Health News
To keep kids from getting fat, use smaller plates and portions, limit TV viewing and make sure they get 10 hours of sleep a night
Kentucky ranks high in child obesity. Parents can make sure their children maintain a healthy weight with three simple suggestions highlighted in recent studies: Serve them meals on smaller, child-size plates, pay attention to what they watch on TV, and make sure they get enough sleep.
In Kentucky, almost 18 percent of middle-school-age children and 16 percent of elementary-age kids are obese, and every third child born who was in the U.S. in 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes if current trends continue, says a recent report from the
University of Kentucky's College of Public Health.
The three suggestions are based on three new studies in the April issue of
Pediatrics.
One study found first-graders served themselves larger food portions and consumed almost 50 percent of the extra calories they put on their plates when using adult-sized dinner plates instead of child-sized salad plates, reports Michelle Healy of
USA Today.
A second study examined the relationship between heavy use of media and increased body mass index, a measure based on height and weight that can classify someone as being overweight or obese. It found that TV usage is the most problematic and leads to higher BMI scores, reports Healy. One reason for this may be that TV advertising includes commercials for unhealthy snack foods. Or, perhaps kids are missing out on exercise because they watch so much TV.
A new sleep study adds to research saying that insufficient sleep may contribute to the rise in adolescent obesity because it changes hormone levels that could lead to overeating and weight gain, reports Healy.
These findings support existing recommendations to help children attain and keep a healthy weight according the UK report. Portion sizes should be a third of adult portions for younger children and two-thirds of adult portions for older children; children's TV screen time should be limited to two hours per day; and children should get 10 hours of sleep each night.
-
More Overweight Teens Don't Consider Themselves Fat; The Problem Is That They Compare Themselves To Those Around Them
Another study has found that overweight teens in the U.S. don't realize they are overweight, and this lack of self-awareness has gotten worse in the past decade, Roberto A. Ferdman reports for The Washington Post The study, at Georgia State University,...
-
Obesity And Depression May Contribute To Daytime Sleepiness
Obesity and depression, not just lack of sleep, contribute to daytime drowsiness, according to Penn State College of Medicine researchers. Daytime drowsiness or sleepiness affects up to 30 percent of the U.S. population. It can reduce work productivity...
-
Study Says Overweight Kids Become Overweight Teens
If a child is overweight in kindergarten, she probably will be in eighth grade, says a study published in the New England Journal of Medicine. And if your baby was heavy at birth, it has a greater chance of being fat. It found overweight kindergartners...
-
Many Ky. Parents Don't Realize Children Are Overweight, Or Won't Acknowledge It, But Many Report Kids' Poor Health Behavior
By Al Cross Kentucky Health News Many Kentucky parents don't realize that their children are obese or overweight, or at least aren't willing to acknowledge it. That is the obvious conclusion to draw from the latest results of the Kentucky Parent...
-
How To Help Your Child Lose Weight? Lose Weight Yourself
If parents want to help their children lose weight, they should lose weight themselves, a new study shows. "Parents are the most significant people in a child's environment, serving as the first and most important teachers," said Kerri N. Boutelle,...
Health News