Strategies to encourage physical activity, healthy eating and good sleep habits are needed to reduce high rates of obesity among infants, toddlers and preschoolers in the United States, says an Institute of Medicine report released Thursday.
Limiting children’s TV time is a key recommendation.
Rates of excess weight and obesity among U.S. children ages 2 to 5 have doubled since the 1980s. About 10 percent of children from infancy up to age 2 years and a little more than 20 percent of children ages 2 to 5 are overweight or obese, the report said.
Recommendations include:
- Limiting young children’s television and other media use,
- Requiring child-care providers to promote healthy sleeping practices,
- Educating parents about age-appropriate sleep times and good sleep habits,
- Requiring child-care providers to provide opportunities and environments that encourage physical activity,
- Increasing efforts to promote breast-feeding,
- Requiring child-care facilities and preschools to follow the meal patterns established by the U.S. Child and Adult Care Food Program.
The report recommendations are aimed at policymakers and health-care and child-care providers, but these professionals can educate and support parents in establishing health habits in the home, too, the report authors said.
The institute is under the umbrella of the National Academy of Sciences.
[SOURCE]
August 3rd, 2011 at 8:25 am
Everything that was said is good but those are just temporary fixes, like putting a bandaid on the Hoover Dam. We have to look at the root of the problem because no all obese kids sit and watch TV for hours, not all obese kids are couch potatoes and inactive, not all kids keep late hours, some just can’t sleep, and because of the root cause of all of this even breastfeeding has lost its luster. So what is the root? The one thing we all have in common and the reason why the overall population is sick and obese is the Food Chain. The food chain in the USA is void of nutrients and toxic. Everyone eats more because the body is never satisfied and it stores all the empty calories/toxins and we have obesity and more diseases than any country in the world yet we are the wealthiest and the most medicated. There is a solution, its the Moringa Oleifera with 92 verifiable nutrients in this Tree. The NIH says it will cures over 300 diseases and reverse the toxicity we face today. It is being processed today in its all natural organic state for everyone. Check it out: http://www.oneofthosewomen.myzijastory.com. It’s time we take our lives back, get health and live.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:57 am
undrrweight babies are overfeeded and secondly parents train their kid`s taste buds to fat rich and monosacsharide rich diet , then it becomes difficult to prevent them from eating those and result is childhood obesity. The risk for other chronic diseases also increases
August 18th, 2011 at 9:57 am
A VERY good point that gets overlooked most of the time: It is not just what goes into your MOUTH that determines obesity and other health issues. What goes into your body through your lungs and skin also represent a HUGE and even greater risk. The furniture we choose to buy – the carpet – the type of water we shower with, as well as drink – the type of shower curtain! (chlorine in the water mixing with the vinyl creates quite a toxic mix!) – soaps of all sorts for your body, hair and cleaning the house and vehicles – what chemicals you use in your garden and yard – air “fresheners” – make up – the list goes on. For years, I almost never allow anything on my skin that is not a healthy food of some sort, even cleaning products. I use very little body soap, only vinegar on my hair – I wash it with organic botanicals 2x a year, other than vinegar & water…. cleaning products are easy to find now that are purely botanical.. also, what you use to prepare, store and serve your food in/with, as was noted about the teflon causing problems. I threw my teflon out more than 10 years ago, and wish it had been sooner. Fortunately, it had just been an electric wok; I’ve always used cast iron or stainless steel otherwise. Even the type of stainless is important! Wood and bamboo, glass, ceramic, enamel plated metal, are all good. We can’t control every single thing we breathe in, but these are all things we CAN control. These are all choices we make every day. If you start to remove toxic sources from your home, it will benefit your family very much!
