CHILD OBESITY: It’s on the rise and I have some facts, causes, statistics and also opinions – I want to fix this!*
Vol. 2, No. 34, Sunday, January 15th, 2012
TITLE: “CHILD OBESITY: It’s on the rise and I have some facts, causes, statistics and also opinions – I want to fix this!*”
INTRODUCTION
This week, l will write about obesity in children. It’s a challenge of one family at a time. It’s also a problem, in many countries, of society at large. As a mother and grandmother and someone with lots of cooking experience, I have some opinions. This subject is serious and urgent – I will try to ruffle your feathers and dislodge you from your do-nothing perch. My book of the week is: “Defeating the Child Obesity Epidemic” [Paperback] by Dr. Carolyn Ashworth. (Author). (Editor’s Note: This is part of a continuing series on child rearing and education.)
PREVIEW: Valentine’s Day is coming …Valentine’s Day is coming. There are many people looking for love. Next week, l will write about dating sites. For many, they are part of the solution. (Editor’s Note: This is part of a continuing series on dating and relationships.)
MY LIFE & TIMES*
Growing up, I witnessed my mother struggling with her weight. She tried many diets. It was a seesaw … she lost some weight, then she gained it back. For her, weight has always been a difficult puzzle. At one point in her life, she gave up trying to lose weight and accepted the fact that she would never be a thin person.
My daughter is also of the same mind as me. She feeds her two very young children only healthy meals. They are not allowed junk food or sweets on a regular basis. Their dessert is fruit. She also knows that activity is very important for children. She keeps her kids active. As a result, both are at an ideal weight.
THE AUTHOR: Dr. Carolyn Ashworth (Author)
Dr. Carolyn Ashworth is a mid-west girl. She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Chemistry from Georgia State University. In 1973, she received a Doctor of Medicine degree from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School (she did her first two years at the medical faculty school of Emory University in Atlanta). She did her three year pediatric internship and residency at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas, She was chosen as Chief Pediatric Resident for an additional year. She was a Professor of Pediatrics, Clinical Medicine, at UT Southwestern. She has been: (a) Chief of Staff at The Medical Center of Plano (1996); (b) Member of Board of Trustees at TMCP; (c) President of the Plano Patient Physician Network. She is an award winner: (a) Health Care Hero of the Year Award from the Alliance for Excellence in Health Care; (b) Texas Monthly Super Docs for the last 7 years; (c) honored in D Magazine for best pediatricians, and each year has been listed in America’s Top Pediatricians; (d) Health Care Hero of the Year Award from the Alliance for Excellence in Health Care; etc. She is also an author, having written “Defeating the Child Obesity Epidemic.”In this regard too, she is an award winner: (a) Finalist for the Independent Publisher’s Award; (b) 2006 Writer’s Notebook Award in the category of Home-Family-Parenting books; (c) 2005 Texas Dietetic Association Bluebonnet Award. All of this to say is that she is a REAL expert. She knows of what she speaks. Listen up!
SERIES/COLLECTION
Books/Articles:
* “Defeating the Child Obesity Epidemic.”
Obesity is a sad condition. One obese child spells heartache. Obesity in many children spells a disaster. Let’s talk turkey … but first, put away your knife and fork…it’s not time for eating…it’s time for learning. This doctor knows the symptoms, makes a diagnosis and a prognosis and makes recommendations. This is not ivory tower stuff. This is a practical “How-to” for everyday folks like you and me. If you want to know how, in this book, you will get a some answers to questions like this: (a) How to tell if your child is overweight, or obese; (b) How to move your family from junk food to healthy eating; (c) How to get your kids off the couch and into action; (d) How to emulate obesity fighters across the country; (e) How to become a good role model for your children; (f) How to be successful without fad dieting; (g) How to make changes and not drive everyone crazy; (h) How to parent for the long term; etc. Read it and give our kids a chance. I take it that you love your kids. Show it by listening to the good doctor. I am counting on it.
CONCLUSION
Personal Comments
Here are my ABCs of child obesity.
