Thin&Healthy Kids Weight Loss

Renowned Professor Tags Obesity As Biggest Health Threat

2008-05-28T06:35:00.001-04:00

“Ask world renowned public health professor Mariano Giacchi about the gravest problem facing societies worldwide and his answer may come as a surprise. It’s obesity. Not AIDS, malaria or avian bird flu — obesity. ’We are not talking about just the personal, physical level, but about the socio-economic and societal level all around the world, not just the west,’ Giacchi said during an interview in Dover Monday morning. ‘Obesity is the main epidemiological issue around the world. This is particularly true for children.’ Giacchi — professor of biology and director of the Public Health program at the roughly 750-year-old University of Siena in Tuscany, Italy — spent Sunday night with an old friend, Rose Manes, a former Associate Professor of Health Records Administration at Bridgeport College in Connecticut.”

Nutrition Hint--The Hidden Dangers of the...SNOW CONE!

2008-05-22T14:38:00.000-04:00

Nothing says summer refresher like a snow cone, but the trick to this summer shocker is that within a few minutes of ordering this you'll have downed 550 calories -- probably without even realizing it. Our advice: Drink a glass of ice water. Then, if you still want something sweet, try a scoop of a fruit sorbet, which is about 100-150 calories, or frozen yogurt for 180-200 calories (but this one contains some fat, so watch how much you eat). The real deal however, is a popsicle. At 45 calories, you'd have to eat 12 of these to catch up to the calories in a snow cone.

Overcoming Overweight and Obesity in Your Child

2008-05-18T21:07:00.000-04:00

The key to keeping kids of all ages at a healthy weight is taking a whole-family approach. It's the "practice what you preach" mentality. Make eating and exercise a family affair. Get your children involved by letting them help you plan and prepare healthy meals, and take them along when you go grocery shopping, so they can learn how to make good food choices.
Avoid falling into some common food/eating behavior traps:
Don't reward children 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 overweight children's diets. Children may rebel and overeat these forbidden foods outside the home or sneak them in on their own.
Here are some additional recommendations for children of all ages:
Birth to age 1: In addition to it's many health benefits, breastfeeding may help prevent excessive weight gain. Though the exact mechanism is not known, breastfed babies are more able to control their own intake and follow their own internal hunger cues.
Ages 2 to 6: Start good habits early. Encourage kids' natural tendency to be active and offer children a variety of healthy foods. It may take 10 or more tries before a child will accept a new food, so don't give up.
Ages 7 to 12: Encourage children to be physically active every day, whether it's an organized sports team or a pick-up game of soccer during recess. Keep your kids active at home, too, through everyday activities like walking and playing in the yard. Let them be more involved in making good food choices.
Ages 13 to 17: Teens like fast-food, but try to steer them toward healthier choices like grilled chicken sandwiches, salads, and smaller sizes. Encourage them to be active everyday. If they are not into organized sports, suggest intramural programs, fitness classes such as yoga or pilates, or alternative sport like skateboarding, inline skating, or mountain biking.
All ages: Cut down on TV, computer, and video game time and discourage eating while watching the tube. Serve a variety of healthy foods and eat meals together as often as possible. Try to include 5 servings of fruits and vegetables a day in their diet, plan healthy snacks, and encourage kids to eat breakfast every day. Encourage your children to try a variety of activities. Don't force any one sport or activity - and help them find what they enjoy and then support them in their efforts.
If you, as a parent, eat well and exercise regularly and incorporate healthy habits into your family's daily life, you're modeling a healthy lifestyle for your children that could last into adulthood. 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 both you and your children. Most of all, let your children know you love them - no matter what their weight - and that you want to help your child be happy and healthy.

