Chunky babies: What to do?

When is a baby actually eating too much and when is he/she just going through normal stages? With the huge increase in childhood obesity, some doctors are taking a closer look at an infant's weight. Will babies be put on diets? It sounds crazy to me. I know my kids all got a lot chunkier from about 6 months to one year old. I think it's because that's when they start eating table food, but they aren't running around the house yet. That's just my opinion. I hope no one ever has to put their baby on a diet.

FROM MSNBC:

My grandmother’s attitude — stuff food into the baby, be proud of a “good eater” — may not make sense in an environment of abundant food and rising obesity.

But it gets medically controversial, and emotionally sticky, when doctors start talking about obesity in babies. Is there an epidemic of infant obesity? Are fat babies at greater risk of turning into fat children at higher risk for medical consequences later on in life? And what can doctors advise parents about feeding a baby — which ought, after all, to be one of the basic joys of parenthood?

The answers to those questions aren’t always clear. Scientists do know that the number of obese children has been on the increase. But not the proportion of those under age 2 whose weight-for-length curve is at the 95th percentile or above — that has held pretty steady since 1999.
Perhaps more important, no one wants to see babies on diets, no one wants to see hungry babies not given food.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Curbing Childhood Obesity

My new job as a pharmaceutical sales specialist has really opened my eyes to the health care crisis and the obesity epidemic. I really wish there was a clear cut, effective way to prevent all kids from struggling with weight gain that will later lead to heart disease and diabetes. Teaching kids about nutrition and exercise at a young age seems to be the best option right now. I wish it were more effective. I feel like either 1. kids are not educated on how to be healthy or 2. kids aren't listening. It may be a combination of both. It's too bad. It is scary.

FROM CNN: Teaching middle school students about nutrition and exercise appears to reap healthy rewards.

The program designed at the university of Michigan instructed almost 600 kids on making healthy diet choices, getting 150 minutes of exercise a week and cutting T.V. and computer time.

Four years later, students had lowered their average cholesterol, reduced their resting heart rates and most continued to make health-conscious decisions.

Researchers say programs like this could have a huge impact on long-term obesity rates as well as reducing diabetes and heart disease as students age.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Obese 3rd Grader taken from Mom

I want to know what you think. Should kids who are obese be taken away from their parents? It seems crazy, but some medical experts say in some cases, that is what need to be done.

FROM ABCNEWS: A Cleveland third grader who weighed more than 200 pounds was taken from his mother after officials reportedly said she did not do enough to help the boy, who suffered from a weight-related health issue, to lose weight.

Officials first became aware of the boy’s weight after his mother took him to the hospital last year while he was having breathing problems, the newspaper reported. The child was diagnosed with sleep apnea and began to be monitored by social workers while he was enrolled in a program called “Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight” at the Rainbow Babies & Children’s Hospital.


The boy lost a few pounds, but recently began to gain some back, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported. At that point, the Department of Children and Family Services asked a juvenile court for custody of the boy, citing his soaring weight as a form of medical neglect, according to the newspaper.


Taking obese children from their families has become a topic of intense debate over the past year after one high-profile pediatric obesity expert made controversial comments in the Journal of the American Medical Association advocating the practice in acute cases.

“In severe instances of childhood obesity, removal from the home may be justifiable, from a legal standpoint, because of imminent health risks and the parents’ chronic failure to address medical problems,” Dr. David Ludwig co-wrote with Lindsey Murtagh, a lawyer and researcher at Harvard’s School of Public Health.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Skin Dimensions, SB products are manufactured with Pharmaceutical-Grade ingredients. Products are not just "Feel Good Products," as they contain unique and innovative ingredients in concentrations that can assist you in the achievement of your own personal skincare objectives. Our products contain higher percentages of Glycolic, Vitamin A, C, E, Co-Q10, green tea than what you can usually purchase over the counter.

Eat with your Kids

We try to eat dinner together as much as possible. Although, I often make something different for the kids to eat. I am still working on getting them to eat the same things my husband and I like. It is challenging!

FROM NBC: Whatever you drink or eat, experts say sharing meals with your preschooler can cut his or her risk of becoming overweight and obese. Ohio State researchers studied data on more than 85-hundred children.

4-year-olds who regularly ate dinner with their families had lower levels of obesity. Getting at least 10 and a half hours of sleep each night and limiting TV time to less than two hours each day also cut the risk for obesity.

