More Thoughts on Fat Report Cards

Last week I was in a meeting with some football coaches to talk about a program that I'm proposing to hold specifically for junior football players (ages 8-14) that are overweight and need to lose some weight before they can even think about putting on the pads for regular football drills.

The issue that I was dealing with the weeks before meeting when trying to determine how to present this, and get it across that the class was specifically for fat loss and not just "conditioning."

The obstacles of this are a bit steep.

1. You don't want to call the program "fat camp." The stigma involved in that would be too much for a kid that age.

2. You'd have parents that would say "So are you trying to say that my kid is fat? Are you saying that I'm a bad parent?"

3. It leads to the other extreme where people are going to think "If I put my kid on a diet at age 10, he might have a complex about eating food his entire life."

That third one was the one that bugged me because it came up in this post that I wrote last week about the fat report cards. Specifically, this comment:

A 6-year-old who learned she was at the top end of what is considered healthy for her age and height started eating significantly less, reported The New York Times.
"My 2-year-old eats more than she does,'' her mother told the newspaper.

I guess I don't understand why a parent is more concerned if a child UNDER-eats (when in reality it's more likely "normal" eating for the what the body is designed for) and not really all that concerned if a kid gorges himself. There's this idea that under eating is going to cause health problems but at the same time, there's no real thought that over eating is going to cause just as many health problems.

We all have seen pictures of people that are anorexic or bulimic. It's not pretty and maybe it conditions us to make sure that we don't undereat.

We might think the same thing when we see the complete opposite end of an extremely obese person and realize that we don't want to go that route either.

But then there's the "normal overweight" that still carries health risks. Those we don't worry about. When we see images of people eating, they're smiling, laughing, having a good time. People even make fun at themselves for being overweight and we don't give any thought to health issues that they are or will have.



I guess in a way I understand due to the fact two-thirds of people in the United States are overweight or obese and therefore, that is the norm and since health issues related to obesity tend to slowly creep into a person's life rather than become almost immediate, there's a little more sensitivity that needs to be taken when speaking of overweight children.

In the end I took the route of promoting the class to increase football performance with fat loss. It's not a lie. With less weight you'll be able to run faster, change directions quicker, etc. I'll see if marketing it like that works. I'll keep you posted.

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Fat Report Cards

If you are a parent, what would you think of this?

You get your child's report card, look it over and see how they are doing in Math, Reading, Art, and then at the bottom you see what your child's Body Mass Index (BMI) is.

That is what is going to happen the next school year in Boston according to this article.

Kids that are in first, fourth, seventh and 10th grade will be weighed and measured and the results sent home to the parents with some explanations as to what the number means and recommend where to go from there.

I'm kind of split on this. On one hand, with the child obesity epidemic getting worse I think it's a good idea to at least give parents a heads up that their child might be running into a problem.

On the other hand, is it really going to make a difference? Will the parents take is seriously, or be offended that you're calling their son or daughter "fat", or with they just look at the number and say "whatever"?

Will it cause a possible anxiety among very young kids that could possibly now view themselves as "fat" to where they might go the other way and stop eating all together as this part of the article points out:

A 6-year-old who learned she was at the top end of what is considered healthy for her age and height started eating significantly less, reported The New York Times.
"My 2-year-old eats more than she does,'' her mother told the newspaper.

Although at the same time, I think the schools are sending a mixed message by reporting concern about the child's BMI but at the same time, continue selling regular sugary soft drinks and fatty goods in the school cafeteria and barely teach physical education and nutrition in classes (as reported in this article in the New York Times).

I know I'm going back and forth on this but this quote from the New York Times article kind of irked me:

''I don't care how big I am,'' said Holly, 17, who is insulin resistant, a condition that often precedes Type 2 diabetes. ''It's not what you look like, it's who you are.''

She right but at the same time, I don't believe the school is doing this in order breed a bunch of skinny models, it's about reducing the number of kids from having health issues (and since she's 17 and already is insulin resistant, she's already headed in that direction).