Childhood Obesity Fueled By Marketing Tactics

2008-05-18T20:48:00.002-04:00

Every day our children are bombarded with advertisements -- quite often for products that are harmful to them. Each year, the average child sees about 40,000 commercials on television alone, according to communications professor Dale Kunkel of the University of Arizona; the majority of ads targeted at them are for candy, sugared cereal, soda and fast food.
While parents may actually be the ones paying the price for all of this advertising at the cash register, our children are paying with their health. In addition to the social stigma and psychological effects that overweight children often suffer, they are also significantly more likely than their peers to become afflicted with serious health problems such as asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and sleep apnea. In fact, the U.S. Surgeon General has identified overweight and obesity as "the fastest growing cause of disease and death in America."
The role of marketing in the childhood obesity problem is significant. A recent Stanford study found that children who spend the most time watching TV, videos and video games are more likely to be overweight. A 1999 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association also shows that exposure to food commercials influences children's food preferences and requests.
The pervasiveness of marketing to children is particularly troubling because of kids' inherent vulnerability to persuasion. Children under age 8 do not recognize the intent of ads and tend to accept them as accurate and unbiased. A 30-second commercial can influence brand preferences in children as young as 2, Kunkel has found.
Many advertisers prey upon children's vulnerability by disguising their advertisements as online games or by using product placement to sneak them into prime-time shows. It is through television, computers and video games that perhaps the most insidious attempts to manipulate children's eating habits occur. It is where food advertisers spend billions of dollars each year pushing unhealthy cereals, snacks and drinks through commercials and product placements aimed at children; where beloved cartoon characters shill for fast- food chains (such as Burger King's use of Teletubbies and SpongeBob); and where advertisements for cookies and candy are disguised as arcade-style games. It is where broadcasters and advertisers put their own financial well-being above the health of our children.
The media and advertisers have a responsibility to do better by our nation's kids. Some have recognized the effects their business practices have on children and are taking important steps toward acting in children's best interest. In January, Kraft Foods decided to stop advertising its low- nutrition foods during children's programs and replace them with ads for more nutritional snack products. Sesame Street recently teamed with Earth's Best to launch a new line of organic and "nutrient-rich" breakfast foods and snacks for children. Nickelodeon refused to allow one of its characters, Dora the Explorer, to be used for a Burger King kids' meal unless a piece of fruit was included in the meal.
These are all important steps toward improving the nutritional messages children receive from the media. Other broadcasters and advertisers need to follow suit and develop business practices that will support, rather than thwart, children's healthy development. For instance, they can dedicate a certain percentage of advertising time to pro-nutrition public-service announcements. And if broadcasters are going to license their characters, these characters can sell healthy foods.
Yet more must be done to protect our nation's children, especially in a rapidly changing technological era. Digital, interactive television is on the horizon, and it promises to change the way companies push their marketing on children. Imagine watching a television show that has logos for McDonald's, Snickers, Jell-o Pudding, and the new "American Pie 6" movie scattered about the bottom of the screen. Imagine that you or your children could click on those logos with your remote control and be instantly transported to Web sites for those products where your child could purchase items from those sites directly from your TV.
Interactive television also has the potential to target individual viewers with personalized ads, increasing the likelihood of impulse purchases, according to the Center for Digital Democracy. Advertisers will be able to target children according to their gender, age, household income and race, by tracking the history of their individual television viewing habits.
The Federal Communications Commission must intervene now to ensure that children are protected from interactive advertising before it ever has a chance to become a common marketing technique. The FCC is currently accepting public comments about interactive advertising in children's programming. We encourage caring adults to contact the FCC by Sunday and let it know that they do not want interactive TV to become advertisers' new frontier for marketing unhealthy foods to children. It is essential that the commission move forward and prohibit this practice to protect our nation's kids.

Heart Disease Starts Early In Life, and Childhood Obesity is a Key Culprit Study Says

2008-05-15T14:35:00.000-04:00

“Two of the biggest threats to heart health that trace back to childhood are prehypertension -- blood pressure just below the official high blood pressure reading of 140/90 -- and obesity. Indeed, people in the study with prehypertension had more risk factors for cardiovascular disease, including obesity, high levels of blood fats such as cholesterol, and diabetes. ‘Obesity in childhood is the only consistent factor predicting cardiac enlargement in adults," he said. "It also predicts adult vascular stiffness.’ That is a formal medical term for what most people call hardening of the arteries. ‘These observations give a compelling reason for pursuing preventive, personalized intervention strategies at an early age in order to evaluate obesity and underlying cardiovascular disease risk factors,’ Berenson said in a statement.”

Motivating Your Teen To Move

2008-05-13T08:50:00.001-04:00

“If your teen isn't involved in a team sport, it can be a challenge creating opportunities to be physically active. Benefits to exercise include a healthier self-esteem, better grades and improved quality of sleep. Teens who exercise on a regular basis are also less likely to abuse drugs or alcohol, smoke cigarettes or miss school. The American Heart Association suggests that teens raise their heart rates for 20 minutes without stopping, three or more times a week. Aerobic exercises like running, skating, cycling or swimming are good options. Sports like hockey, soccer, basketball or tennis are other alternatives.”

www.ThinAndHealthyNY.com

Babies of Heavy Mothers Have More Fat, Less Muscle

2008-04-24T19:08:00.000-04:00

“Babies born to overweight or obese women have more fat and less muscle than infants born to normal-weight moms, according to one of the first studies to compare newborns' body composition to their mothers' pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI). Obesity is on the rise among pregnant women, while more and more North American and European infants weigh 4,000 grams (8 pounds 13 ounces) or more at birth, Dr. David A. Fields of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in Oklahoma and colleagues Fields and his team note in their report in American Journal of Obstetrics & Gynecology. These unusually heavy infants are more likely to grow up to be obese. Body weight alone, however, doesn't provide a clear picture of infant growth and health, the researchers add; both low and high birth weight have been tied to an increased risk of diabetes and other conditions in adulthood.”

Heavily Marketed Kids' Cereals Are Least Healthy

2008-04-24T19:06:00.000-04:00

“Breakfast cereals for children are less healthy than cereals meant for adults, and those marketed the most aggressively to kids have the worst nutritional quality, according to a new analysis of 161 brands. ‘The cereal the parent is eating him or herself is probably better than what they're feeding their child,’ Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, the lead researcher on the study, told Reuters Health. Schwartz and her colleagues also found that health claims made for kids' cereals were often misleading. Cereals sold as ‘low fat’ or ‘low sugar’ were not lower in calories, as parents might assume, and while brands touted as ‘whole grain’ did have more fiber, they had just as much salt, sugar and fat as other brands and the same calorie content.”

