"ChildhoodObesity" news and stories

The French have long inspired bafflement among researchers (and envy in the rest of the Western world) for their ability to scarf down the sort of high-fat cuisine that is at the heart of their national identity (beef bourguignon, foie gras) without packing on extra pounds or dropping dead, en masse, from heart attacks.

But that appears to be changing.

Faced with the news that the obesity rate in France has almost doubled in the past decade, president Nicolas Sarkozy announced in June that he was setting aside nearly 150 million euros to address the problem of the country's ever-expanding waistline, according to Global Post.

For more than 7,000 French students heading back to school, that means a new program aimed at increasing physical activity. (In English, it translates to "Morning Classes, Afternoon Sports"; no doubt it sounds better in French.)

As for the rest of the country, well...it seems the government is still scratching its head.

The man whose been tapped to lead the charge in France's latest battle of the bulge, Arnaud Basdevant, says the government's plan is to create new medical facilities to treat obesity, to implement some sort of prevention campaign, and, of course, to study the problem further.

The lack of a profound sense of urgency may at first seem like just another charming aspect of the French national character (like a penchant for transit strikes), but here they may have science to back them up. At 14.5 percent, the obesity rate among adults in France is roughly what the American rate was a full 30 years ago. (Today, the U.S. rate is more than twice that.)

So it seems that everyone in France has time for a few more buttery croissants.

Dr. Mehmet Oz and Rachael Ray. Photo: Jennifer Lawinski

Even presidents know it's hard to get kids to eat their vegetables.

Former President Bill Clinton told parents a gymnasium full of parents in Harlem Saturday that he shared their struggles with finding and committing to healthy eating. Getting kids to eat fruits and vegetables is hard, he said. "Especially in Harlem, where I can say we have a lot of other options and they all taste good."

The talk was part of the the New York City Wine and Food Festival's Weight Watcher's Fun and Fit in the City event, targeted at combating childhood obesity and promoting healthy eating for the city's kids. The ex-president's foundation is headquartered in Harlem, and its top priority in the U.S. is the fight against childhood obesity.

With childhood obesity at the front of everyone's minds, schools are under a great deal of pressure to be part of the solution. A charter school in Chicago is getting special attention for what they're doing to fight chidlhood obesity; and they're not just air-baking their French fries.

The Namaste school, located in a Chicago neighborhood that is dominated by minority students, faces obesity rates in children that are three to four times the national average. The school was conceived to address two of the most difficult educational and public health issues facing today's low-income, minority urban children -- lack of access to high-quality public education and childhood obesity. The word "namaste" is a common yoga term that is Hindu for "my inner light salutes your inner light." The school seeks to provide an environment that nourishes both the mind and the body of children.

Namaste uses a complete immersion approach. Training in health and nutrition and regular physical activity are integral components of the entire academic curriculum. The following are just some examples of what the school is doing:

• Walking School Buses - human-powered train that safely walks children to school
• Nutritious breakfasts
• Morning Movement exercises include stretches and yoga poses
• Students get a full hour of gym as well as outside reces
• Teachers build physical activity into lessons on reading, writing and arithmetic
• Nutrition is taught in the classroom
• In the cafeteria, a "creation station" at lunch is stocked with fresh fruit, vegetables and whole grains
• Parents get involved by receiving training in nutrition and having access to a weekly farmers market that Namaste sets up in the school.

It seems like their approach is working.

Following yesterday's story that plans are afoot to ban toys as a food promotion and celebrity endorsements the Sydney Morning Herald reports that campaigners are still not happy.

Activities are pressing for a total ban on junk food advertising and say that industry is 'playing around the edges'.

A spokesman a national pressure group (Parent's Jury) with more than 1000 members, said: "It's a positive move but it is not going to alleviate the concerns of parents. We believe that the only effective intervention in reducing childhood obesity levels is a total ban on advertising to children on television".

So the debate continues. I don't have any kids so maybe these concerns are more relevant today (I don't watch children's TV to see the ads or eat breakfast cereals aimed at children) but are there not wider considerations rather than a ban such as encouraging more exercise and nutrition education?

 

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Tonight TLC will begin airing a new series entitled, Honey, We're Killing the Kids!. The show will focus on 13 families from across the nation who's children's eating habits have become seriously unhealthy. A constant intake consisting of over sized portions of sugary, fat laden, low fiber foods has left these children inactive and at high risks for diabetes and heart disease.

Dr. Lisa Hark, who hosts the series, focuses on the cause of this epidemic in our country. She helps educate the families about how to make healthier food and activity choices that will benefit their lives for the longterm. She also uses a computer imaging program that takes a current picture of their child and fast forwards it into young adulthood to give the parents a frightening look at how obesity will shape their children.

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