New Research on Children's Obesity Risk

Two new studies I saw this week peaked my interest. One study was in the June issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition and showed that women who gained too much weight during pregnancy may increase their children's risk of becoming overweight or obese. The researchers looked at records of over 10,000 women and children and found that mothers who gained more than the current recommended amount of weight during their pregnancies were 48% more likely to have children that were overweight by the time they were 7 years old than other children.

Currently the Institute of Medicine recommends 25-35 pounds of weight gain for normal weight pregnant women and 15-25 pounds for women who were overweight upon getting pregnant. Women who are underweight can gain as much as 40 pounds.

The researchers speculate that when women gain too much weight while pregnant their blood sugar levels are higher than desired and the developing pancreatic cells of the fetus may be overstimulated, leading to higher birth weight and risk of diabetes later in life.

The other study I found interesting on a similar topic was in the Journal of Physiology, but this study was done on rats. The researchers found that when the rats were fed junk food while pregnant and nursing (don't ask me what "junk food" for rats is...probably similar to human junk food), their offspring were overweight, had high blood sugar, cholesterol, and decreased insulin sensitivity, signaling diabetes. The offspring also tend to prefer high fat, high salt, and high sugar foods because those are the flavors they were used to tasting. Since it would be unethical to feed junk food to pregnant women, we have to rely on rat studies for some of this kind of research.

Other studies show that the flavors of the foods eaten while pregnant and breastfeeding get into the milk. What better incentive to eat your vegetables? If you eat them while pregnant and nursing, your babies will already be familiar with the flavors and are much more likely to accept them later.

Ladies, let's use pregnancy as a time to get our bodies as healthy as possible and not as an excuse to eat junk! Your kids will thank you (OK..maybe not, but their health will be much better!).

Photo courtesy of dailymail.co.uk

Labels: childhood obesity, overweight, Tara Gidus

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Turn It Off

We are mid-week through "TV Turnoff Week," a week devoted to turning off the television and focusing on other activities instead of zoning out in sedentary fashion in front of the boob tube. The Center for Screen-Time Awareness started TV Turnoff Week, and their mission is to provide information so people can live healthier lives in functional families in vibrant communities by taking control of the electronic media in their lives, not allowing it to control them. Even though we are halfway through the week, you can still participate! Start tonight!

Interesting stats (courtesy of TV-Free America):

• 66% of Americans watch TV while eating dinner on a regular basis
• 70% of daycares use TV during a typical day
• 50% of children aged 6-17 have a TV in their bedroom
• Average American youth watches 1,500 hours per year of TV (they only spend 900 hours in school)
• An average child spends 1,680 minutes watching TV
• A parent spends 3.5 minutes per week in meaningful conversation with their children

Studies show some other interesting correlations:

• Girls who had a TV in their room ate few vegetables, spent less time exercising, drank more sugared drinks, and ate fewer meals with their families
• Boys who had a TV in their room spent less time reading books and doing homework, ate less fruit, had lower GPA's, and ate fewer meals with their families
• A study on kids with hypertension found that those with high blood pressure watched an hour more per day of TV than kids with normal blood pressure
• When researchers cut screen time in half, the kids developed a healthier body mass index and ate fewer calories
  

What to do when the TV is off:

• Go for a walk
• Call a friend
• Write a letter to a friend or relative (maybe Grandma doesn't have email)
• Take a nature hike
• Visit a botanical garden (I don't think it is a coincidence that Earth Day was also this week)
• Plan and cook a healthy dinner together as a family
• Meet some friends to play soccer, basketball, or your favorite sport
• Visit the library and start reading a good book
• Plant some flowers

Check out www.familytabletime.com for ideas on how to interact with your children at mealtime.

Photo courtesy of Aaronyx

Labels: children, overweight, Tara Gidus, television

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