Food Guide Pyramid

2008-04-17T17:46:00.000-04:00

Update - Read about the new Food Pyramid, which has recently been updated.
The Food Guide Pyramid was designed by the US Dept. of Agriculture to promote healthy nutrition in children over six years of age (see the Kids Food Guide Pyramid for younger children). It is meant to be a general guide to daily food choices. The main emphasis of the Food Guide Pyramid is on the five major food groups, all of which are required for good health. It also emphasizes that foods that include a lot of fats, oils and sweets should be used very sparingly.
The Food Pyramid shows a range of servings for each food group. How much you actually eat depends on your age and activity level. Teenage boys who are active require about 2800 calories and should eat the highest range of servings. Teenage girls who are active require about 2200 calories and should eat servings in the middle of the range of servings. Children who are overweight and dieting should at least eat the lowest range of servings.
When determining how many servings to eat, it is important to look at the serving size. Larger portions should count as more than one serving, and smaller portions will count as only a part of a serving.

PBH unveils kid-friendly Web site

2008-04-15T11:25:00.002-04:00

By Angie Hanson

(April 8, 2:41 p.m.) Fruits and vegetables are good for you and a good time. That is the message the Produce for Better Health Foundation wants to relay to children with the launch of its new kid-friendly Web site, www.foodchamps.org.

The site is designed to help children learn about healthy eating and exercising, said Kristen Stevens, senior vice president for the Wilmington, Del.-based Foundation.

At the site, children are invited to select one of five Fruit & Veggie Color Champion characters to help navigate through the site, which features a variety of produce-themed activities, including games, coloring pages and recipes, Stevens said.

Foodchamps.org is designed for children ages 2-8, but there are two levels of games, one geared to ages 2-5 and the other to 6-8, Stevens said.“We developed the kid site as an opportunity to give children the ability to interact directly with the fruit and vegetable characters, so they have a fun way to learn about the benefits of fruits and veggies,” Stevens said.

The Web site is the newest initiative under the Fruits & Veggies — More Matters campaign.

Childhood Obesity Causes

2008-04-15T09:00:00.002-04:00

There are many factors that contribute to causing child and adolescent obesity - some are modifiable and others are not.

Modifiable causes include:
Physical Activity - Lack of regular exercise.
Sedentary behavior - High frequency of television viewing, computer usage, and similar behavior that takes up time that can be used for physical activity.
Socioeconomic Status - Low family incomes and non-working parents.
Eating Habits - Over-consumption of high-calorie foods. Some eating patterns that have been associated with this behavior are eating when not hungry, eating while watching TV or doing homework.
Environment - Some factors are over-exposure to advertising of foods that promote high-calorie foods and lack of recreational facilities.

Non-changeable causes include:
Genetics - Greater risk of obesity has been found in children of obese and overweight parents.

Fruit Juice - How Much Is Too Much?

2008-04-15T07:50:00.001-04:00

From Vincent Iannelli, M.D.,Your Guide to Pediatrics.
Is fruit juice dangerous?
The American Academy of Pediatrics thought that it was enough of a danger to issue a policy statement about 'The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics'.
In reality, there are a lot of other more important dangers to your child's health, but drinking too much fruit juice can be a problem. According to the AAP, drinking too much juice can contribute to obesity, the development of cavities (dental caries), diarrhea, and other gastrointestinal problems, such as excessive gas, bloating and abdominal pain.
Among the recommendations of the AAP report are that:
when you give your child juice, it should be 100% pasteurized fruit juice and not fruit drinks.
infants under 6 months of age should not be given juice, although many Pediatricians do recommend small amounts of juice for children that are constipated
younger children aged 1 to 6 years should have only 4 to 6 ounces of juice a day.
older children should be limited to 8 to 12 ounces of juice a day
instead of juice, children should be encouraged to eat whole fruits
Preventing Problems
How do you prevent problems from drinking too much juice? One easy way is to not introduce juice until your child is six months old. And when you do begin to offer your infant juice, give it in a cup and not a bottle. Older infants and toddlers generally drink too much juice when they always have a sippie cup in their hands, or if they are sucking on the cup like they would a bottle. Although sippie cups are convenient and it is nice to prevent messes, if you child always has one in his hands, then he is probably most at risk of getting cavities, since his teeth will always have sugar on them.
To prevent your child's cups from becoming a security object for toddlers, it can help to restrict them to meals, when you offer milk, and snacks.
It may also help to change to a "sport's bottle" type cup, which can also prevent spills and messes, but aren't as easy to drink out of as a regular sippie cup.
The Juice 'Problem'
One of the main problems with drinking too much juice, is that it is filling and will decrease your child's appetite for other more nutritious foods. While your child will still get a lot of calories, they will mostly be from sugars or carbohydrates, and not from fat or protein, which can contribute to a poorly balanced diet. Also, fruit juices generally don't have a lot of vitamins and nutrients, although they do have vitamin C and some are fortified with calcium. Also, if you child is drinking a lot of juice, then he probably isn't drinking much milk, which is a good source of calcium and other vitamins and nutrients
Does Your Child Have a Problem With Juice?
In general, if you child is eating a well balanced diet, including some fresh fruits and vegetables, is drinking 16 to 24 ounces a day of milk and dairy products, and doesn't have problems with cavities or being overweight, then he likely doesn't have a juice problem, even if you are exceeding the AAP limits.
Take our Fruit Juice Poll - How Much Juice Do Your Children Drink?
If your child is exceeding the AAP limits and is a picky eater, has a poorly balanced diet, cavities, diarrhea, chronic abdominal pain or if he is overweight, then you should consider taking steps to limit his intake of juice. You should definitely avoid letting your child fall asleep with a bottle or cup of juice, since that is probably the biggest risk factor for getting cavities. Also avoid giving 'fruit' drinks or 'fruit' sodas, since they may actually have very little fruit in them.
The Benefits of Juice
After all of this talk about the "juice" controversy, is there any reason to give your child juice at all? Many kids don't like eating fruit, so offering fruit juice is one way to get your child the 2 (for younger kids) to 4 servings (older kids) of fruit that is recommended in the Food Pyramid Guide. A 6-ounce glass of 100% fruit juice can substitute for (but is not really equal to) one serving of fruit. The AAP advises that half of your child's fruit servings from the Food Pyramid Guide can come from 100% fruit juice.
Still, it is important to remember that the recommended servings of fruit juice are actually limits. Your child does not need to drink any fruit juice, especially if he is getting the Food Guide Pyramid's recommended servings of fruit by eating whole fruit.
Fruit juice can be helpful for children who are constipated and fruit juice diluted with fluoridated water is a good way to get your child fluoride if he doesn't like to drink plain water.
Sources:
American Academy of Pediatrics. Policy Statement. The Use and Misuse of Fruit Juice in Pediatrics. PEDIATRICS Vol. 107 No. 5 May 2001, pp. 1210-1213.

