obesity. According to the state health commissioner: “Whatever you can measure, you can improve and by requiring the measurement of body mass index, I think we’ll see some improvement.” … Continue reading →

Are You in Denial About Your Overweight Child?

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A recent poll showed that half the parents who had overweight or obese kids simply didn’t realize their kids weighed too much. Now it is one thing to look in the mirror and deny that we’re getting heavier but what on earth are we doing to our kids if we turn a blind eye? Dieticians believe that parents are in denial about their kids’ weight because they don’t want to have to change their own eating and exercise habits. What does that say about us as parents if we aren’t willing to teach our kids good healthy habits for a … Continue reading →

Should Your Child’s Body Mass Index (BMI) Be Included On Their Report Card?

Should your child’s Body Mass Index (BMI) be included on their report card? According to the current issue of Redbook, several states have elected to include BMI’s on students’ report card in an effort to fight the rising childhood obesity epidemic. Your BMI is the ratio of weight to height and is used to determine a person’s healthy weight. I’m usually pretty much for or against an issue like this but I have to say this is one time I’m sort of riding the fence. I can understand both sides of the issue and could be persuaded to go either … Continue reading →

Childhood Obesity Linked to Gender In Sweden

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A new Swedish study has linked childhood obesity, in that country, with gender. According to research conducted at Sweden’s Uppsala University, 4-year-old girls were six times as likely to be obese than they were 20 years ago. The researchers have concluded that recent lifestyle chances are the cause for much of the obesity they are currently seeing. However, they added, “It is difficult to say what that is.” The findings, published April’s issue of Acta Paeditrica, show that in 1982, 1% of all 4-year-olds were obese. By 2002, 2% of boys and 6% of girls were considered obese. The differences … Continue reading →

Shaq Takes A Shot At Helping Overweight Kids

Perhaps, Ruben Studdard was too busy… ABC is hoping for a slam-dunk when it airs a new reality TV series starring NBA All-Star Shaquille O’Neal aiding overweight children. According to network execs, the show will focus on childhood obesity and health. The series, which will run during the summer months, will feature the Miami Heat star and his effort to help Florida schoolchildren lose weight. Show producers say the series is currently being filmed in Broward County, Florida and tracks the lives of the children involved. O’Neal will reportedly be on hand to support the children and (in episodes yet … Continue reading →

Your kids may NOT live as long as you

What are your kids eating? Pizza? Hamburgers? How often are they eating these things? If your child is eating lunch at school, he or she may be eating these things much more often than you think—perhaps even every day. It may surprise you to know that 1 in 5 schools in the Unites States currently serves at least one brand name fast food menu. This means, even if you’re telling your child to make good choices at school, they may in fact be eating Taco Bell, McDonald’s or something similar—and likely their choices don’t include the new “healthy” options. Childhood … Continue reading →