Obese Kids' Arteries Are Middle-Aged, Study Says

"This is a wake up call", said a cardiologist. Very well put.
In a nutshell, the arteries of obese children and those with problems in their blood fats (for example, cholesterol, LDL, HDL, triglycerides) resemble those of middle-age adults (45-year-olds!) and could indicate rapidly impending cardiovascular disease (for example, early heart attacks, strokes, etc). More studies will determine if this is reversible once the weight is lost and blood fats are improved. We are hopeful that future studies will show this.

Pediatric News Dec 2008

Taking Sugary Drinks Out of Schools Has Little Impact

In a journal that we pediatricians subscribe to called Pediatric News, a rather eye-opening article emerged... a study was done involving 7 high schools and sugary drinks and sodas (beverage vending machines). The results were that the removal of the drinks from these schools "might not really affect how much soda students drink". What seemed to be more effective, however, was community education discussing healthier food choices in public schools. Brings up some interesting points:

1. Don't underestimate your child or teen and the changes they can make if given appropriate education. You may think that they are not listening, but, as you can see, once educated and given their freedom to make choices, your kids can make the right food choices.
2. In keeping with the above statement, just removing a child or teen from a particular situation or food may not necessarily improve their life. Teaching them how to make good decisions has a way more positive life-changing impact.
3. A third and very important alarming realization is that if they are not getting them at school, then where are they getting these drinks from? Because the students' consumption of these beverages neither decreased nor ceased, the assumption is that they would still be getting these from other sources, including HOME.
   

Hmmmmm... we all still have a lot of work to do...


Pediatric News Dec 2008

Food for Thought

On TV this evening, abc World News with Charles Gibson, a very interesting excerpt was brought to our attention regarding another excellent reason to lose weight... on average, the subjects of this study were in their 60s and were tested in 3 month intervals. It was found that those who slashed their daily calories by 30% and lost weight had a "significant increase" in verbal memory AND that the more weight lost, the more their memory improved. The suggestion by those conducting the study state that the body does not need to produce as much of the hormone insulin and when there is less insulin, brain cells communicate better. In addition, those at a healthy weight can also achieve these similar changes in the brain to improve memory with regular vigorous exercise. So this shows that basic lifestyle changes seem to be the most effective ways to affect and even improve an aging brain and memory. Super news! Something that we can ALL do to improve our lives and those of our children.

Asthmatic Symptoms, Physical Activity, and Overweight in Young Children: A Cohort Study

I wanted to share an article with you published last year in a very reliable journal entitled Pediatrics.  Clinical research is one of the ways that medicine advances and this article addresses a very important point for children with asthma and overweight.  Their hypothesis to be tested is that asthmatic children tend to be less active and thus more overweight than those children without this particular health issue.  Well, "no association was found between wheezing at any age and overweight at the age of 4-5 years."  Excellent!  In other words, if your child has asthma, there is no reason why that should stop them from being physically active and theoretically that should keep them from being overweight.  Isn't that great news?  Swimming, team sports, yoga, pilates, ... these are different types of exercise that could be good for asthmatics.  Know your child and help them choose a sport that they would like to pursue.  (On a side note, if your child  is asthmatic and overweight, other factors are contributing to this and should be evaluated).

Simple steps towards a healthier you

Nice to see local supermarkets contributing to the battle against being overweight.  I just received a small, clever booklet in the mail with helpful hints regarding activity, nutrition, and healthy eating.  Let me share them with you:

The first step: Get going

Morning Goal: Make time for a healthful breakfast

Mid-morning Goal: Instead of calling a friend or emailing  a coworker, go see them in person

Noon Goal: Drink a glass of water before eating

Mid-afternoon Goal: Take a walk

Evening Goal: Take the active route

A friendly reminder to also check the MyPyramid.gov website from the USDA (United States Department of Agriculture) for reliable nutrition education.

And one more thing... the very first sentence of the first page of this booklet sums it up nicely:  "Making small adjustments to your everyday routine can add up to big benefits in your health down the road."

Active video games may be useful in preventing childhood overweight, obesity

"Encouraging adolescents to play active video games for 35 minutes per day may increase energy expenditure enough to prevent weight gain..." Super news! In this day and age, adolescents are spending so much time in front of the TV or screens sitting and sedentary that if we are able to use this time and form of entertainment to their advantage and have them do exercise while they are doing something that catches and keeps their attention, more power to them! All of a sudden this "wasted time" becomes valuable time and it becomes a means of providing this challenging age group with a proactive way to combat the obesity epidemic themselves. This can provide them with their much-desired independence while they learn the importance of taking care of their bodies for life. (Note: This study article presented only one type of active gaming apparatus while there are more and more different options becoming available).

Infectious Diseases in Children Journal October 2008