Kim Loughlin: Jake’s Mom Testimonial

2008-04-14T09:29:00.000-04:00

At 7 years old, Jake weighed 118 pounds and would come home crying because he felt like the fattest and slowest kid in his class. My efforts at home weren’t enough. I saw aTV commercial for a kids program at Thin&Healthy’s Total Solution, and I decided we needed help. After one year on the individualized program, he was down to 95 pounds,and he had lost 48 inches. His peers even asked what he was doing differently. He now has higher self-esteem and confidence, he runs faster in soccer, and he is more active ingeneral. The biggest thing he learned from Thin&Healthy Kids is that he has to burn off what he eats, or else he’ll gain weight. The biggest thing I learned was it’s not what youeat that matters, it’s how much you eat. I highly recommended this program to others because I was amazed at his progress.

Thin&Healthy Kids Weight Loss Program
15 Industrial Drive - Suite 7
Middletown, NY 10941
845-692-THIN (8446)
http://www.ThinAndHealthyNY.com/
info@ThinAndHealthyNY.com

Aubrey Vance’s Testimonial

2008-04-14T09:25:00.000-04:00

I joined Thin & Healthy when I was 14 years old, the summer before 9th grade, because I really wanted to lose weight. I was a member of band and we had to do some marching, which made meuncomfortable because I would get out of breath easily. I was the "fat girl" in all of my classes and in my group of friends. I had very low self-esteem and thought that if I lost some weight, Iwould feel better about myself and would no longer be made fun of.

Before Thin & Healthy, I had dieted and tried a lot of different things that never worked or neverstuck. However, Thin & Healthy isn't a diet, it’s changing your life. Once you get over the initial shock of changing your habits, it just becomes natural. You don't feel cheated or like you aren'tallowed to eat what you want.

I would definitely recommend Thin & Healthy to others because it is do-able. A lot of weight lossprograms or diets seem unrealistic and you feel like you are giving so much up. With Thin&Healthy you are eating "normal" food. You don’t have to buy their food, you can go out to eatand make good choices, and you also have a lot of your old favorites to look forward to as you move through the phases.

In one year I lost 50 pounds. I become a lot more outgoing. I finally felt comfortable in my own skin and started to gain some self-esteem. I ate healthy, I exercised on a regular basis, and I hadself-confidence. My activity level skyrocketed and I was able to do a lot of things I couldn’t do before without getting out of breath. My relationships with close friends and family got strongerbecause they held my hand through the progression and were able to see how the positive changes affected my life. Overall, I was a much happier person after I lost weight.