Maybe this is headed in the right direction, but maybe not. There's a lot of misinformation out there on health and fitness and I guess my final thought is that if schools are going to do this, sending a "fat" report card home with a BMI number on it along with a briefing on what it means can probably cause more harm then good because it's only giving half the story.

Physical education and Nutrition classes need to be a staple of school curriculum starting at even the level of first grade to teach a healthy lifestyle rather than just reporting on unhealthy lifestyles.

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Put Down That Baby Food

Just when we thought the child obesity epidemic couldn't get more bizarre, I found this article that talks about how some baby food sold in Britan have more saturated fat and sugar than junk like cookies and cheeseburgers that we're feeding out older kids.

Publishing results of a survey of more than 100 foods for babies and toddlers, the Children's Food Campaign said Farley's rusks were 29 percent sugar and some Cow & Gate toddler biscuits contained trans fats, which have been linked to heart disease.

I had to look up Farley's rusks and I'm not even sure they're available in the US. They look like animal crackers to me.



Anyway, as the article points out, be careful when buying baby food or snacks and be suspect even if it says it's "healthy." It's unfortunate that the definition of that word is up for debate nowadays.

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Simple Exercise Routines for Kids

The most important thing when it comes to creating exercise programs for kids is that it HAS to be fun.

Kids will get extremely bored if they have to do set after set of jump jacks, squats, lunges, etc (even though most adults SHOULD find those kinds of exercises "fun"...).

So here's one routine that they can do.

Most neighborhoods have fire hydrants about 75 yards from each other. Have your child just do a short jog between those fire hydrants for 3 laps just to get him/her warmed up.

Do about 10 squats and then do 5 forward lunges on each side just to get some dynamic work in there. Repeat this 2 more times.

Then, the child should stand at the edge of where one fire hydrant is, and then sprint all the way to the other fire hydrant. Sprint at full speed, not jog.

After reaching the other fire hydrant, have the child stop and walk back to the first fire hydrant. It should be a walk, not a sprint, or a jog, but a walk.

Once the child reaches the first fire hydrant, he/she should immediately turn around and sprint once more to the second fire hydrant again. Once reaching that second fire hydrant for a second time, walk back to the first fire hydrant.

Continue doing this for a total of 10 times (to start, try to add one each time you do this routine).

It really shouldn't take more than 20 minutes to do this workout.

Try doing this workout 3 times a week.

It's a short workout but very efficient and effective at reducing some of that body fat.

Oh, mom and dad, don't forget, it's okay to join in with your child on these sprints. Make it a competition as to who can get to the second fire hydrant first.

Losing body fat is a team effort when it comes to kids, so show your child that you are fully 100% supportive in what they need to do.

Have a nice weekend everyone.

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Simple Healthy Eating Tips for Children

I've had three days of writing about how the child obesity issue is starting to increase at an even more alarming rate than what has previously been thought.

What can we do to 1) for kids that are not overweight or obese yet, stop them from becoming so and 2) get kids that are overweight and obese from changing course?

Today I'll talk about some things that we can do on the eating part and tomorrow some suggestions on the exercise front.

First, parents, your kids are going to follow your lead. If you are eating junk, they are going to eat junk. If you eat healthy, they are going to eat healthy. So you HAVE to lead by example.

You can take things in small steps though.

1. Go through all the cupboards in you house and throw out all the junk food.

2. Throw out all your regular soda.

3. If you and your family are eating fast food on a weekly basis, stop.

Those are the first steps. If you can eliminate those three items, you're going to see some vast improvements in your waistline as well as your children's.

If you take all of those out, then at this point I don't even care about portion sizes of the other food you are eating.

I don't care if your kids have an extra helping of pasta, or mashed potatoes, or another piece of chicken or another homemade hamburger, etc. We'll worry about portion size later. All I'm concerned about at this point is getting rid of the junk from your diet.

Will the kids complain? Sure.

I noticed something recently with my dog. I've got her on some special medication for a little bit of time and the vet told me that her appetite would increase while being on the medication.

Prior to putting her on the meds, she ate her food, but was always picky. I would have to spice it up with some cheese or something and then she'd eat it.

