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Direct from the AMA morning newsletter, I am happy to share this news with everyone! By working together and pooling resources to educate as many mothers about this problem, we are finally seeing some improvement (albeit small) on the childhood obesity front (see below) We have a long way to go to "Turn the Tide" but at least we're heading in the right direction. Very exciting!! On another note, sadly, 2 studies found that children with food allergies, or those seeking treatment for weight loss, reported bullying mainly by peers, including threatening the food-allergic kids with the food that they are allergic to.The studies found that the children who were victimized due to weight also reported parental bullying and continued bullying in school even after they lost weight! This is crazy! We must teach our children to love one another no matter what our apparent external differences may be. The world will be a better place when/if we do. Please consider talking with your kids about this asap! Thanks! Obesity down among young children from poor families. The New York Times (12/26, Tavernise, Subscription Publication) reports that research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association "has found modest declines in obesity among 2- to 4-year-olds from poor families, a dip that researchers say may indicate that the obesity epidemic has passed its peak among this group." The new "study, by researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, drew on the height and weight measurements of 27 million children who were part of the federal Women, Infants and Children program, which provides food subsidies to low-income mothers and their children up to the age of 5." Heidi M. Blanck, one of the study's authors and the acting director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity at the CDC, said, "The declines we're presenting here are pretty modest, but it is a change in direction." The Los Angeles Times (12/26, MacVean) "Booster Shots" blog reports, "The more than 26 million children whose data was included in the study were ages 2 to 4. The prevalence of obesity increased from 13% in 1998 to 15.2% in 2003, but declined to 14.9% in 2010; extreme obesity went from 1.75% in 1998 to 2.2% in 2003, to 2.07% in 2010." Bloomberg News (12/26, Ostrow) reports, "Researchers attributed the decline to greater awareness of health problems caused by obesity as well as an increase in breastfeeding, which research has shown can reduce the risk." Blanck said, "We're optimistic that with recent investments and recent initiatives we'll continue to see these numbers decline." Also covering the story are Reuters (12/26, Pittman) and WebMD (12/20, Mann).
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A recent study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found that mice exposed to dim and bright light at night gained more weight than those not exposed to the light despite having the same physical activity and being fed the exact same amount of food. Per the article, 'Dim light-exposed mice ate 55.5% of their food during bright-light hours compared with 36.5% among those on a normal light-dark cycle. This level of daytime food consumption correlated with body mass and impaired glucose tolerance (both P<0.01). A second experiment in which food was only available during certain times showed that putting food out only during the normal nighttime eating hours prevented the excess weight gain and fat gain associated with dim light exposure'.
These finding implicate the disruption of circadian rythem as yet another possible contributor to obesity. Remember, obesity in and of itself, is a risk factor for many different cancers (pancreatic, breast, ovarian, prostate...to name a few) as well as multiple cardiovascular disease (heart attacks, stroke, etc). I recently read another article (see below) that showed that sleeping 8-9 hours a night burned more calories and led to lower BMIs (body-mass index, a weight to height ratio) than sleeping 4-5 hours at night. So, obviously, uninterrupted sleep in a dark environment appears to be an important piece of the obesity puzzle. See the link below for a more detailed summary of the article. http://www.medpagetoday.com/PrimaryCare/Obesity/22689?utm_content=GroupCL&utm_medium=email&impressionId=1286954957227&utm_campaign=DailyHeadlines&utm_source=mSpoke&userid=267423 |
AuthorDr. Maltz earned a Medical Degree and Master in Public Health from the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) in Galveston, TX. She completed a combined Internal and Preventive Medicine Residency at UTMB in June, 2011. She then completed a 2-year Integrative Medicine Fellowship at Stamford Hospital in Stamford, CT, during which she simultaneously underwent an intensive 1000-hour curriculum created by The University of Arizona Integrative Medicine Program founded by Dr. Andrew Weil. Archives
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