With a potential for 300 calories or more coming from your child’s sugary drink, it’s no wonder studies are being undertaken to find ways to decrease this type of beverage intake in adolescent populations.
Yet decreasing the amount of calories adolescents drink on a daily basis doesn’t have to be that difficult. Simply letting kids know what those calories mean may be all it takes.
Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health recently reported in the American Journal of Public Health that providing African American adolescents with the facts about some of their favorite high-calorie drinks dramatically reduced how much they drank by 40%. Even better, letting the kids know how much physical activity it would take to burn off one drink resulted in a 50% decrease in high-calorie beverage consumption.
Apparently, adolescents, just like adults, want to better visualize what’s in their food. By showing the impact calories play on our daily lives, its much easier to see why getting just the right amount is important.
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A new season of MTV’s “I Used to be Fat” starts October 11, 2011. This hit show had viewers glued to the screen last year as young adults embarked on intense life transformations.
The show is a documentary series highlighting overweight teenagers the summer before they start college. The profiled teens are desperate to shed pounds and are surprised by a fitness expert knocking at their door to help them accomplish their goals.
The teens go through intense fitness regimens and work alongside experts to learn how to make lifestyle changes. They also begin to understand the habits that caused them to gain so much weight in the first place.
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Tune in to Dr. Drew’s Life Changers, his new daytime talk show, today, September 26th, as two former American Idols join Dr. Drew in helping two teens fight in their weight loss battle.
Together, through rigorous boot camps and new meal plans, former contestants Stefano Langone and Pia Toscano join two teen girls as they begin their journey to health.
Parenting is the most difficult, most important job you are ever going to have. While there are many happy, feel-good moments, there are also painful and uncomfortable moments; it’s all part of being a parent. Traditionally, one of the most uncomfortable moments for a parent was thought to be the discussion of “the birds and the bees”. While talking to your kids about where babies come from may be difficult, a recent study has revealed that there is another conversation that parents dread more.
The idea of talking to your kids about maintaining a healthy weight is so frightening for parents that more than 20 percent admit to never broaching the subject at all, according to research from the Raising Fit Kids study, a partnership between webMD and Stanford University. Compare that to 5 percent who are uncomfortable discussing alcohol, drugs, and smoking; 10 percent of parents who are uncomfortable discussing sex; and nearly 25 percent of parents who are uncomfortable discussing weight and health. It is probably the same 20 percent of parents that seem to believe that the pediatrician should be the one responsible for discussing health and weight with their children.
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There is a new theory about the cause of the childhood obesity epidemic. Seattle-based pediatrician Robert A. Pretlow M.D.’s 10-year research was recently published in the peer-reviewed medical journal, “Eating Disorders,” under the title “Addiction to Highly-Pleasurable Food as a Cause of the Childhood Obesity Epidemic: A Qualitative Internet Study.” He has also released his full findings in book format in “Overweight: What Kids Say: What’s Really Behind the Childhood Obesity Epidemic.” The study suggests that children are displaying symptoms of addiction to salty, sugary, and/or fatty foods causing over-eating behaviors initially and obesity eventually.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual requires that at least three of the seven following symptoms are demonstrated for a diagnosis of dependence, which is more commonly understood as “addiction”:
- Tolerance – the need for more of a substance to obtain the same effect
- Withdrawal – physical or psychological symptoms accompanying decreased use
- Increased use over time
- Unsuccessful attempts and/or desire to decrease intake
- Time spent obtaining, using, and recovering from substance
- Neglecting other activities for substance
- Continued use despite adverse consequences
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With a potential for 300 calories or more coming from your child’s sugary drink, it’s no wonder studies are being undertaken to find ways to decrease this type of beverage intake in adolescent populations.
