A study published today by the Science Daily presents results stating that, "Parents with a high number of stressors in their lives are more likely to have obese children, according to a new study by pediatric researchers." This study was published by Elizabeth Prout-Parks, M.D., who specializes in nutrition at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia.
The factors that she believes are among parental stressors include: "poor physical and mental health, financial strain, and leading a single-parent household." This study forms the conclusion that because parents may be more stressed they do not want to spend time preparing a meal for their children. The one downfall of this study is that it is the only one that has found a connection between parental stress and child obesity.
Bringing it back to Fort Collins, the Compass of Larimer County presents statistics regarding the number of single women with children who are living in poverty. As of 2010, about 23% of single women with children under 5 are living in poverty and 21% of single women with children under the age of 18 are living in poverty.
Since the study presented in the Science Daily was not done here in Fort Collins, we cannot conclude that the poverty statistics and obesity are related. However, we can conclude that this poverty is a growing problem and that it could eventually lead to an increase in child obesity based on results by Prout-Parks.
Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Monday, October 15, 2012
Facts through Video
Sometimes it can be hard to research all the facts about obesity, especially because we often don't know where to start. It can be very unappealing to look at pages and pages of facts typed on a page. Facts can often be better told through a video putting a face to the problem.
This video gives a short idea about the effects one small drink, even a juice, can have on a child's health, specifically the young girl that is featured in the video. Putting a face to a problem suddenly makes the problem more real, for whatever reason that may be and this is just one example of many that uses this as an advantage to spread the word about obesity through visual appeal.
Video courtesy of First 5, Public Health Department of Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System, and INSPIRE Obesity Prevention.
This video gives a short idea about the effects one small drink, even a juice, can have on a child's health, specifically the young girl that is featured in the video. Putting a face to a problem suddenly makes the problem more real, for whatever reason that may be and this is just one example of many that uses this as an advantage to spread the word about obesity through visual appeal.
Sunday, October 14, 2012
International Changes in Health
When we think of Nestle, often the sweet products and the cereal come to mind. However, it has many more food products such as baby food, pet foods and even bottled water, according to Wikipedia. Nestle SA is based out of Vevy, Switzerland and is the largest food company in the world, measured by revenues.
The specific focus on Nestle right now is its' breakfast cereals and the sugars/salts that are in them. The News International published an article today stating that "Nestle SA and General Mills Inc will cut sugar and salt in the children's breakfast cereals they jointly market outside North America." They are doing this in response to the health concerns of consumers.
One of the aspects addressed within the article was the marketing aspect of the cereals and how that will change due to the ingredient alterations. There is a certain practice that goes on with marketing a product when the market has changed for it and it's called fat tailing. Fat tailing includes re-marketing a product for a different purpose or to a different audience. Nestle and General Mills want to be able to still sell their cereal and have those frequent buyers, but they are trying to meet these new standards while still making sure taste is not compromised.
As they address in the article as well, this is tough for these companies to accomplish well because ultimately it is the consumers who decide if the cereal is still worth purchasing not the ones who enforce the health of the product. The classic dilemma that is present here, is whether or not food can be healthy and still taste good?
The specific focus on Nestle right now is its' breakfast cereals and the sugars/salts that are in them. The News International published an article today stating that "Nestle SA and General Mills Inc will cut sugar and salt in the children's breakfast cereals they jointly market outside North America." They are doing this in response to the health concerns of consumers.
One of the aspects addressed within the article was the marketing aspect of the cereals and how that will change due to the ingredient alterations. There is a certain practice that goes on with marketing a product when the market has changed for it and it's called fat tailing. Fat tailing includes re-marketing a product for a different purpose or to a different audience. Nestle and General Mills want to be able to still sell their cereal and have those frequent buyers, but they are trying to meet these new standards while still making sure taste is not compromised.
As they address in the article as well, this is tough for these companies to accomplish well because ultimately it is the consumers who decide if the cereal is still worth purchasing not the ones who enforce the health of the product. The classic dilemma that is present here, is whether or not food can be healthy and still taste good?
Monday, October 8, 2012
Michelle Obama's Lunches
There is now a new way to control the food supply of school lunches and Michelle Obama is behind this idea. According to The Guardian, the Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 is now taking effect in school lunches.
Under this new law, high school lunches cannot have more than 850 calories. However, one of the most contrasting views of this act is that it does not take into account the fact that some students may need to have a higher calorie intake due to sports or just being a growing boy.
Going through high school, boys are growing and being very active and as they do this they need to be properly nourished for their own benefit. When I was in high school, I played an array of sports and even as a girl felt that I had to consume more food than those girls who were not involved in athletics. Now I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a growing, hormonal boy and not getting adequate amounts of food.
Portion control is a great way to assist young kids in developing healthy diets, but at the same time we cannot go overboard and control every move down to what is given in lunches and how much that is allowed to be. Our country is established on free choice, and that should still remain a priority even in something as small as choosing a school lunch. Suggestions can be made about what to be eaten but the control should not be taken overboard.
Under this new law, high school lunches cannot have more than 850 calories. However, one of the most contrasting views of this act is that it does not take into account the fact that some students may need to have a higher calorie intake due to sports or just being a growing boy.
Going through high school, boys are growing and being very active and as they do this they need to be properly nourished for their own benefit. When I was in high school, I played an array of sports and even as a girl felt that I had to consume more food than those girls who were not involved in athletics. Now I can't even imagine what it would be like to be a growing, hormonal boy and not getting adequate amounts of food.
Portion control is a great way to assist young kids in developing healthy diets, but at the same time we cannot go overboard and control every move down to what is given in lunches and how much that is allowed to be. Our country is established on free choice, and that should still remain a priority even in something as small as choosing a school lunch. Suggestions can be made about what to be eaten but the control should not be taken overboard.
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Hand washing
The simple task of washing your hands does not seem like it would be an issue that would even need to be discussed, but apparently it's no longer a 'norm' in the lives of some children.
An article by Mark Druell is what drives the discussion of this topic today. One of the facts that were highlighted was, that "40% of children admitted they don't always wash their hands with soap after using the toilet." He then goes on to discuss how many children do not practice these hygiene habits due to the influence of their parents.
Now I understand that staying away from too many germs can cause a child to get overly sick all the time; however, not be sanitary and cleanly is not something that should be avoided. There are certain diseases and sicknesses that can be transmitted from hands, as Druell also emphasized, and teaching children how to prevent that will teach them better hygiene habits.
Parents can teach their kids to be cleanly and cautious without keeping them in an immunity bubble and that balance just has to be determined. However, I don't think there should be any question about washing your hands after using the restroom. Restrooms are a gross place and I wouldn't want to carry that around on my hands all day.
An article by Mark Druell is what drives the discussion of this topic today. One of the facts that were highlighted was, that "40% of children admitted they don't always wash their hands with soap after using the toilet." He then goes on to discuss how many children do not practice these hygiene habits due to the influence of their parents.
Now I understand that staying away from too many germs can cause a child to get overly sick all the time; however, not be sanitary and cleanly is not something that should be avoided. There are certain diseases and sicknesses that can be transmitted from hands, as Druell also emphasized, and teaching children how to prevent that will teach them better hygiene habits.
Parents can teach their kids to be cleanly and cautious without keeping them in an immunity bubble and that balance just has to be determined. However, I don't think there should be any question about washing your hands after using the restroom. Restrooms are a gross place and I wouldn't want to carry that around on my hands all day.
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