Childhood obesity
New study suggests children born via C-section twice as likely to become obese
A new study from a program at the Harvard Medical School reveals that children born via C-section may be twice as likely to become obese by age three than those born via vaginal delivery. However, more research is needed to determine whether there is a causal relationship, or something else causing the correlation.
Public Debate Over a Controversial Childhood Obesity Campaign
Approximately one-third of adults and 17 percent of children in the U.S. are obese. While this public health crisis has spawned a billion dollar diet industry, reality shows dedicated to weight loss, and the First Lady’s “Let’s Move” program, Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta didn’t think these were enough to discourage children from making unhealthy choices. […]
Flash Forward: Childhood Obesity and the Future of School Lunches
A 2011 University of Michigan study of more than a thousand middle school students found that those who regularly ate school lunches were 29 percent more likely to be obese than those who brought lunch from home. Of course, what a child eats for lunch is just one of many factors that determines whether he […]
Should Parents Lose Custody of Morbidly Obese Children?
An article published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association says the state should intervene in cases of morbidly obese children. The authors say that parents should lose custody in the most extreme cases of childhood obesity. This opinion has drawn criticism from several lawyers and members of the bioethics community. Arthur Caplan, […]
How to talk to your children about putting on weight
It seems that the issue of child obesity is everywhere. Clearly a major health issue, it is also a major self-esteem issue for children, which leads us to wonder: Is it possible to help our kids take off the extra pounds without giving them a complex?