Produce Campaign Aims to Produce Better Health

2008-04-14T07:02:00.001-04:00

By Sally SquiresTuesday, March 20, 2007; HE01

Get ready for the juggler.
That's the icon that you'll soon see on fruit, vegetables and the healthy products that contain them. It's all part of a $3.5 million national campaign to help Americans boost their intake of these key foods.
Called "Fruits & Veggies -- More Matters," the juggler campaign is a partnership between the Produce for Better Health Foundation (PBH) and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It is designed to replace the "5-a-Day" program that was launched in 1991 by the National Cancer Institute and then updated with the "Five-to-Nine" program, which urges consumers to eat five to nine servings daily of fruit and vegetables. The CDC took over that program two years ago.
None of the efforts has succeeded in helping the nation reach those goals. "No segment of the population is meeting that intake," says William Dietz, director of the CDC's Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity.
The most recent surveys find that "only 11 percent of the population is eating what they are supposed to be eating," notes Elizabeth Pivonka, president of PBH, an industry-supported group. "Close to 90 percent are not."
Several studies published this week highlight just how far most Americans are falling short on fruit and vegetables.
In 2005, only about a third of Americans ate the recommended two or more daily servings of fruit, according to a report published Monday by CDC researchers in the agency's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Even fewer -- just 27 percent -- ate the three servings of vegetables advised daily.
Some of the most vulnerable groups are eating the least. "In all surveys, black men and women reported lower intakes of vegetables, potassium and calcium than their white counterparts," report a team of scientists led by Ashima Kant of Queens College in New York in the current issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine.
Yet research clearly shows that a diet rich in fruit and vegetables can help control blood pressure, reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, cut the incidence of diabetes and lower the odds of developing some types of cancer. In this era of ever-widening waistlines, people who eat more fruit and vegetables are less likely to be overweight or obese. Eating more fruit and vegetables may help prevent some age-related vision problems, and it even helps improve bone density, key to staving off osteoporosis.
Knowledge of the nutritional benefits is not the problem. National surveys show that consumers "know they should be eating more" fruit and vegetables, Pivonka says. "They want to do what's right for their families, but they need ideas and inspiration."
That's where the new national campaign comes in. A bright green juggler tossing colorful fruit and vegetables through the air will appear on fresh produce as well as canned, frozen and dried products that meet nutritional criteria set by the CDC. About 21,000 supermarkets and 170 companies are already licensed to use the icons, according to PBH.
The juggler is likely to make it a bit easier for consumers to spot products on crowded shelves that can help them meet their nutritional goals.
For a product to carry the icon, it must contain at least one serving of fruit or vegetables per portion. That's the equivalent of one piece of fruit, such as a medium orange. Or it could be equal to a half-cup of raw or cooked vegetables or fruit, such as six baby carrots or 16 grapes. It also equals a half-cup of cooked dry beans, or one cup of leafy greens such as raw spinach or lettuce. Products that have a quarter-cup of dried fruit, such as raisins, or half a cup of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice can also qualify.
But it won't be enough for food companies just to add fruit or vegetables to otherwise unhealthy fare. Food and beverages, from frozen dinners to fruit drinks, must be nutritionally sound in other ways to qualify for a juggler.
The program sets strict limits on the amounts of added sugars or sugar substitutes, fat and sodium. So a cup of tomato soup must have fewer than 480 milligrams of sodium to qualify. Each serving of food must have fewer than three grams of fat and be low in unhealthy saturated fat and trans fat. Naturally occurring healthy fat, such as that found in avocados and olives, are exempt.
Fiber is also part of the equation. To get a juggler icon, a serving must offer a pre-set amount of fiber per calorie -- a level designed to help meet the 28 grams recommended daily for most adults.
While the new program is designed to boost fruit and vegetable intake throughout the population, it specifically targets mothers who make the most food choices for their families. A Web site -- http://www.fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org-- offers a chat room for mothers to share their ideas with one another as well as shopping tips, a searchable database of easy recipes, a national contest and a scavenger hunt for kids at the grocery store.
"All," Dietz says, "are designed to make healthy choices easier choices."

McDonald's Praised for Healthier Vision

2008-04-13T06:46:00.001-04:00

Politicians considering tougher anti-obesity laws found themselves congratulating fast-food giant McDonald's yesterday for its health drive. McDonald's bosses drew the compliments during an appearance before a select committee hearing submissions on the Public Health Bill, which provides new ways for the Cabinet or Director-General of Health to act against suspected causes of obesity. McDonald's was preceded yesterday by health sector groups who urged MPs to use the bill's new powers with courage and urgency. McDonald's managing director Mark Hawthorne then told MPs the hamburger chain broadly backed the bill but opposed potential new regulatory powers within it. He revealed that 20 per cent of the company's total sales in New Zealand now involved items from its ‘lighter choices’ selection of healthier foods such as salads and fruit. A $1 million change in the cooking oil used by McDonald's had cut saturated fat levels by 83 per cent, he said, and the amount of sugar in hamburger buns had been reduced by 40 per cent.”

Two Hours PE for All Kids to Beat Obesity-UK

2008-04-13T06:44:00.000-04:00

“PLANS were unveiled today to make schoolchildren do at least two hours of PE a week to help tackle Liverpool’s obesity crisis. Health experts also want to make sure youngsters have the chance to do a further three hours of physical activity a week outside school. They laid down the three-year target today as part of a wide-ranging plan to improve a problem which costs the NHS in Liverpool £5m a year.”

Help your children maintain a healthy body weight

2008-04-08T07:06:00.000-04:00

Be supportive. Children know if they are overweight and don't need to be reminded or singled out. They need acceptance, encouragement and love.
Set guidelines for the amount of time your children can spend watching television or playing video games.
Plan family activities that involve exercise. Instead of watching TV, go hiking or biking, wash the car, or walk around a mall. Offer choices and let your children decide.
Be sensitive. Find activities your children will enjoy that aren't difficult or could cause embarrassment.
Eat meals together as a family and eat at the table, not in front of a television. Eat slowly and enjoy the food.
Don't use food as a reward or punishment. Children should not be placed on restrictive diets, unless done so by a doctor (for medical reasons). Children need food for growth, development and energy.
Involve your children in meal planning and grocery shopping. This helps them learn and gives them a role in the decision making.
Keep healthy snacks on hand. Good options include fresh, frozen, or canned fruits and vegetables; low-fat cheese, yogurt or ice cream; frozen fruit juice bars; and cookies such as fig bars, graham crackers, gingersnaps or vanilla wafers.
Focus on small, gradual changes in eating and activity patterns. This helps form habits that can last a lifetime.

