These days, state governors don’t have a lot of clout with the public. Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich has his corruption mess going on. And not long ago, Governor Eliot Spitzer of New York bowed out in shame after his infidelities. But his successor has a budget - and obesity - crisis he wants to tackle.
Governor David Paterson, the man who took Spitzer’s place, has an idea, and it’s not endearing him to many more people than the aforementioned public servants.
Governor Paterson wrote a special commentary for CNN.com explaining why he feels that we need to have an obesity tax. Like most of us, Paterson is worried about the epidemic that is childhood obesity. One way he wants to combat it is by taxing soft drinks, something he’s proposed in his latest state budget.
There’s a potential victim of childhood obesity that I bet you would have never considered: the horse racing industry.
Really? Childhood obesity is so pervasive, that it threatens the ability of race horse owners to find viable jockey.
According to Deborah Butler, a British college tutor and stable lad (a person who looks after the horses in a racing stable), found that a dwindling amount of teenagers are light enough or eager to take on the manual work of looking after horses.
Being a kid is tough. You’re dealing with puberty and peer pressure. It can all be so overwhelming. And sometimes those pressures can manifest themselves as anger.
Parents know all too well how kids can huff and puff, slam doors, or fight with siblings as an outlet for their frustrations. To compound things, overweight kids may be more susceptible to bullying, which in turn can make them more volatile.
Now, researchers have found that the best way to ease anger is by exercise. Exercise is known to help improve mood and reduce hostility in adults, so why not with kids? And if children are happier and calmer, they are sure to be less hostile.
“It may help children control their anger, and that might be because they’re in a better mood because they don’t get angry as much,” says Dr. Catherine L. Davis of the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta, the lead researcher on the study.
The proof came in two of three controlled groups of kids who were given 20 minutes of daily exercise, or 40 minutes of exercise for 10 to 15 weeks. The more a child’s fitness increased, the greater his or her anger was reduced.
I’m always fascinated by the political debate from the Left and Right over the free market and what role, if any, the government should play in our society. In full disclosure, I am one who leans a little to the Left on most issues, including the market. I don’t think that having sensible regulations means you are inherently against capitalism and all the wonderful things that it entails.
I’ll use a sports analogy to explain my views: I love football. But what would the NFL be if there were no referees?
I totally understand it’s a tightrope, and that too much oversight can be stagnating. But we’ve seen what too little oversight can do in the financial market.
Anyway, how does all this apply to dieting, you ask? Plenty.
There’s more happening in the public health realm that raises, what I find to be, the interesting debate/dilemma of the free market society that we live in. Researchers have found that banning fast food advertising on television in the United States could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent.
Dramatic Relief is another technique for lifestyle change that has been adopted by anti-obesity and healthy living campaigns. It has also been used frequently in anti-smoking campaigns. Dramatic Relief can be used no matter your goal, and is designed to help move you from the Contemplation stage to Determination and towards Action. Dramatic Relief works by creating an experience of increased emotion which is followed by a relief from that emotion if a step towards life change is taken. Dramatic experiences can include anything moving such as testimonies, psychodrama, and media campaigns. These type of ad campaigns use uncomfortable emotions, such as fear, disgust, or guilt, so people are motivated to do something not to feel this same way again.
It is the idea used in “reverse thinspiration,” or when someone puts a picture of themselves at their highest weight on the refrigerator. It’s the reason we call loved ones after watching a sappy movie or go clean the kitchen after reading an article about salmonella. It’s hard to imagine driving your kids through a fast food restaurant and not portioning their servings after driving by one of these billboards:
Obesity rates for children are out of control. About a third of American children are overweight and one-fifth are obese.
I think most people are aware of this news, since it’s been reported for quite some time. But if you need even more convincing of the gravity of the situation, check this out: doctors are finding that obese children (as young as 10) have the arteries of 45-year-olds! There have also been other heart abnormalities found that greatly raise their risk of heart disease.
Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, of Children’s Hospital in Kansas City, and her colleagues used painless ultrasound tests to measure the thickness of the wall of a major neck artery in 70 children, ages 10 to 16. Almost all had abnormal cholesterol and many were obese.
The kids’ “vascular age” was about 30 years older than their actual age, Raghuveer said.
So, next time you see a young kid who is “chubby,” don’t just think it’s baby fat. Some will turn out OK (actor Jerry O’Connell, above, is one famous example), but as this study shows, they could be compromising their future health.
Obesity is a problem in our country and sadly it is effecting many children. There are numerous complications associated with obesity, including diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, and depression. Due to this increased obesity occurrence in children, many have become dependent on medication to help control the severity of these health complications.
A recent study found some shocking results regarding children and medication use:
- The number of children taking drugs to treat chronic conditions increased across all treatment classes evaluated
- In use of blood pressure medications, lipid-lowering agents, diabetes drugs, and antidepressants, prevalence for youths 15-19 was at least two times greater than in 10- to 14-year-olds and three times greater than in youngsters 5 to 9
- Overall, girls took more blood pressure medication, even though boys are more likely to have hypertension
- Children more than doubled their use of type 2 diabetes medications between 2002 and 2005, with girls 10-14 showing a 166% increase
- The largest increases in high blood pressure treatments were seen in teens 15 to 19
I can’t believe it, but 2008 is nearly over. Sure, we still have two months, but it’s not too soon to consider the top 20 fitness trends for 2009!
An online survey was conducted by 1,540 professionals certified by The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). Here are my top five picks from the 20 trends. You can see the rest of the results, reported by exercise science expert Walter Thompson, PhD, FACSM, FAACVPR, Regent’s Professor at Georgia State University, at WebMD:
1. Childhood Obesity. Fitness programs will address childhood obesity. Let’s hope it exceeds all expectations - childhood obesity has all kinds of implications, including adult issues down the road.
2. Core Training. This workout trend is a bit underrated. Strengthening muscles in your abs and back stabilize your spine and makes the rest of your workout even more effective.
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