Are efforts to slow the growing trend of childhood obesity causing eating disorders in children? C.S
11 replies, posted
Source - [url=http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/01/120124151207.htm]Science Daily[/url]
[release]A new report from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health examines the possible association between school-based childhood obesity prevention programs and an increase in eating disorders among young children and adolescents.
The poll asked parents about obesity prevention programs in their children's schools and about food-related behaviors and activity that may be worrisome.
[b]Overall, 82 percent of parents of children age 6-14 report at least one school-based childhood obesity intervention program taking place in their child's school. Among these programs are nutrition education, limits on sweets or "junk food" in the classroom, height and weight measurements, and incentives for physical activity.
Additionally, 7 percent of parents report that their children have been made to feel bad at school about what or how much they were eating.[/b]
This same group of parents was also asked about their children's eating behaviors. [b][highlight]Thirty percent of parents of 6-14 year-olds report least one behavior in their children that could be associated with the development of an eating disorder.[/highlight][/b] These behaviors include inappropriate dieting, excessive worry about fat in foods, being preoccupied with food content or labels, refusing family meals, and having too much physical activity.
[b]"The issue of childhood obesity is a serious problem. In order to intervene in what seems like an epidemic of childhood obesity, everyone needs to be involved," says David Rosen,[/b] M.D., M.P.H., Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Internal Medicine, and Psychiatry at the University of Michigan Medical School and Chief of Teenage and Young Adult Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics.
[b]However, Rosen says, "When obesity interventions are put in place without understanding how they work and what the risks are, there can be unintended consequences. Well-intentioned efforts can go awry when children misinterpret the information they're given.[/b]
"Many of these behaviors are often dismissed as a phase," says Rosen, "But given what we know about the association of these behaviors with the development of eating disorders and knowing that eating disorders are increasing in prevalence, they should be taken very seriously."[/release]
That's 30% of kids 6-14 showing signs of developing an eating disorder. In the US, the rate of childhood obesity is 17%. It's very possible that we're causing far greater problems than we're trying to solve.
Maybe if people raised their children on a balanced diet and encouraged their children to eat well...Nah that's crazy.
[QUOTE=Nikota;34439771]Maybe if people raised their children on a balanced diet and encouraged their children to eat well...Nah that's crazy.[/QUOTE]
Easier said then done my friend.
Healthy food, fresh food is incredibly expensive. Larger quantities of unhealthy food are cheaper and last longer, so guess what people will go with? The shitty food.
A lot of people are not exactly rolling in money, more people live paycheck to paycheck and budget all their needs. I mean food is expensive, I work as a butcher now and worked in produce a long time ago.
Meat and produce prices have gone up majorly. As a butcher we had to adjust the way we cut and package because the prices are so high. Price per-pound is up and it isn't going to get any better. Other meats like fish, fresh chicken are going up as well.
Most people in America make minimum-wage so they're going to go after unhealthy food because it is cheaper and lasts longer.
Only way to really solve our issue is to increase physical activity, at least 30 minutes to an hour 3 times a week. (I go a head and workout 5 times a week, leave sat/sun as my off/recovery days). America start getting the farming industry a huge push to create more food thus making it cheaper and make medical care more affordable.
Schools also need to be more equip to make fresh and whole-sum foods, they at this moment make nothing healthy. It is all preserved food and is basically "quantity over quality." I've seen kitchens that the closest thing to healthy and fresh was a can of tomato sauce. We also need to get rid of soda/vending machines in schools (at least middle-school to elementary) because all that does is promote unhealthy eating habits. IE why pay 2 bucks for school food when i can get a candy bar and a soda for 1.50.
When you exhibit only one behavior of something such as an eating disorder with a broad amount of weird behaviors attached to it, it really isn't a big deal.
Take in account the age of the children. 6 - 14 the parents spend a lot of time worrying about their kids. This is the age where bullying kicks in and self esteem is low in a lot of kids. Parents are going to over analyze things.
