How Much Sugar Is Really In Soda?

Ask a pediatrician why childhood obesity is a problem, and they point one finger directly toward soda. It’s just one cause of many, but soft drinks are public enemy number one as far as legislators are concerned.

The CDC has been debating the efficacy of obesity taxes on them for quite some time. So how much sugar is really IN those soft drinks? Continue reading »

They Say: Let Kids Sleep Late on Weekends to Fight Obesity

“Why do we have to go to bed so early?” my girls complain.

“Because I’m your mother and I love you,” I say, a statement that stops the arguing, if not the unhappy faces.

I’m a stickler about bedtime, something that annoys my kids and occasionally their grandparents.  So I’m always happy when science backs me up.  Here’s the latest:  Kids who don’t get enough sleep during the week just might be able to catch up on some of that sleep over the weekend.

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Overweight Parents Lose Kids For Being Fat

A mother who weighs over three hundred pounds and her husband who weighs around two hundred fifty pounds have had all seven of their kids, including a newborn baby, taken away from them.

The couple’s attorney says the kids were taken by UK officials because of her clients’ weight issues. Continue reading »

They Say: The Corner Store is Making Kids Fat

People lay blame all kinds of places for childhood obesity – parents, schools, television – but one very simple thing that tends to be overlooked is the corner store.

A study that followed kids in Philadelphia between January and June 2008 found that with just $1.07, they purchased an average 356 calories’ worth of food each day. And those were generally empty calories – chips, candy and sugary drinks.

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They Say: You’re Making Your Kid Fat

Hey, you know how everything that ever goes wrong with your kid is totally your fault? Yeah, add another thing to that list. Researchers are looking at the role parents play in childhood obesity, and finding some interesting links between how infants are fed and those babies’ weight when they are older.
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Schools Say Bye Bye Bake Sale

First it was the in-class birthday party. Now schools are kicking the bake sale off campus.

The reason? Say it with me now: childhood obesity. Continue reading »

Nickelodeon’s World Wide Day of Play

Since she was two, my older daughter has turned the TV off if she’s not watching it. She complains that when it’s on “she has to watch it.” I know the feeling — a noisy TV is almost impossible to ignore.

A recent small study involving 50 parent/toddler pairs found that when a TV is on, parents spend about 20 percent less time talking or playing with their children. “”Given that high-quality parent-child interaction plays an important role in children’s development, the study challenges the common assumption that background TV doesn’t affect very young children if they don’t look at the screen,” study authors wrote in a press release.

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They Say: Let the Wildebeests Run Wild for Sleep

Finally, a little proof that what we’ve all been hoping would happen really does. New research says active kids get to sleep more easily.

So let the little wildebeests run wild, because Mommy and Daddy need a cuddle. Continue reading »

School Puts Down Bike Ban, Parent Ignore It

A school district in upstate New York has laid down the law over kids riding their bikes to school. But one family has decided to ignore it.

The Marinos told their local paper they ride regularly for exercise and recreation - and as far as they’re concerned, it’s up to them how their son gets to school. So they’re riding anyway. Continue reading »

Fighting the Fat With Wild Things

If you thought the big news for Maurice Sendak fans was the upcoming Spike Jonze recreation of his classic, Where The Wild Things Are.

You’d only be half right. The book that’s soon to be a flick is also about to hit advertising venues everywhere to fight something even bigger: childhood obesity. Continue reading »