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First solids shouldn't come too soon.
No matter how emphatic your mother-in-law is on the topic, American pediatricians say you should really, really wait before introducing solids to infants. Even if she insists your baby will sleep better with a belly full of rice cereal, a new study from the Children’s Hospital Boston and Harvard concludes that solids before 4 months of age increases your child’s risk for obesity.
That risk is even great if you start giving solids too soon to formula-fed babies. And you already know how doomed they are! (Kidding …) Continue reading »
A delicious bite of contraband.
Kids of St. Paul, Minn., load up on the cookies now. Because if you’re a student in a public school there, you’re going to have to go without sweets during those many long hours you’re on school grounds.
All public schools in the St. Paul school district will be, by the school year’s end, sweet-free zones. That means no more cookies, cinnamon rolls or cakes for dessert with school lunches. Little Debbie’s snack cakes will be confiscated from home lunches. And concessions for school fundraisers can’t include hot chocolate or brownies.
No birthday cupcakes. Continue reading »
Even overweight means health risk
A study out today in The New England Journal of Medicine says that there is a significant risk to being simply overweight, not just obese. This has been a controversial point in public health research, with earlier studies showing mixed results.
Now, the most massive analysis of data on Americans shows that being a little chubby around the middle – not just obese – has major health effects.
The researchers did a meta-analysis (a review of multiple studies) and included data on 1.5 million white americans, all non-smokers who had no existing heart disease or cancer at the beginning of the study. The population had a median age of 58 and were followed for anywhere from 5 to 28 years. Those who were only overweight had a increased risk of dying.
Here’s what they found, including the “sweet spot” – the ideal BMI for lowering risk of death: Continue reading »
A new survey from the American Psychological Association tells us that overweight kids aren’t happy. In fact, they’re pretty stressed out.
The APA surveyed both adults and young people. The kids’ survey was conducted online and included 1,136 children age 8-17. Of those who identified themselves as overweight or obese according to their BMIs, 31 % reported “worrying about their lives” compared with 14 % of their peers whose weight is more typical.
Before I go on with the statistics, I want to point out that I had a hard time describing the weight of kids who aren’t overweight. In the Time story I first read about this report, those kids are described as being “healthy weight.” But if you’re an overweight kid, would the comparison to kids with “healthy” weights stress you out?
Is it the food that gives Ronald's body its pear-like shape?
Childhood obesity has become a national epidemic and children’s eating habits are one big reason why. Some cities, like San Francisco, are trying to take away incentives for eating unhealthy meals. Layman’s terms? Starting December 1st, restaurants in the city are not allowed to offer a toy with unhealthy kids’ meals.
But for the vast majority of Americans, this ban won’t be a reality. And who knows? It might be such a toy attached to such a meal that appeases Jr. to the point where a holiday road trip won’t experience its wheels coming off.
Don’t get me wrong. My wife and I aren’t really the fast-food types. (Um, is Chick-fil-a fast food?) And we’re actually quite diligent when it comes to providing our kids with healthy meals. But we’ll also be the first to admit that there are rare occasions when we do stop by one of the fast food joints out of sheer and selfish convenience. That’s why I’m grateful that I stumbled across the following list of the 5 worst kiddie meal combos.
Because while we may be willing to cut a corner out of convenience every blue moon, there’s no way I’m letting my children eat one of these bad boys.
Healthy body image?
Do you think you’re fat? If you’re female, chances are good that you do.
According to a recent Glamour magazine survey, 40 percent of women are unhappy with their body. But it sounds as if even more women have a negative body image.
While only 46 percent of the women surveyed were actually overweight, 71 percent of them said they felt fat, according to CBS News’ “The Early Show.”
What makes me sad about this survey is that I know that many of these women are mothers and it’s likely they are griping about their bodies in front of their daughters. Continue reading »
World's Largest Toddler
We talk a lot about the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. But, in fact, the most obese child in the world lives in China.
weighs five times the average weight of his classmates.Hao XiaoAt 140 pounds, 3-year-old
Because of the toddler’s size, Xiao Hao was banned from several pre-schools because they feared he posed a danger to his classmates, according to The Sun. Continue reading »
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Monica Bielanko 
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Sunny Chanel 
Madeline Holler 
Rebecca Odes 
Danielle Smith 
Danielle Sullivan 
Katherine Stone 
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