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Obesity problem is abundantly clear

02 Aug 2009 - Preaching the News for Sunday

In the context of a harsh wilderness existence, it made sense to praise God for sending food from heaven "in abundance," as the psalmist does this Sunday. But in the context of affluent America, abundant food and poor eating and exercise habits have resulted in a tripling of the rate of severe childhood obesity in the U.S. in the past quarter century. A national focus on childhood obesity is "overdue," U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said Tuesday at a government meeting. Currently about one-third of kids are overweight or obese, putting them at risk for type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, asthma, depression, and a whole host of other health problems. About two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, which increases their risk of chronic diseases. "We are killing ourselves, and more importantly, we are killing our children," Sebelius said. "Children are not only becoming obese, but becoming severely obese," said Joseph Skelton, M.D., lead author of a report just published in Academic Pediatrics and director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) Program, part of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Changes need to be made in schools and communities across the country, said Sebelius. "Some say kids won't eat healthy foods. I don't think that's the case," she said. She pointed out that half the kids at one school in California eat at the salad bar because they like the fresh produce rather than "vegetables that looked like they have been saved for a month or so." And there are too many schools that don't offer physical education or even recess, she said. "That's not only bad for their health, but bad for their minds." Source: Articles by Nancy Hellmich for USA TODAY and by ScienceDaily.com

obesity childhood obesity kathleen sebelius joseph skelton
Get a move on, kids

14 Feb 2010 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Christ raised from the dead is “the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep,” we hear in this Sunday’s reading from 1 Corinthians. The large number of children more prone to junk food than fresh fruit and to fall asleep on the couch instead of going for a walk is leading to an epidemic of childhood obesity. Government fitness programs have thus far failed to turn the tide. Now First Lady Michelle Obama will try her hand at it. President Dwight D. Eisenhower tried to motivate kids to shape up when he created the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports in 1956. It’s been a losing battle ever since. Childhood obesity has been on the rise in recent decades, with 17 percent of children considered obese and about one in three of all children overweight. “Efforts like the president’s council have been overwhelmed over the years by trends in society that push kids in the other direction,” said Russell Pate, a professor of exercise science at the University of South Carolina. He cited a “triple whammy”--the advent of video games, the reliance on cars to get around, and the rise of a high-fat, fast-food diet--that undermines a healthy lifestyle for kids. In announcing her “Let’s Move” campaign Tuesday, Michelle Obama made clear that physical fitness is key to what she’s trying to do and that there is a role for the Eisenhower-era fitness council. Besides getting kids to exercise, the campaign aims to help parents and schools make better food choices and also healthy food more available and affordable. More than obesity is at stake, according to a new study. Kids drawn to sweeter-than-cola drinks are also more likely to have a family history of alcoholism and depressive symptoms. “We know that sweet taste is rewarding to all kids and makes them feel good,” said lead researcher Julie Mennella, a developmental psychobiologist at Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia. “In addition, certain groups of children may be especially attracted to intense sweetness due to their underlying biology.” The results don’t mean a child who likes ultra-sweetened foods will become an alcoholic. They only suggest a link between sweet preference and family members with alcoholism. “At this point, we don’t know whether this higher ‘bliss point’ for sweets is a marker for later alcohol use,” Mennella said. Source: Jeanna Bryner for LiveScience.com and Frederic J. Frommer for the Associated Press

Children let’s move sweetness julie mennella physical fitness michelle obama childhood obesity united states Alcoholism russell pate
School kids benefit from junk food bans

19 Aug 2012 - Preaching the News for Sunday

Food good for the soul is front and center in this Sunday’s readings, while food not good for the body is front and center for doctors and nutritionists whoe are alarmed by the fact that nearly 40 percent of elementary-school children are overweight, about half of whom are obese. A new study suggests that laws strictly curbing school sales of junk food and sweetened drinks may play a role in slowing childhood obesity, the first evidence such efforts could pay off. In the first reading this Sunday we hear that “Wisdom has spread her table,” while the psalmist invites us to “taste” the goodness of the Lord. And as “the living bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus promises that “the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” But, as Alice Camille points out in this Sunday’s issue of "Exploring the Word," “In our eat-and-run culture, we no longer intuitively accept that meals are a kind of covenant. . . . Burgers shared out of a bag in the car from front seat to back is not quite the same thing.” While it would be difficult to regulate fast-food sales to the general public, at least in schools nutritionists have a fighting chance, and this latest data may give them more ammunition in the fight against obesity. If the laws have even a tiny effect, "What are the downsides of improving the food environment for children today?" asked Dr. David Ludwig, an obesity specialist at Harvard Medical School and Boston Children's Hospital. “You can't get much worse than it already is.” Children in the study gained less weight from fifth through eighth grades if they lived in states with strong, consistent laws versus no laws governing snacks available in schools. For example, kids who were 5 feet tall and 100 pounds gained on average 2.2 fewer pounds if they lived in states with firm laws in the three years studied. Also, children who were overweight or obese in fifth grade were more likely to reach a healthy weight by eighth grade if they lived in states with the toughest laws."This is the first real evidence that the laws are likely to have an impact," said Dr. Virginia Stallings, director of the nutrition center at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Stallings chaired an Institute of Medicine panel that urged standards for making snack foods and drinks sold in schools more healthful but was not involved in the new research. Source: An article by Lindsey Tanner for the Associated Press

Children obesity fast food childhood obesity junk food virginia stallings david ludwig sweetened drinks
Obesity declines among lower-income families' children

11 Aug 2013 - Preaching the News for Sunday

"Blessed are those servants whom the master finds vigilant on his arrival," Jesus says in the Sunday gospel, singling out "the faithful and prudent steward whom the master will put in charge of his servants to distribute the food allowance." Better stewardship of food in the fridge and on the table on the part of parents has contributed to a decline in the obesity rate among preschool-age children from poor families in the past three years, federal health officials said Tuesday.Children from poor families have had some of the nation’s highest rates of obesity. One in eight preschoolers in the United States is obese. Among low-income children it is one in seven. The rate is much higher for blacks (one in five) and Hispanics (one in six). The new findings represent the first time a major government report has shown a consistent pattern of decline for low-income children after decades of rising rates.“We’ve seen isolated reports in the past that have had encouraging trends, but this is the first report to show declining rates of obesity in our youngest children,” said Dr. Thomas R. Frieden, director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which prepared the report. “We are going in the right direction for the first time in a generation.”The cause of the decline remains uncertain, but researchers offered theories, including an increase in breast-feeding, a drop in calories from sugary drinks, and changes in the food offered in federal nutrition programs for women and children. In interviews, parents suggested that they have become more educated in recent years and are more aware of their families’ eating habits and of the health problems that can come with being overweight.Homily hint: The good news that obesity rates are falling for children from poorer families demonstrates that public education campaigns do make a difference. Years ago schools and families did not think twice about offering all sorts of unhealthy snacks to children. Nowadays wiser stewardship is prevailing, and kids are benefiting. Source: An article by Sabrina Tavarnise for the New York Times

obesity centers for disease control and prevention childhood obesity poor children poor families thomas r frieden preschool aged children