Childhood Obesity - The National Agenda

Dr. Carter’s Nutrition Journal

Childhood Obesity: The National Agenda

By Dorene E. Carter, PhD, RD

5-14-2010

Miami, FL

Child>Nutrition>Obesity

Overview

First Lady Michelle Obama is at the helm of a huge challenge. Her goal is to reduce childhood obesity within the next generation. With this task force, we should see a lot more movement towards preventing childhood obesity and providing obesity management services that children and families need to treat obesity where it exists. One thing is clear, registered dietitians and professional nutritionists will have a major role to play if we are to reverse the course of childhood obesity in this country.

Who is affected?

Today, childhood obesity is considered a major public health epidemic. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC), one in three children are overweight or obese. This epidemic has put America’s children at risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease and a number of other diseases that were once considered adult-onset diseases and rarely seen in children.

Causes of childhood obesity

In simplest terms, childhood obesity is the result of eating too many calories and not burning enough. There are a lot of other things that contribute to childhood obesity and we have to address those issues.

According to the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, some of the things that are contributing to childhood obesity are:

Children are eating more fast food, foods that are high in calories, fat, sugar and salt.

Children are eating more foods away from home.

More parents are working outside the home and spending less time preparing meals.

Fewer families are eating together.

Portion sizes have double and in some cases tripled compared to what they were a mere one or two generations ago.

Children are less active. They spend more time in front of the television or playing video games instead of engaging in real physical movement.

Lack of safe places for children to play causes parents to keep children indoors, thereby reducing the chance to exercise and  burn any excess calories that they may consume.

Children are exposed to a great deal of advertising for low-nutrient, calorie dense foods that do little to promote health and may increase the risk of unhealthy weight gain.

There are also other factors like genetics, prescription drugs that increases appetite or slows metabolism, among other things that also influence children’s weight gain and ultimately their health.

Steps to preventing childhood obesity

The White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity recently provided a Report to the President outlining the challenges the Task Force and the nation face in combating childhood obesity. This report also outlines some key strategies that might be able to help reduce the incidence of childhood obesity in one generation.

Those recommendations include:

Improving prenatal care, encouraging breast feeding, reducing the amount of time that young children spend in front of the television and quality care and education in the early years.

Educating parents and caregivers about nutrition, food marketing and health care services.

Improving the quality of school meals by engaging families, communities, businesses and all levels of government to foster healthier food choices.

Mobilizing public and private sector resources to improve access to healthy food, affordable pricing and product formulation. Resources will also be allocated to reduce hunger and obesity among children in this country.

Additionally, the task force addresses the issue of physical activity with a look at ways to increase the level of physical activity among children. These approaches will include school-based and afterschool activities, as well as the build environment and community recreation centers.

Reversing childhood obesity is a tremendous challenge for the first lady and all Americans. The outcome will have far-reaching effects. Consequently, we have no choice but to rally around Mrs. Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign and give America’s children the chance for a healthy weight and a long, healthy, happy and productive future.

References

http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/childhood/index.html

http://letsmove.gov/taskforce_childhoodobesityrpt.html

Your comments and questions are welcome.

Dr. Dorene E. Carter is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, specializing in child health and nutrition, with special emphasis on childhood obesity. Dr. Carter, who earned her PhD in nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, is CEO of CHANA Project, the Child Health and Nutrition Access Project. To learn more, visit www.dailydietguide.com and www.chanaproject.org.

Getting Your Child to Eat More Vegetables

Dr. Carter’s Nutrition Journal

Getting Your Child to Eat More Vegetables

Dorene E. Carter, PhD, RD

Miami, FL.

May 14, 2010

Food>Children>Vegetables

Feeding children is a constant struggle for many of today’s parents who are often competing with fast food and other low-nutrient foods for their children's appetite. Unfortunately, children do not understand that eating too much of these foods could be bad for their health. Nor do they understand why it is important to eat vegetables.

Children are greatly influenced by powerful television advertising that entices them to eat foods high-calorie foods that are loaded with fat and sugar but offer little or none of the vital nutrients kids need for healthy growth.

As a parent, there are some things that you can do to get your child to eat more vegetables.

Here are a few tips.

Get your child excited about vegetables. Ask him about his favorite vegetables, take him shopping and allow him to wash the vegetables. You might even having a ‘tasting party’ before the actual meal. Another great way to get your child excited about vegetables is to have him plant a fast growing herb or vegetable, such as green onions or tomatoes.

Serve vegetables daily. Making vegetables a regular part of family meals will help your child to see that it is nothing unusual, just another part of the meal to be enjoyed.

Offer one new vegetable at a time, but aim for variety over the course of a week. This will give your child the exposure he needs to discover some vegetables that he might like from the start while warming up to others. Try not to limit the choices to two or three vegetables as this could make it harder for your child to accept others.

Prepare vegetables in different ways - raw, added to casseroles, soups, salads and stews. You can even add them to fruit smoothies for a special treat.

Use colorful vegetables to brighten up meals. Kids like bright colors, so choose foods that represent the colors of the rainbow to get your child excited about eating them.

Keep portions small at first. Putting too much on your child’s plate is likely to cause him to think that he cannot eat all of that and therefore not even try.

Finally, The most important thing you can do to teach your child is to set a good example. Children are great imitators and you are your child’s biggest role model. So, eat your vegetables. 

Please send us your comments on any topic presented here, or ask a question.

Dr. Dorene E. Carter is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, specializing in child health and nutrition, with special emphasis on childhood obesity. Dr. Carter, who earned her PhD in nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, is CEO of CHANA Project, the Child Health and Nutrition Access Project. To learn more, visit www.dailydietguide.com and www.chanaproject.org.

What Could We Do More To Fight Childhood Obesity?

Childhood obesity is a problem that affects children of all cultural, ethnic and racial persuasion. But some groups are affected more than others. According to the CDC, African American and Hispanic children are more likely to be overweight than children of other racial groups. This is particularly significant in Miami, Florida, where these two groups constitute a large percentage of the population.
Clearly, if we are to reverse this public health epidemic, we must develop strategies to address the unique circumstances that contribute to obesity in these particular groups..
Here are 5 simple things that you can do to keep your child from becoming overweight.

• Keep sodas out of the house. Although fruit juices contain some important nutrients, they are also high in sugar, so limit fruit juice to not more than 1 cup per day. Encourage your child to drink water when thirsty.
• Avoid purchasing foods that contain high fructose corn syrup. This sweetener is the source of a lot of added calories in the foods that children eat. So, it is safe to say that if you cut back on foods that are made with this sweetener, you could be eliminating a lot of the excess calories from your child's diet.
• Limit the amount of fast food that your child eats. Some fast food meals can provide from 50 percent to more than 100 percent of the fat, sugar and sodium that your child needs to eat in one day. 
• Get your child up and moving. Registered dietitians, pediatricians and other health-care professionals recommend that children get at least 60 minutes of exercise most days. This will help to burn calories and prevent unhealthy weight gain. Try to limit the amount of time that your child sits in front of the television or playing video games.
• Set a good example. Let your child see you eating the foods you want him to eat and make regular exercise a family affair.

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Please send us your comments on any topic presented here, or ask a question.

Dr. Dorene E. Carter is a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, specializing in child health and nutrition, with special emphasis on childhood obesity. Dr. Carter, who earned her PhD in nutrition from the University of California, Berkeley, is CEO of CHANA Project, the Child Health and Nutrition Access Project. To learn more, visit www.dailydietguide.com and www.chanaproject.org.