These data were collected in 2005 on 8,550 children who were born in the U.S. in 2001. The date were collected as part of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort, a study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.


-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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Kids are staying heavy

FROM NBC: While childhood obesity is a serious problem, the number of American kids and teens who are overweight has remained steady over the past decade. BMI is a measurement of height and weight. Children are considered to have a high BMI if their growth chart places them at or above the 95th percentile.

10-percent of infants and toddlers have a high BMI, and roughly 18-percent of teenagers -- yet new research shows this number has remained stable for the past ten years.

The only exception is 6 to 19 year old boys -- who are heavier than ever before. Children with high BMI's often become obese adults -- leading to chronic conditions like diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

My comment on this story is a little random. I was watching the sitcom "The Middle" last night and it really bothered me that the family constantly eats fast food. I understand that it's supposed to be funny and I shouldn't take what they eat seriously. However, the show gives the impression that you can eat hamburgers and french fries for dinner every night and still look like the actors on the show (who are all thin.) I am probably being too sensitive, but I just don't like that part of the show. Has anyone else every noticed that?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

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No Birthday Cupcakes at school!

FROM CNN: Childhood obesity is reaching alarmingly high rates. One elementary school principal is taking matters into her own hands and imposing a sugar-free zone.

When it comes to preventing obesity, Browns Mill Elementary Principal Yvonne Sanders-Butler runs a tight ship. For the past decade she's declared the school a sugar-free zone, banning soda machines and even birthday cupcakes. "Childhood obesity- it's our tsunami, it's our Katrina, it's wall street today. If we're really thinking about the best interests about the young people today then we will take a stand," she said. Promoting a healthy diet isn't her only focus; students and staff get an hour of physical activity every day. Sanders-Butler says the approach is making a difference in the classroom.

Discipline complaints from teachers are down and reading test scores are up. Don't you want to know that the children we're educating today will truly be healthy enough to lead for tomorrow? Former students like Simone Davis are grateful for the sugar-free policy. "I was one of the heavier students in elementary school so I really lost a lot of weight and just became healthier overall," she said. -An important lesson with long-lasting results.

We do tend to have a lot of birthday treats at school. I try to bring fruit and crackers instead of cupcakes/cookies/Little Debbie products when I do snack day. However, I think it's okay to have a treat for birthdays. Maybe there are just so many kids at this school being mentioned that there would be too many cupcake days. I don't know. I do like the idea of schools promoting healthy eating habits!!

Do you think it's okay for kids to bring cupcakes on their birthday?

-NewsAnchorMom Jen

Childhood Obesity Study

You may have heard about a new study that shows a more positive outlook in the fight against childhood obesity. I must warn you, it's not that great of news, but anything positive is a good sign.

Here's the ABC version of the story:

Childhood obesity is a serious problem that can lead to serious health problems in adulthood. In recent years the number of obese children in the U.S. has increased, but a new study looking at the national trend over the past eight years shows some positive signs.

Brian Gordon is one of thousands who battled a weight problem as a child. He says it wasn't until he became active in sports that the pounds started dropping off. He said, "I gained a lot of weight in middle school and my parents got me into soccer, baseball and wrestling. Things like that."

Doctor Cynthia Ogden is an epidemiologist with the National Center for Health Statistics. She and her colleagues analyzed data from more than eight thousand children and teens ages two through nineteen who participated in national health surveys. Looking at body mass index from 1999 through 2006 they found obesity
levels are stabilizing.

Dr. Cynthia Ogden said, "This was true for boys and for girls. For whites, for African-Americans, for Mexican-Americans, and it was even true when we picked three different levels of high body mass index." 16.3% of U.S. children and teens are considered obese. While the numbers have not increased they also have not decreased, and certain ethnicities continue to be more likely to be obese. Dr.Ogden said,"By race ethnicity particularly among girls we see big disparities where about twenty-eight percent of African-American girls, twenty per cent of Mexican- American girls and about fourteen and a half percent of white teenage girls are overweight or obese."

Alisa Rank is worried about obesity problems. She said,"It's really important to get the education to kids to let them know what can happen if they're not getting exercise in the future. I don't think there's enough emphasis on that."

Dr. Ogden said, "The main concern for teenagers is that if you're too heavy as a teen you're likely to be obese as an adult and that can be a problem." Researchers are encouraged by the findings. they say the public health message remains the same. children and teens need a well balanced diet and regular physical activity.

The study appears this week in JAMA, Journal of the American Medical Association.

-NewsAnchorMom Jen