But since I've had her on these meds, it doesn't matter. i put that food in her bowl with nothing added and she eats it like she hasn't eaten in a week.

Moral of the story is, your kids might complain about eating food without all that "junk food flavor" in it and may even pout and say they aren't going to eat at all if it's not going to be "junk food." But at some point, they're going to get hungry, and they'll eat what you give them.

Now this doesn't mean you can't give your kids junk food ever again. You need to make sure when you do, that it truly is a treat. Maybe after a week of not consuming any of the junk, you take a family for a walk or bike ride (stressing walk or bike ride, not drive) to a local ice cream place for that treat. But that's it. It's only a treat to be used very sparingly.

Start out with those three changes and don't worry about the rest for now. If you start with those three, then you've created a nice solid foundation for other improvements later on.

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A Postive Story on Childhood Obesity

This was a great article on a kid who realized he had to lose weight, and did it.

But that's not even the best part: he survived leukemia first.

Doctor's told him after he beat leukemia that if he didn't lose some weight, there was a higher chance that the cancer would return.

So far he's dropped from 320 pounds to 240 pounds. Granted, he's got some more to lose, but to drop 80 so far is a great success story.

Here's an interesting quote from the article:

Programs that involve the whole family, and encourage and support healthy eating habits and plenty of physical activity, stand the best chance for success, health advocates say.

It continues:

Once a week, for six months, the teens meet with one or more of the team members in individual or group sessions. They also participate in regular physical fitness sessions at least once a week or up to three times a week.

Parents have a schedule of their own, attending individual and group sessions every other week during the six-month period.

The sessions are aimed at teaching the whole family to build healthier habits into their lifestyle.

more...

Since Nick began the program, his mother, 53, a child care worker, lost 17 pounds. Nick's dad, Tony, 57, lost 20 pounds and their son Josh lost 30 pounds.

finally..

Nick Lieto says the family support, the accountability demanded by the weekly sessions and the encouraging staff members when he weighs in weekly, are most responsible for his success.

The point I see, is that the getting the ENTIRE family involved in this is what helped this young man lose this weight (and also the main contributor for the weight loss of the other members of the family).

Think of it this way: How hard is it for an adult to quit smoking, if there's another adult in the household that is continuing to smoke? If someone is trying to quit drinking, isn't it going to be more difficult if another adult continues to keep beer in the refrigerator?

Granted, some people are able to quit smoking and drinking if another adult in the household continues these habits.

But I don't see how a child who is overweight or obese would be able to lose weight, stop eating junk, etc., without the other people in the household doing the same thing. Children eat what they are given, they follow what their parents do, etc.

Bottom line, when talking about the child obesity issue, we can't leave out the issue of obesity in the adult population from the conversation. If the family is the biggest contributor to the problem, it could also be the biggest piece of the solution.

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Delayed Gratification and Childhood Obesity

To stay with the theme of childhood obesity that I've kind of rolled myself into this week, this article talks about a study where it found that children that were able to delay gratification were less likely to be overweight or obese.

From the article:

In the study, a group of 4-year-olds was asked to choose candy, animal crackers or pretzels as their preferred food and left alone with two plates of different quantities of the food.

They could eat a larger portion of chosen food if they waited until the examiner returned. If they could not wait until the examiner returned, they could ring a bell to summon the examiner back into the room, at which time they could eat the small quantity.

Almost half (47%) of the 805 children failed the test, either by ringing the bell before a seven-minute waiting period elapsed, spontaneously beginning to eat the food, becoming distressed, going to the door or calling for a parent or the examiner.

The conclusions:

Children who had difficulty delaying gratification were about 30% more likely to be overweight by age 11 than those who could delay gratification, says study coauthor Dr. Julie Lumeng, a developmental and behavioral pediatrician at the University of Michigan Health System.

The correlation of the parents:

The weight of the mother made a difference in the child’s ability to wait to eat, Lumeng adds.

“Moms who are overweight themselves have kids that are less able to wait,” Lumeng says. “No study like this one can prove causation, but there’s an association.”