It is the duty of parents to teach the children to eat healthy. Some parents indulge their children with food as a sign of love.They really need to recognize that if overfeeding, they’re killing their children with kindness. Instead, it is especially important to feed the children properly. They also need to become aware that today’s children are on their way to become chair-sitters or couch potatoes. They are growing up in an age when electronic technology, (e.g., computers and technology gadgets), is their main activity and entertainment. We need to get them to be much more active. Playing is a necessity for children. It teaches them to be imaginative and also to communicate with other kids. Being outdoors and playing sports gives them an appreciation and a passion for nature and life.
My generation had its problems. The current generation in infancy and childhood has another. It is a fact that obesity among children is on the rise – it is a veritable epidemic. Going through life with obesity, a child suffers tremendously. Their self-esteem is low; they have health issues. Most of them feel they don’t fit in with the rest of the children.
besity is a tragedy that does NOT have to happen. You can change the future. Are you up to the challenge? I hope so…not only for you, but also for your kids. Please…pay attention…get with the program…
ANTOINETTE’S TIP SHEET*
1.1 Recognize the benefits from good nutrition – I say that when you lose, you will gain much!
1.2 Prepare healthy foods in a healthy way;
1.4 Provide healthy snacks;
1.5 Give your child a healthy, nutritious breakfast every day to jump start his/her day;
1.6 Encourage your children to eat healthy;
1.7 Stop giving pop drinks except on special occasions
1.8 Suggest that your child,if back for seconds, wait 15 minutes to see if he/she is still really hungry;
2.3 Organize play groups with other kids;
2.4 Enroll him/her in an organized (team) sport activity of his/her choice;
3. Love your child without limits.
Take it out for a spin and tell me if you agree.
ALP
“Books are life; and they make life better!*”
P.S. Big News: There are big changes coming to my blog – Please stay tuned.
P.P.S. #1 I have a TWITTER page. Consider becoming a follower? Visit www.twitter.com – saveandread
P.P.S. #2 I also have a FACEBOOK page. Consider becoming a friend? Visit: www.facebook.com – Alp Save Andread – please check it out.
P.P.S. #3 I am on Linkedin. Consider becoming a connection? Visit www.linkedin.com – Antoinette La Posta
*TM/© 2012 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved.
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ANNEX I: NEED SOMETHING FURTHER? TRY AN ANECDOTE OR A QUOTE:
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #1: Tubby President
“When he moved into the White House in 1909, the 325-pound William Howard Taft found many of the building’s fixtures (including hundreds of doors) “inadequate” for his needs and ordered renovations. In particular, the president was prompted to order the installation of a special jumbo bathtub (large enough to accommodate four average-sized men) when, after using the original bathtub for the first time, he got stuck and required considerable assistance to get out!”
(Source: http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=4845)
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #2: Luciano Pavarotti: Industrial Appetite
“The opera star Luciano Pavarotti certainly enjoyed eating. While staying in Miami, he reportedly demanded that his hotel’s management outfit his room with an industrial-size butcher’s slicer. Pavarotti traveled with his own supply of meat, it was explained, and wanted to ensure that he would be able to fix himself a snack.”
(Source: http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=17276)
S & R* CHOICE ANECDOTAGE #3: Oprah Winfrey: Heavy Thought
“Oprah Winfrey once recalled the moment that she realized that she had to lose some weight. She attended a World Heavyweight bout in Las Vegas – and realized that she weighed more than the winner. (“Coincidentally,” Conan O’Brien once joked, “the same thing happened to Pavarotti at the Kentucky Derby.”)”
(Source: http://www.anecdotage.com/index.php?aid=14366)
S & R* QUOTE #1: Sir Julian Huxley
“There are two ways of living: a man may be casual and simply exist, or constructively and deliberately try to do so. The constructive idea implies a constructiveness not only about one’s own life, but about that of society, and the future possibilities of mankind.”
(Source: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/life/)
S & R* QUOTE #2: Greta Crosby
“If I could give you one key, and one key only to more abundant life, I would give you a sense of your own worth, an unshakeable sense of your own dignity as one grounded in the source of the cosmic dance, as one who plays a unique part in the unfolding of the story of the world…”
(Source: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/life/)
S & R* QUOTE #3: Thomas F. Healey
“Don’t strew me with roses after I’m dead. When Death claims the light of my brow,No flowers of life will cheer me: insteadYou may give me my roses now!”