Rx for Good Health: Exercise

2008-04-07T11:49:00.000-04:00

“It's no secret: the country is in the middle of an obesity epidemic that affects young and old, men and women. While it seems that much attention has been paid to eating healthier, diet alone isn't the answer; exercise has to be part of the equation. But, getting the message out that we can't be a nation of couch potatoes has proven to be a more difficult proposition. ‘While most people — eight out of 10 — will agree that exercise is important for health and wellness, only two [out of 10] say they are exercising regularly,’ said Cedric Bryant, Ph.D., chief science officer for the American Council on Exercise, speaking in a phone interview from San Diego. That boils down to only 20 percent of us willing to make exercise part of our lifestyle, according to the experts. Women are doing a little bit better at that than men if we take a look at gym club memberships, for example. In 2006, women represented about 53 percent of the memberships, according to the International Health, Racquet and Sportsclub Association. They are the overwhelming majority in aerobics, yoga, Pilates and cardio-kickboxing classes, and using ab machines, elliptical trainers, treadmills and stretching at the gym, according to IHRSA research.”

Lack Of Exercise When Young May Lead To Heart Disease

2008-04-07T11:36:00.001-04:00

“Lack of physical activity and fitness as a child can lead to an increased risk of heart disease according to new research. Robert McMurray and his team at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill have shown for the first time that heart disease factors, known collectively as metabolic syndrome in teenagers are influenced by a child's level of fitness and physical activity. Evidence of metabolic syndrome includes diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and obesity. ‘Many metabolic syndrome factors develop at an early age, before adolescence,’ explained McMurray. ‘Being able to determine which youth are at high metabolic syndrome risk is thus beneficial when considering methods of prevention. We've found that low levels of childhood physical activity and aerobic fitness are associated with metabolic syndrome in adolescents, so efforts need to begin early in childhood to increase exercise."ww.sciencedaily.com

Doctors Question Effectiveness of Surgery for Obese Teenagers

2008-04-03T06:02:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 17, 2008, 10:39:00 AM Aspen Education Group
About one in every 200 Americans who underwent surgery for obesity last year was a teenager, according to statistics from a study done in Oregon. This translates into roughly 1,000 teens that had either laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding or permanent gastric bypass surgery in order to lose weight last year.Teens experience about half the complications from such surgeries that adults do; however, no one knows if the weight loss achieved through stomach stapling or bypass operations will be permanent. The Legacy Good Samaritan Obesity Institute in Portland, Ore., is tracking patients to determine the long-term results.Dr. Reginald Washington, a Denver pediatric cardiologist, believes that such surgeries are not the solution. "I don't think this should ever become a common treatment for childhood obesity," he said. "We haven't developed an ideal program for a treatment for childhood obesity."Dr. Philip Wu, a pediatrician with the Kaiser weight-management initiative, said that the surgeries do not "normalize" childhood obesity. "Kids are not little adults," he said. "We need to know what happens to them ten years down the line. If it's only going to get you one or two or three years, then you backslide - is it worth it?"

Skipping Breakfast Linked to Unhealthy Weight in Teens

2008-04-03T05:49:00.000-04:00

Wednesday, March 19, 2008, 10:59:27 PM Aspen Education Group
Eating breakfast may help teens stay slim, according to a new study from the University of Minnesota.Researchers surveyed 2,216 students in middle school and high school in 1998, and again five years later. Teens that did not eat breakfast were five pounds heavier, exercised less, and made more unhealthy food choices throughout the day than those who ate breakfast regularly. More boys than girls skipped breakfast - 19 percent compared to 14 percent.This study appears in the journal Pediatrics.

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Less TV Leads to Kids' Weight Loss

2008-04-03T05:42:00.000-04:00

Monday, March 24, 2008, 2:04:55 PM Aspen Education Group
Using a device that limits computer and TV time might help your child lose weight, according to a new study from the University at Buffalo in N.Y.Dr. Leonard Epstein, a professor of pediatrics, studied 70 overweight children who watched TV and played video games at least 14 hours a week. He gave a monitoring device to half of their parents in order to gradually reduce "screen time" by 50 percent. The group with the monitors lost more weight compared to the control group.This study appears in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine.

