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Junk Food, TV Driving Kids to Obesity
25 September 2007 - By Serena Gordon - washingtonpost.com
TUESDAY, Sept. 25 (HealthDay News) -- Lifestyles with
too little movement, too much TV exposure and way too much junk food
are pushing U.S. children toward a life of overweight and obesity, a
collection of new studies finds.
The studies -- published in a special supplement of the American
Journal of Preventive Medicine-- show the myriad challenges youngsters
face every day in trying to maintain a healthy weight. Today's kids
live in a world where it's often easier to get a fast food meal than
fresh fruit, where walking to school is the exception rather than the
norm, and where they're bombarded by ads telling them to eat more
junk food and sugary beverages.
"It's a minefield out there for kids," said registered
dietitian Alexandra Salazar, a pediatric nutritionist at the
Children's Hospital of Montefiore in New York City. "Schools have a
big part to play, but kids often aren't offered the best choices at
school or in the community. It's up to parents
to lead by example."
| Comment:
Unfortunately, the parents are heavily programmed also, so the
doctor's statement does not hold much weight. |
Almost one in six American children and teens are overweight,
according to the U.S. Surgeon General's office, which also warns that
70 percent of overweight teens will grow into overweight or obese
adults. Overweight children are now increasingly at risk for type 2
diabetes, a disease formerly associated only with adults. Kids
carrying extra pounds may also have a higher risk of developing low
self-esteem or depression.
| Comment: That comes
out to be almost 17% of the entire population under the age of 20.
Back in 2000, the Census stated there were 1.5 million in this age
group under 20 which equates to 255,000 over 7 years ago that
would have been affected. |
"Were now seeing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus in
children," said Dr. Brenda Kohn, a pediatric endocrinologist at
the New York University Medical Center. She noted that other
disorders, such as high cholesterol, are also on the rise in heavier
youngsters.
Highlights of the studies included in the special supplement include:
Many schools offer easy access to junk food and beverages.
Researchers at the University of Michigan found that 83 percent of
high schools and 67 percent of middle schools now have
contracts with a soft drink manufacturer.
Revenues from such contracts are modest -- about $500 a year on
average for middle schools and about $6,000 for high schools. The
study found that Hispanic children were most likely to consume soft
drinks. Fewer schools provide students with opportunities to increase
their levels of physical activity. In another study from the
University of Michigan, researchers found that while almost nine in 10
eighth-graders must participate in physical education, that number
drops to just two in 10 by 12th grade.
Participation rates were lower for black and Hispanic children,
according to the study. Low-income, minority neighborhoods are
more likely to have fast-food restaurants
compared to high-income, predominantly white neighborhoods, according
to researchers from the University of Illinois.
| Comment: Targeting
the poor is quite unacceptable and hubris. |
One in four TV commercials seen by teens are
food ads, according to another University
of Illinois study. The most common ads were for fast-food,
beverages and sweets. Black adolescents saw about
14 percent more food ads than did their
white peers, according to the study. The availability of a large,
chain supermarket was associated with a lower body mass index (BMI) in
teens. In contrast, high availability of convenience stores was
associated with a higher BMI, according to a study done by researchers
from both the University of Illinois and the University of Michigan.
"The environment a lot of our kids live in is just plain
unhealthy," said Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the weight
management and wellness center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh,
and author of Child Obesity: A Parent's Guide to a Fit, Trim and Happy
Child. "Human beings will eat what's easily available and will do what
requires the least effort, so if you live where
there's no fresh fruit available, you'll probably eat fast food,"
he said.
"I think that if you want to solve the problem, you have to look at
what the root causes are: What are my
kids doing that made them obese? What are they missing? Step back and
look at some of the basic behaviors. Don't look for magic cures,
because there aren't any. Figure out what you are willing to do to
change your basic behaviors," suggested Rao.
"The most important thing is to consider what the components of good
health are: exercise, eating foods provided by nature, eating lean
protein and complex grains," said Kohn.
| Comment: Protein is
available from fish, eggs, plants, and high quality supplements,
not necessarily from meat products alone. Complex grains are too vague
of statement to do any good especially with gluten, and
MSG on the rise. Suggestion: Search these terms on a good news
site such as
here. |
All three experts strongly advocated increasing your child's
physical activity levels. "After dinner, go for a walk. If your kids
like to watch videos, encourage them to dance to the music," advised
Salazar. Rao said that walking to school is also a great way for kids
to get more daily exercise.
"You can't create the perfect environment," said Rao, "but you can
make smarter choices."
All three also suggested adding nutrition education into school
curriculums to help give children the knowledge they need to make
those smarter choices.
| Comment: If that
were possible, it would be great, but it is very unlikely to
happen on any scale that is realistic, as the root agenda is well
entrenched for mass control. It takes a parent who is
knowledgeable enough to make the best choices, and one that is not
programmed from mass media, TV, radio, sports, events,
entertainment, looking good, etc. that distracts people from
reality and contributes heavily against them attaining trustworthy
knowledge. |
More information
To learn more about childhood obesity and steps you can take to help
your child, visit the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General.
SOURCES: Goutham Rao, M.D., clinical director, Weight Management and
Wellness Center, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, Pa., and
author,Child Obesity: A Parent's Guide to a Fit, Trim and Happy Child;
Brenda Kohn, M.D., pediatric endocrinologist, New York Medical Center,
and associate professor, New York University School of Medicine,
member of the advisory board of the Juvenile Diabetes Association, New
York City; Alexandra Salazar, R.D., pediatric nutritionist, Children's
Hospital at Montefiore, New York City; 2007 supplement,American
Journal of Preventive Medicine
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