Overcome Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity is an ever growing problem for the health of our kids. Our mission is to teach children and their families how to manage their weight so they become healthy and active adults. These articles address many of the issues on this subject and provide tips for helping kids overcome this problem.
For more information on our program, please visit www.thataweighkids.com
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On July 12th the University of West Virginia announced a new study of over 20,000 fifth graders that showed that 30% of them had high cholesterol http://http://www.health.wvu.edu/newsreleases/news-details.aspx?ID=1524. Under present guidelines, only 70% of these children would have been tested and thus many with high cholesterol would have been missed. The doctors who did the study, and others, are now calling for universal cholesterol testing for children. Currently it is only done on kids considered at risk for high cholesterol. Untreated high cholesterol can lead to high blood pressure, heart attacks, and diabetes. The question is: what will be done with the information the test provides?
Parents of children with elevated cholesterol levels will be told to put them on a low fat diet and to have their kids exercise for 30 – 60 minutes a day. But, parents have been hearing this message for the past 10 years. If that advice was taken, America would not be in the midst of a childhood obesity epidemic. Our experience at That-a-Weigh Kids tells us that many parents know that being overweight is unhealthy for their kids. Many of the parents that call us already know that their kids have high cholesterol. They still buy the chips, soda, and cookies, however, and feed their children foods that are high in fat. They know their kids are at risk for a shortened life span. Dr. David S. Ludwig, director of the obesity program at Children’s Hospital Boston, said in a report in 2005 that, "Obesity is such that this generation of children could be the first basically in the history of the United States to live less healthful and shorter lives than their parents."
Parents must be ready to choose a healthy lifestyle for their children, or else giving them their children’s cholesterol numbers is a waste of time and money.
Parents know if their children need a healthier lifestyle. They and their kids must accept the challenge to eat healthier. That-a-Weigh Kids is ready to help all along the way. Call us at (904)887-0393 or visit our website at www.thataweighkids.com.
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