This really makes sense. If you have a mother that is overweight, then there's a good chance that she doesn't have the ability to delay gratification when she's hungry. This easily passes along to the child where mom just instinctively gives the child something to eat when the child complains about being hungry.

This is interesting in light of my review last week here of Eat Stop Eat. You hold off eating for 24 hours. After some time, this helps you hold off eating when not fasting and you start to feel a little bit of hunger. By fasting, you learn to control those hunger "pains" and not instantly go reach for a donut.

I'm NOT suggesting we start getting 4 year olds to follow intermittent fasting. But, if adults would start following this type of protocol, they would learn themselves how to delay instant gratification and thus would be more readily able to tell their kids "no" when they whine about being hungry and telling them that they need to wait until their next meal.

The behavior of parents is what is going to stick with their children, so maybe if we start changing the shape of how parents view instant gratification, we can change that same behavior in children. Something to think about.

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Chilhood Obesity Getting Worse

This article I found was pretty alarming.

A new study found that one in five American 4-year olds are obese. That's OBESE, not just overweight.

Here were the breakdowns by racial groups:

Almost 13 percent of Asian children were obese, along with 16 percent of whites, almost 21 percent of blacks, 22 percent of Hispanics, and 31 percent of American Indians.

The article goes on to talk about why there are the bigger disparities between the racial groups:

Flores cited higher rates of diabetes in American Indians, and also Hispanics, which scientists believe may be due to genetic differences.

Also, other factors that can increase obesity risks tend to be more common among minorities, including poverty, less educated parents, and diets high in fat and calories, Flores said.

One tool that a Native American tribe is using to help with the problem is setting up camps that focus on exercise but also follow in a Native American tradition:

To address the problem, her clinic has created activities for young Indian children, including summer camps and a winter break "outdoor day" that had kids braving 8-degree temperatures to play games including "snowsnake." That's a traditional American Indian contest in which players throw long, carved wooden "snakes" along a snow or ice trail to see whose lands the farthest.

The hope is that giving kids used to modern sedentary ways a taste of a more active traditional American Indian lifestyle will help them adopt healthier habits, she said.

Although I can appreciate the concept of keeping with a tradition within a certain racial group, I have to say, I hope they have those kids doing something more than just throwing something.

We need to get these kids exerting themselves more. How about a game where one kid throws the snowsnake and another kid sprints after it and retrieves it, kind of like playing fetch with a dog?

This is something that I think we all need to really be concerned about because if we don't get this under the microscope and come up with a plan to fight it soon, we're going to have a whole generation of youngster where it will be normal to have high blood pressure, diabetes, joint problems, cancers, etc., then to not have those health issues.

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School Fitness Programs Don't Work

Not that this should be any surprise considering the number of kids I see daily that have just a eye popping waistline, at least it's coming out that how we're currently training kids in "gym" class isn't working anymore.

From the article:

Hahn, co-founder of the National Council for Exercise Standards, wants to equip school gyms with exercise machines and dumbbells. He said strength-or resistance-training combined with a low-carbohydrate diet is the most effective way to battle childhood flab.

I couldn't have said it better myself. Workouts for kids don't really need to be any different than how it is with adults (meaning, there needs to be a progression from basic exercises to slowly more intermediate and advance exercises). We can use resistance training with them, as well as interval training (although I don't think schools need to invest in expensive equipment to accomplish this, kids can do just fine for a very long time using bodyweight exercises (then again, so can adults))..

Although sure, low-carb diets would probably be fine for the youngsters, there may be an even simpler way: GET THE CRAP FOOD OUT OF THEIR HANDS. I don't care how much pasta the kid eats, if you just take away the cookies, candy, ice cream, regular soda and anything else that is filled with added sugar, you'd see a huge reduction in overweight kids (the other thing you can do is pull them away from time to time from that video console and kick 'em outside to run around a little bit).

I think childhood obesity is going to get worse before it gets better. Things need to change at home, but they also need to change in schools in order to provide the right prescription of physical exertion in order to keep these children's waistlines from growing. Stay tuned to this blog as this is something I get more and more passionate about by the day and I hope to have products and programs available to take this head on in the near future.

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