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Organization Calls for Global Marketing Ban

2008-04-03T05:37:00.000-04:00

Thursday, March 27, 2008, 9:50:23 PM Aspen Education Group
The International Association for the Study of Obesity (IASO) is asking food and soft drink manufacturers to adopt global standards on marketing their products to children and adolescents. A draft of the standard was developed by the International Obesity Task Force, the policy arm of the IASO.
"The proposed code would require a ban on all advertising of junk food and caloric soft drinks to children under 16 years old on television up to a 9 pm watershed and complete restrictions on internet promotions of junk food to children, where children's online games are often used as selling techniques. The use of celebrities and cartoons, already forbidden in Ireland, would also be prohibited."Members of the IASO acknowledge that the global ban would not immediately bring an end to the problem of childhood obesity. It would, however, raise awareness that this is a serious problem worldwide. Read more at Scoop.co.nz.

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Mediterranean Diet Wards Off Childhood Respiratory Allergies

2008-04-02T16:06:00.000-04:00

ScienceDaily (Apr. 5, 2007) — A "Mediterranean" diet rich in fruits, vegetables and nuts protects against allergic rhinitis and asthma symptoms, suggests research published ahead of print in Thorax. The researchers assessed the dietary habits, respiratory symptoms, and allergic reactions of almost 700 children living in four rural areas on the Greek island of Crete.
The children were all aged between 7 and 18 years of age. Skin allergies are relatively common in Crete, but respiratory allergies, such as asthma and allergic rhinitis are relatively rare. Parents completed detailed questionnaires on their children's allergic and respiratory symptoms and dietary habits.
Whether the children ate a "Mediterranean" diet was measured against a set of 12 foodstuffs, including fruits, vegetables, whole-grains, legumes, nuts, and olive oil. Eight out of 10 children ate fresh fruit, and over two thirds of them ate fresh vegetables, at least twice a day.
The effect of diet was strongest on allergic rhinitis, but it also afforded protection against asthma symptoms and skin allergy. Children who ate nuts at least three times a week were less likely to wheeze. Nuts are a rich source of vitamin E, the body's primary defence against cellular damage caused by free radicals. And they contain high levels of magnesium, which other research suggests, may protect against asthma and boost lung power.
And a daily diet of oranges, apples, and tomatoes also protected against wheezing and allergic rhinitis. Grapes in particular seemed to protect against current and previous wheezing and allergic rhinitis, even after adjusting for other potentially influential factors. Red grape skin contains high levels of antioxidants as well as resveratrol, a potent polyphenol, known to curb inflammatory activity, say the authors.
But high consumption of margarine doubled the chances of asthma and allergic rhinitis, the findings showed.
Adapted from materials provided by BMJ Specialty Journals, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Obese Children More Prone To Asthma

2008-04-02T16:01:00.000-04:00

ScienceDaily (Jan. 18, 2001) — Fat children are at greater risk of asthma than children of normal weight, finds a study published in Thorax.

Researchers at King's College London, investigated a representative sample of almost 10,000 children between the ages of 4 and 11 in Scotland and England, and in addition included more than 5000 children from 20 English inner city areas. The data were collected in 1993 and 1994.
Seventeen out of every 100 children had asthma, but reported asthma attacks were lower among inner city children, while wheezing was twice as common. Asthma and wheezing were significantly associated with weight, with the heaviest children the most likely to have these symptoms. The link was stronger in girls than in boys, but only for children living in inner city areas.
The study suggests that obesity is a risk factor for asthma in children. Similar associations have been reported in adults, and studies in the US have found that obesity precedes asthma. There is no obvious explanation for why fat girls should be more prone to asthma than fat boys, say the authors. But the hormone leptin, levels of which are higher in girls, and which is produced by fat tissue in the body, may be part of the answer.
Adapted from materials provided by Center For The Advancement Of Health.

Overweight Kids Need Less Intensive Exercise For Effective Weight Loss, Study Suggests

2008-04-02T15:57:00.000-04:00

ScienceDaily (Apr. 2, 2008) — Overweight kids are better off doing less intensive exercise if they are to shed the pounds effectively, suggests a study of pubescent boys, published ahead of print in the British Journal of Sports Medicine.
The researchers assessed the rate at which fat was burned (fat oxidation) during graded leg cycling exercises in thirty 12 year old boys, 17 of whom were obese. The others were lean and healthy.
The intensity of the exercises increased every 3.5 minutes, with the aim of finding the level of exercise intensity required to burn off the most fat, known as the “Fat Max.”
The Fat Max is determined by the amount of oxygen breathed in and the amount of carbon dioxide breathed out per minute as the exercise intensity increases, calculated as the VO2 peak.
The results showed that the average values of the VO2 peak for the two groups varied considerably, with the lean boys burning much more fat than the fat boys at higher exercise intensity. Among the lean boys the VO2 peak steadily increased before it began to level off at around 50%, although it was still increasing at 60%. The VO2 peak also increased in the obese boys, reaching the same level as the lean boys at 30%, equating to low intensity exercise.
But it then levelled off, before falling sharply at 50%, equating to moderate intensity exercise.
In other words, obese boys reached their Fat Max at much lower levels of exercise intensity than the lean boys. And more intensive exercise did not burn off more fat for them. The authors suggest that this is because obesity, and the sedentary lifestyle it induces, reduces muscle capacity as well as its requirement for, and ability to use, fat as fuel.
And obesity changes muscle type. Obese people have higher levels of type 2 “fast twitch” muscle fibres, which burn off more carbohydrate. Lean people have a higher proportion of type 1 muscle fibres, which burn off more fat, they add.
Journal reference: Comparison of fat oxidation during exercise in lean and obese pubertal boys: clinical implications. Online First Br J Sports Med 2008; doi 10.1136/bjsm.2007.044529
Adapted from materials provided by British Medical Journal, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Preschool Program Prevents Early Obesity Trend