(Source: http://www.wisdomquotes.com/topics/life/index6.html)
ANNEX II
SCHEDULE I
“IT WORDS FOR ME!*”
“For today, my word/phrase(s) are: “childhood obesity”;
Childhood Obesity
“Childhood obesity is a condition where excess body fat negatively affects a child’s health or wellbeing.”
(Source: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia) – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity
SCHEDULE II
STUDY/STATISTICS:
“The first problems to occur in obese children are usually emotional or psychological.[5] Childhood obesity however can also lead to life-threatening conditions including diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, sleep problems, cancer, and other disorders.[6][7] Some of the other disorders would include liver disease, early puberty or menarche, eating disorders such as anorexia and bulimia, skin infections, and asthma and other respiratory problems.[8] Studies have shown that overweight children are more likely to grow up to be overweight adults.[7] Obesity during adolescence has been found to increase mortality rates during adulthood.[9] Obese children often suffer from teasing by their peers.[10][11] Some are harassed or discriminated against by their own family.[11] Stereotypes abound and may lead to low self esteem and depression.[12] A 2008 study has found that children who are obese have carotid arteries which have prematurely aged by as much as thirty years as well as abnormal levels of cholesterol.[13] Childhood obesity can be brought on by a range of factors which often act in combination.[17][18][19][20][21] The greatest risk factor for child obesity is the obesity of both parents. This may be reflected by the family’senvironment and genetics.[22] A child’s weight may be influenced when he/she is only an infant. Researchers did a cohort study on 19,397 babies, from their birth until age seven and discovered that fat babies at four months were 1.38 times more likely to be overweight at seven years old compared to normal weight babies. Fat babies at the age of one were 1.17 times more likely to be overweight at age seven compared to normal weight babies.[45] Exclusive breast-feeding is recommended in all newborn infants for its nutritional and other beneficial effects. It may also protect against obesity in later life.[43] Rates of childhood obesity have increased greatly between 1980 and 2010.[53] Currently 10% of children worldwide are either overweight or obese.[2]”
(Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Childhood_obesity)
SCHEDULE III
S & R* NEWS ALERT* #1: Help your child to have a healthy mind and body
“To keep kids healthy on the inside and out, here are some tips from the National Eating Disorder Information Centre at www.nedic.ca:
Focus on health and wellbeing, not appearance; e.g., is your child energetic and healthy regardless of size?
Eat together as a family. Research shows that kids who regularly eat dinner with their families have fewer emotional and eating problems. Encourage healthy eating and physical activity for the entire family.
Make sure that your child knows that you love them regardless of their size or weight.
Expect fat and thin children to eat similarly.
Build children’s self-confidence by encouraging exploration and learning from setbacks.
Build good self-esteem in all children for who they are and what they do, not how they look.
Be creative and assertive in finding the right clothing and equipment for your child’s body.
Don’t comment on your own or others’ weight or body shape; don’t admire or belittle thinness or fatness.
Limit looking at media that emphasize thin models or put a high value on physical beauty.
Discuss with children their ideas about beauty, and encourage enjoyment of their natural features.”
www.newscanada.com
S & R* NEWS ALERT* #2: Help available in overcoming obesity
“Canadians who are severely obese losing weight can be a lifelong battle, but what some may not realize is that it’s not for lack of trying. The good news is that there are variousmedically-assisted weight loss procedures that can help. Gillian Taggart, a 40 year old mother of two, knows firsthand the impact of living with severe obesity. After spending nearly $10,000 on different weight loss methods, Gillian decided to undergo a laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding procedure. From weight loss programs and diet books to gym memberships and diet pills I had tried them all. I just couldn’t find the right weight loss method for me. I recall having a real moment of truth one day, when I could no longer participate in everyday activities like grocery shopping or walking my children to school. At that moment, I realized how unhealthy I was, that I would not live to see my children grow up. After discussions with my physician I decided to undergo a medically assisted weight loss procedure which helped me end my cycle of obesity. Since my procedure, I’ve lost 120 pounds and am now able to travel and participate in a more active lifestyle.In Canada, there are different medically assisted weight loss procedures available, including the gastric balloon, laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding and gastric bypass. Additional information is available online at www.yourmomentoftruth.ca.
www.newscanada.com“
*TM/© 2012 Practitioners’ Press Inc. – All Rights Reserved
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