Jump 'n Jammin Children's entertainemnt Center. Open 7 days a week for family fun, birthday parties in Los Angeles and Orange County. Voted "Best" by Nickelodeon Parents' Picks.

CHILDREN'S HEALTH ARTICLES YOU'VE GOT TO READ!
Childhood Obesity Causes

There are many factors that contribute to causing child and adolescent obesity - some are modifiable and others are not.

Modifiable causes include:
Physical Activity - Lack of regular exercise.
Sedentary Behavior - High frequency of television viewing, computer usage, and similar behavior that takes up time that can be used for physical activity.
Socioeconomic Status - Low family incomes and non-working parents.
Eating Habits - Over-consumption of high-calorie foods. Some eating patterns that have been associated with this behavior are eating when not hungry, eating while watching TV or doing homework.
Environment - Some factors are over-exposure to advertising of foods that promote high-calorie foods and lack of recreational facilities.
Non-changeable causes include:
Genetics - Greater risk of obesity has been found in children of obese and overweight parents.

By: American Obesity Association (link)
Children Need More Play!
We know that active play improves school performance, concentration, mood and behavior. We know that obesity in children is skyrocketing. HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson’s report, "Physical Activity Fundamental to Preventing Disease," estimates that more than a quarter of a million Americans die each year as a result of a sedentary lifestyle. Current recommendations for children are clear: an average of at least 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) per day. How much do children actually play at school? The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) has monitored 3rd graders at 10 different study sites across the U.S. The astonishing results, published in the February 2003 issue of the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, should be a call to action. Children averaged only 25 minutes per week of MVPA at school -- compared to a total of at least 420 minutes per week that children need. We need to change our schools! In the meantime, one of our most important jobs as parents is to get our kids moving. Active play is fun. It's also fundamental to healthy minds and bodies.
By: Alan Greene MD FAAP
Physical Activity Guidelines for Babies through Teens
Whether your child is a baby or a teen, now is the best time to be sure that active, physical play is a part of her life for at least 30 minutes every day. Childhood obesity in the US has doubled in the last 20 years. February 2002 guidelines released by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education draw on evidence of benefit from over 40 scientific studies to urge those caring for children to be mindful each day of encouraging movement and motor skills. Boring calisthenics are not what the doctor orders. Instead, look for anything fun that gets kids walking, running, rolling, balancing, jumping, kicking, throwing, or dancing. If they're too young for these, engage them in tummy-time or playing with a rattle. One of our important tasks as parents is to teach a lifelong habit of active fun.
By: Alan Greene MD FAAP
Video Games and Obesity, Best Evidence Yet That Electronic Game Use is Associated with Childhood Obesity

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - A new study adds to the evidence that sedentary behaviors are linked to childhood obesity and sheds light on the world-wide dimension of the problem. In a study published in the June issue of the journal Obesity Research, researchers from The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University Hospital Zurich present a strong association between playing electronic video games and childhood obesity in school-aged Swiss children. The researchers also found that obesity was associated with television watching, paternal smoking and mother's working outside the home.

"The goal of this study was to identify environmental and behavioral factors, in particular type and duration of sedentary activities, associated with obesity in children living in Switzerland," said Nicholas Stettler, M.D., M.S.C.E., a pediatric nutrition specialist at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and primary investigator of this study. "To our knowledge this study provides the strongest evidence for an independent association between time spent playing electronic games and childhood obesity. Our findings suggest that the use of electronic games should be limited to prevent childhood obesity."

The research team measured 872 children in first, second, and third grades enrolled in 10 schools in northeastern Switzerland. A physician and medical assistant administered questionnaires to the children. Questions assessed age, sex, nationality, number of siblings, smoking status of parents, television programs regularly watched, amount of time playing electronic games, breakfast consumption, watching television during meals and snacking while watching television. Teachers estimated the amount of physical activity. The researchers defined obesity using both skinfold thickness and body mass index (BMI) to provide a more direct assessment of overweight and overfat status.

In this study, children of foreign nationality living in Switzerland were about twice as likely to be obese as Swiss children. Non-Swiss children watched more television and had less physical activity, suggesting that the disparity in obesity prevalence between Swiss and foreign children may be partially amenable to culturally sensitive interventions.

Obesity was independently associated with the time spent playing electronic games and the time spent watching television and was inversely associated with physical activity. The association of obesity with television use and lack of physical activity confirms results from other populations and points to potential strategies for obesity prevention.

"Evidence-based prevention of childhood obesity requires the identification of modifiable risk factors," said Dr. Stettler. "Because obesity is difficult to treat once it has been established, obesity prevention during childhood is an essential component of the efforts to combat this global epidemic and further research on obesity prevention is necessary."
By: Dr. Stettler's co-authors were Theo M. Signer, M.D. and Paolo N. Suter, M.D., M.Ph., of the Medical Policlinic, Department of Medicine, University Hospital Zurich, Switzerland.
Exercise Guidelines Out of Touch?
Experts agree that this is the most sedentary generation of children in history. Computers, television, and video games combine to decrease children's activity. Current guidelines for activity levels were designed for adults -- another case of 'one-size-does-not-fit-all'. The CDC and the American College of Sports Medicine call for all Americans to get 30 minutes of moderate physical activity daily. A study in the September 2001 online issue of Pediatrics used heart monitors to actually measure the activity levels of 1900 representative children ages 3 to 17. They averaged 30 minutes daily of high intensity exercise plus another 60 minutes of moderate exercise daily -- more than 3 times the recommended levels -- in a generation of children growing more obese each year. I believe that children thrive with more activity than the levels suggest, probably about 2 hours of moderate to high-intensity activity daily. They're designed with energy to burn for a reason!
By: Alan Greene MD FAAP
Tele-tubbies: Too Much TV Linked To Childhood Obesity - British researchers have some advice for reducing the risk of childhood obesity: Turn off the tube.

As published in the British Medical Journal by researchers of Glasgow University, eight factors that increase the chance of obesity by age seven were detailed.

The study included over 8000 seven-year-olds whose height, weight, and body mass index (BMI) were measured. Then researchers looked for common factors among the overweight children.

The researchers said the findings supported the theory that early childhood environment has an impact on later childhood obesity.

They also emphasized the importance of sleep and physical activity.

"Duration of night-time sleep may alter later risk of obesity through growth hormone secretion, or because sleep reduces the child's exposure to factors in the environment that promote obesity, such as food intake in the evening," the researchers said.

It was also suggested that increased physical activity during the day would promote longer sleeping at night
By: Jason Lee Miller - Staff Writer