2008-04-01T08:39:00.000-04:00

“Investigators say an obesity prevention program that helps preschoolers get on the road to healthy eating has shown impressive results in early testing in eight subsidized inner-city childcare centers in Miami Dade County, Florida. Two- to five-year-olds who participated in the program adopted a healthier diet than those that did not. They ate less junk food, more fresh fruits and vegetables and drank less juice and more low-fat milk and water. And almost all of the ‘intervention’ children who started out at a normal weight stayed at a normal weight while those who were at risk for obesity lost a little weight. The results were presented earlier this month at the American Heart Association's Conference on Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism. ‘Nobody would dispute that we are experiencing an epidemic of obesity in this country,’ Dr. Ruby Natale at the University of Miami, Miller School of Medicine, who was involved in the research, said in a statement. ‘Children as young as 7 years old are experiencing health consequences of being overweight, suggesting that intervention must occur as early as possible and involve the entire family.’”

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Why So Many Children Are On The Road To Heart Disease

2008-04-01T08:16:00.000-04:00

“We teach our children how to walk, talk and go to the bathroom, but do we teach them how to eat right? National statistics show that many of us do not. According to the American Obesity Association, an alarming 15.5 percent of children between the ages of six and 11 are considered obese, putting them on a collision course with the nation’s biggest killer: heart disease. The power of preventing such a tragedy lies in the hands of parents, according to pediatric health experts. ‘Parents are the gatekeepers and the role models for their children’s eating and exercise habits,’ says Marjorie Milici, M.D., pediatrician on the medical staff at Baylor University Medical Center at Dallas. ‘Chronic diseases, such as obesity, heart disease and cancer, which take decades to develop, have their roots in childhood, when exercise and eating behaviors are being learned,’ adds Dr. Milici.”

Battling The Childhood Obesity Epidemic

2008-04-01T06:17:00.000-04:00

Battling The Childhood Obesity Epidemic by Chastity Butterfield
Is your child overweight, or do you know someone who has an overweight child? You may think, "It’s just a little baby fat; he’ll grow out of it," and that is often true. But consider this: If your child has a Body Mass Index higher than 85% of other kids the same age, he or she obese. This is more common than you might think, but there can be drastic consequences. The American Obesity Association says 30% of America's kids are overweight and 15% are obese right now. Nearly one in three of our children will grow up to be overweight or obese adults, developing diabetes, heart disease and other debilitating illnesses.
Today’s generation is the first in history to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Obviously, the Childhood Obesity Epidemic has reached staggering proportions. Obesity isn’t just a problem for children’s physical health; it affects their emotional, social, and mental functions too. Overweight children often have very low self-esteem and lack confidence. They may be shy and have trouble making friends, they aren’t as likely to play sports, and other kids may tease them. It appears that overweight kids have the odds stacked against them.
You may be wondering how this happened. According to Donna Krech, CEO of Thin&Healthy’s Total Solution, there are several reasons children might be overweight. The most obvious reasons people of any age are overweight are the foods they eat and the amount of exercise they get. If they eat more calories than they burn off through exercise, they will gain weight. It’s very simple, so shouldn’t it be easy to ensure every child maintains a healthy weight and gets a great start in life?
Unfortunately, our culture is full of unhealthy choices and lifestyles. Busy families eat fast food daily and rarely cook and eat healthy meals together. Schools are beginning to offer healthier choices, but there are still plenty of unhealthy snacks and drinks available, and many schools are cutting gym and recess time in an effort to spend more time on academic learning. Video games and other electronic toys are wildly popular, and most don’t promote physical exercise. Food and beverage companies use cartoon characters, toys and colorful packaging to sell unhealthy foods, and the commercials run during your children’s favorite shows. There are many factors involved, but we can’t expect someone else to fix the problem. So where do you start when you are surrounded by negative influences?
We have a program called Thin&Healthy Kids (http://www.thinandhealthyny.com/kids-weight-loss-program.html) that contains the latest information and real-life examples of health-centered, family-friendly activities. For example, if you are unsure how to get your kids to turn off the TV and go play outside, try limiting the amount of time they are allowed to watch each day. Seems obvious, right? But many kids watch four or more hours of TV every day! Another example of a healthy behavior we can all practice is eating breakfast. The State of Minnesota Breakfast Study showed that kids who ate breakfast before school had a general increase in math grades and reading scores, increased attention, reduced nurse visits and improved behaviors.
Our program is full of helpful and relevant information like this as well as practical tips for what foods to eat and what activities to do. Best of all, Thin&Healthy Kids teaches your child and your whole family about communication, expressing emotions, learning, and all the other behaviors and areas of life that affect overall health.
If your child is overweight already, you are worried he might be at risk, or you just want to spend some quality time with your child and learn how to be a healthier family, contacts us 845-692-THIN (8446) or info@thinandhealthyny.com.
Thin&Healthy Kid's Weight Loss Program