August 18th, 2011 at 9:58 am
What if a child is being raised in a very healthy way and when she moved to her secondary school she started to put on weight at a great pace was size 8, but went on to be size 10, 12, 14, 16 and finally 18, thirteen and a half stone until she left aged 16. Her mum is size 10 and dad medium. There are no medical or psychological problems and she exercises moderately each day walking to and from school. Still eats healthily at home and GP was not interested because her weight was on the limit of over weight but not obese! Other girls around her at school appear to follow a similar pattern with large belly’s. Could it not necessarily be a parental problem but a society problem. Are outside influences stronger or is Dr Mercola right with regard to all our food stuffs?
August 18th, 2011 at 9:58 am
I would check to see how much she’s eating. Many people have the “diet” mentality, especially teen girls that they have to limit calories. When we eat calorie-restricted diets, it puts our body in fat-storage mode-it thinks we don’t have enough to eat (like our hunter-gatherer ancestors). This in turns slows down our metabolism and we cannot lose weight, and more importantly can’t lose bodyfat.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Let’s make sure we do not forget the role of toxic substances. “Obesogens” are toxic substances that promote obesity, such as BPA, POPs, and perfluorocotanoic acid, found in teflon pans. They lead to the creation of more fat cells in infants that increase the risk of obesity throughout life. They explain the rapid increase in obesity in infants less than 6 mths of age. These toxins also disrupt our metabolism and affect our thyroid and other hormones. So let’s make sure to reduce our exposure to these toxins and support the liver so it can function optimally in helping to detoxify.
August 18th, 2011 at 9:59 am
Eating out was a “special event” not an every day or even every week occurance. On the days we were on the go…I remember having a cooler with snacks, sandwiches, etc. My Mom always said that it took a little pre-planning but it could be done…and I believe that. It takes a little organization but having healthy alternatives is possible. Our children are bombarded with unhealthy/fast options from fast food to vending machines and more…but as parents, we need to set the bar higher for our kids. This is the first generation in a LONG time that actually has a shorter life expectancy than the generation before. We need to get our children off their computers, “game-box,” phones, IPADs and make them UNPLUG for a while…we need to make them realize that good things come to those who wait and that includes good meals…get them involved in shopping for whole foods, let them plan a menu, let them get involved in cooking, plant a garden, shop at a farmers market, etc. Also – an area that I have a particular distaste for is school fundraisers…
August 18th, 2011 at 10:00 am
One of the most overlooked contributors to childhood obesity is this: pediatricians and parents actively teach kids to overeat. I know it’s hard to believe but pediatricians subtly encourage overeating when they focus on target consumption of things like milk – so parents use any trick in the book to get their kids to eat more. But pediatricians actively encourage overeating when toddlers are on the small side – even if they’re not a “failing to thrive” case.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:00 am
It starts with the parents. I can remember a parent dropping their obese children off at my office, while she went out to eat. Just doesn’t work that way. If one individual in the family is suffering from obesity the whole family must participate in the treatment.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:01 am
What confuses and disturbs me is when both parents are average weight, eat healthily and exercise, yet they have a child who is over weight/obese, what are your thoughts on that?
August 18th, 2011 at 10:02 am
Mother was overweight the child was obese. Children today live in an
environment where their obesity tendencies or genetic characteristic are
more likely express than in their parent’s generation. Less physical
activity, larger portions, poor nutritional quality of prepared foods, the
list goes on and on. Parents must set example of healthy eating and
physical activity, but it then comes down to the child doing what is within
their control to reach the best possible weight they can and that doesn’t
mean becoming skinny, just the best possible weight they can realistically
achieve.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Breastfeeding for the exclusive minimum of 6 months, at least a year overall, and cereals might not be the best food to transition a child to first (cheerios, goldfish…etc)
August 18th, 2011 at 10:03 am
Parents need to slow down, eat simply from a variety of whole foods, allow kids to get plenty of sleep and engage kids to keep physically active.
If parents led the way, obesity in children will melt away.
August 18th, 2011 at 10:04 am
… dream on, the parents are leading the way to diabetes & obesity, the blind simply cannot lead the blind! …
I helped for free for years the parents to eat better nutrition, but very few are able to change the eating patterns & habits… The poor are eating poorly!