Inappropriate dieting? If this is a simple survey, most adults in America don't even know what an appropriate diet is! Unless if they sat down with a doctor, I don't see how this particular stat holds any water.
Excessive worry about fats in foods? A majority of parents are going to think any worry from a 12 year old about the amount of fat in his food is excessive. That is the mentality we have built in America. Most families don't really think about what they put into their body and think a kid shouldn't have to count calories or watch how much sodium or fat they consume, but that is completely backwards to how it should be.
Any kid past elementary school should know about the 2400 calorie food plan and know how to follow it. Should they constantly be reminded everyday and worry about it all of the time? No, but they should know about it and should be given the tools and knowledge on how to follow it. This only makes sense when you want to raise healthy kids.
Being preoccupied with food labels? Again, most parents in America think kids shouldn't be busy reading food labels, but this is completely backwards. Our kids should know how to read a food label and should not be discouraged from analyzing what they're eating.
Refusing family meals is the only one I can understand as far as being alarming, but even then, I still question this. If a kid knows he ate too much food that day before dinner and knows he shouldn't eat another meal, then hats off to him. However, I would worry if my kid wanted to miss dinner, because I know that he wouldn't be getting the education in school to be able to accurately determine that. Again, this is the only stat that makes sense to me. I can imagine a kid missing a meal because he thinks and is scared he is going to get fat, and that isn't the goal of this kind of education.
And too much physical activity? I know tradition is never an excuse, but when we were all kids and our parents were kids, we spent most of our times out doors running around, playing tag, and climbing trees all day. How does a parent know what too much physical activity is?
[QUOTE=Funcoot;34439880]When you exhibit only one behavior of something such as an eating disorder with a broad amount of weird behaviors attached to it, it really isn't a big deal.
Take in account the age of the children. 6 - 14 the parents spend a lot of time worrying about their kids. This is the age where bullying kicks in and self esteem is low in a lot of kids. Parents are going to over analyze things.
Inappropriate dieting? If this is a simple survey, most adults in America don't even know what an appropriate diet is! Unless if they sat down with a doctor, I don't see how this particular stat holds any water.
Excessive worry about fats in foods? A majority of parents are going to think any worry from a 12 year old about the amount of fat in his food is excessive. That is the mentality we have built in America. Most families don't really think about what they put into their body and think a kid shouldn't have to count calories or watch how much sodium or fat they consume, but that is completely backwards to how it should be.
Any kid past elementary school should know about the 2400 calorie food plan and know how to follow it. Should they constantly be reminded everyday and worry about it all of the time? No, but they should know about it and should be given the tools and knowledge on how to follow it. This only makes sense when you want to raise healthy kids.
Being preoccupied with food labels? Again, most parents in America think kids shouldn't be busy reading food labels, but this is completely backwards. Our kids should know how to read a food label and should not be discouraged from analyzing what they're eating.
Refusing family meals is the only one I can understand as far as being alarming, but even then, I still question this. If a kid knows he ate too much food that day before dinner and knows he shouldn't eat another meal, then hats off to him. However, I would worry if my kid wanted to miss dinner, because I know that he wouldn't be getting the education in school to be able to accurately determine that. Again, this is the only stat that makes sense to me. I can imagine a kid missing a meal because he thinks and is scared he is going to get fat, and that isn't the goal of this kind of education.
And too much physical activity? I know tradition is never an excuse, but when we were all kids and our parents were kids, we spent most of our times out doors running around, playing tag, and climbing trees all day. How does a parent know what too much physical activity is?[/QUOTE]
Pretty much what I was thinking. I definitely won't deny that the food and health situation isn't completely fucked but this just seems like a shitty survey.
Maybe if there was more outside to play in, kids would play outside more.
