Disney was trying to send a good message!!! Not fair.

 Well, ladies and gentlemen it looks like even Disney is going to be shut down by critics. Disney had planned and developed an exhibit at the infamous Epcot Center called "Habit Heroes" that was to help parents and children learn how to fight bad habits. Parents could go through the interactive exhibit with their children and this could've been a positive learning tool. However, there were enough critics who thought that this exhibit would "stigmatized" fat children, so the exhibit was shut down before it could even open! Crazy, I know!! At least give the exhibit a chance to fail if you think that is what is going to happen. Oh well. If you would like to read more about the story, I have attached the article below that was posted on USA Today's website.



http://yourlife.usatoday.com/parenting-family/story/2012-03-01/Disney-closes-controversial-childhood-obesity-exhibit/53316366/1

                       Beautiful entrance to Epcot Center!

What do Kentuckians think about childhood obesity?

Hi, everyone! So being that I am from Kentucky, I thought it would be interesting to find some child obesity statistics for the state. The following is some of the information that I found! Did you know that in Kentucky, 37% of children ages 10–17 are overweight or obese, compared to 32% of children ages 10–17 across the nation. Kentucky has the second highest rate of childhood overweight and obesity in the U.S. Those statistics are alarming. Most individuals are too busy worrying about their own lives that they don't take the time to stop and look at our younger population and how their weight is changing everyday. After seeing those stats, The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky decided to ask the adult population of Kentucky two very important questions: 1) Some people say childhood obesity is a problem in Kentucky, while others do not. Would you say childhood obesity is a serious problem, a problem but not serious, or not a problem? and 2) Do you favor or oppose requiring schools to provide 30 minutes a day of physical activity or physical education to students? They responded with 55% saying that obesity in children is a serious problem, while 35% said it is a problem, but not serious. Really? 35%....that's a large number! We have to get these people over to the good side :) and 86% of the population that was asked about the second question said they strongly favor having at least 30 minutes of PA each day or a health education class with 9% saying they somewhat are in favor.

Hopefully, this is a good start to opening up people's eyes to reality!

Check out this article!!

Good morning to all! While doing my daily routine of reading the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics daily email, I noticed the link below. The caption for the link is, "Why is it so hard for kids to lose weight?" I immediately clicked on the link to find out more!!! It's a very interesting article that has a few personal stories in it that are great examples for parents of the overweight and obese children as well as some nice success stories for the children to help these children get inspired!!



http://mailer.eatright.org/t/12227/3706909/15263/37/

Where does your state stand??

(http://www.ncsl.org/Portals/1/oldsite/programs/health/obesitymap.jpg)

The above map of America shows the percentage of children who are obese in each state. Look to see where your state stands. Are you surprised??

It is a vicious cycle!

Above is a visual of the vicious cycle that is childhood obesity.

*Source:  http://www.knowabouthealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/obesity.jpg

So...what are the health effects of childhood obesity??

In my last post, I defined childhood obesity and gave you all some vital statistics on childhood obesity in America. This post is all about the health effects of obesity during childhood. And just to give you an idea of how the childhood obesity rate has changed over the year, I have added the chart below. In just 25 years, the percentage of children with a BMI of 30 or greater has went from 7% of 6-11 year-old children to 15.3%. For children ages 12-19, the percentage went from 5% to 15.5%! These numbers seem highly accurate once you look at the the activities of the youth from the 70s and 80s to what the youth is doing today.....which is usually video games, watching television, and/or on the internet/cellphones. 

Childhood obesity has not only immediate health and well-being effects on children, but also long-term effects. Some of the immediate effects are:

• Greater risk for cardiovascular disease i.e high cholesterol or high blood pressure.
• Obese children and adolescents are at a much higher risk of developing prediabetes.
• These children have a greater chance of having joint and bone density problems, as well as having low self esteem, depression, and sleep apnea.

Here are some of the long-term effects:

• Children and adolescents who are obese now are more than likely to be obese adults. In turn, they increase their chances of developing adult health problems such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, some cancers, and osteoarthritis. 
• Those who are overweight and obese increase their risk of developing many types of cancer, including cancer of the breast, colon, endometrium, esophagus, kidney, pancreas, gall bladder, thyroid, ovary, cervix, and prostate, as well as multiple myeloma and Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

So, if that isn't enough to frighten you, I guess I better keep posting!! But seriously, the youth of America needs to get outside and play as well as eat healthy snacks and kick the fast food habit!! 

WELCOME!!

In the United States, childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years! That statistic is nothing but appalling. The children of today are those who are going to shape the future. If they are unhealthy, obese, and have multiple health problems, how are we going to be able to rely on this children in the future when their own future is potentially uncertain due to their health?

Below are some facts about childhood obesity that are definitely worth giving a second thought:

• The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 20% in 2008. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to 18% over the same period.

• In 2008, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.

• Overweight is defined as having excess body weight for a particular height from fat, muscle, bone, water, or a combination of these factors. Obesity is defined as having excess body fat.

• Overweight and obesity are the result of “caloric imbalance”—too few calories expended for the amount of calories consumed—and are affected by various genetic, behavioral, and environmental factors.  

Well, that is it for my introductory blog! I hope that you keep coming back to find more statistics, information, and ways to decrease and  (hopefully) end childhood obesity!!

                                                                                                                                                     







**Source: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/obesity/facts.htm