[QUOTE=The Worm;34439930]Maybe if there was more outside to play in, kids would play outside more.[/QUOTE]
Are you saying there isn't enough outside to go around or am i missing your post completely?
because there's lots of outside in comparison to inside
[QUOTE=Zeke129;34439604]A new report from the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National [B]Poll[/B]
This same group of parents was also asked about their children's eating behaviors. [B][highlight]Thirty percent of parents of 6-14 year-olds report least one behavior in their children that could be associated with the development of an eating disorder.[/highlight][/B] These behaviors include inappropriate dieting, excessive worry about fat in foods, being preoccupied with food content or labels, refusing family meals, and having too much physical activity.][/QUOTE]
Not to dismiss this as a serious or realistic issue, but it's a self-reporting poll. More clinical studies need to be carried out to establish how realistic these 'conditions' are. Are the parents over-reacting? Under-reacting? Are the results biased by the adults perception of school policy?
It's very interesting, but it's not really consecutive proof. I hope funds are put into more research.
[QUOTE=MrEndangered;34439959]Not to dismiss this as a serious or realistic issue, but it's a self-reporting poll. More clinical studies need to be carried out to establish how realistic these 'conditions' are. Are the parents over-reacting? Under-reacting? Are the results biased by the adults perception of school policy?
It's very interesting, but it's not really consecutive proof. I hope funds are put into more research.[/QUOTE]
Obviously a psychological evaluation is necessary to determine if someone is developing an eating disorder but parents are extremely well tuned in to changes in their children's behaviour.
But you're right, and that's why I phrased the first part of the title as a question. This is pretty much just the start of research, but an important stepping stone none the less.
Plus I figured there'd be some good discussion possible by piggybacking on that dyslexia thread.
[QUOTE=MR-X;34439811]Easier said then done my friend.
Healthy food, fresh food is incredibly expensive. Larger quantities of unhealthy food are cheaper and last longer, so guess what people will go with? The shitty food.
A lot of people are not exactly rolling in money, more people live paycheck to paycheck and budget all their needs. I mean food is expensive, I work as a butcher now and worked in produce a long time ago.
Meat and produce prices have gone up majorly. As a butcher we had to adjust the way we cut and package because the prices are so high. Price per-pound is up and it isn't going to get any better. Other meats like fish, fresh chicken are going up as well.
Most people in America make minimum-wage so they're going to go after unhealthy food because it is cheaper and lasts longer.
Only way to really solve our issue is to increase physical activity, at least 30 minutes to an hour 3 times a week. (I go a head and workout 5 times a week, leave sat/sun as my off/recovery days). America start getting the farming industry a huge push to create more food thus making it cheaper and make medical care more affordable.
Schools also need to be more equip to make fresh and whole-sum foods, they at this moment make nothing healthy. It is all preserved food and is basically "quantity over quality." I've seen kitchens that the closest thing to healthy and fresh was a can of tomato sauce. We also need to get rid of soda/vending machines in schools (at least middle-school to elementary) because all that does is promote unhealthy eating habits. IE why pay 2 bucks for school food when i can get a candy bar and a soda for 1.50.[/QUOTE]
Pretty much this. I put on a few kilograms in my first year of uni (admittedly that's probably a good thing because I was underweight beforehand) because between classes when I went to grab lunch the only thing I could really afford was unhealthy shit like KFC or McDonald's. A nice, healthy focaccia is almost TWICE as much as an entire McDonald's or KFC meal here. Sushi is probably one of the better foods you can find in the city in terms of price to healthiness ratio, and even then it's not exactly cheap - 3 pieces of sushi and a drink will set me back like $10 whereas I can get a whole McDonald's meal (food drink and all) for like $5 - $7. Subway is pretty good value for money too, thankfully; I can get a foot long ham sub for $7, and a drink for a further $3. But again, that one subway meal could also be lunch over two separate days if I bought food from KFC or McDonald's.
Thankfully I've got a job now and make enough money that I can afford to probably buy more expensive, but also healthier food when uni goes back, but I'm probably gonna have to start saving less to do so unfortunately.
Does anyone remember the sensational FDA rules pizza as vegetable?
I can't remember how true it was, but if it was. It doesn't help.
I think most of the obesity comes from the parents though, as in. Fat parents get fat kids, usually. Because they eat the same stuff.
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