Dr. Brian McCrindle, a cardiologist at The Hospital for Sick Children
in Toronto, has just told told the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress of
2009 the results of a seven-year ongoing study examining over 20,000
Canadian grade 9 students. The results are "evidence of an accelerating
decline in the heart health of Canada's teens" according to McCrindle,
showing as they do that most of those teens already have at least one
major risk factor for heart disease and stroke.
The study investigating the teens' heart health, between 2002 and 2008,
involved 20,719 grade 9 students aged 14 and 15 years. It was found
that the teens' rates of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and
obesity were higher than they should ever be for that age group and
that the rates were increasing over time.
Dr. Beth Abramson, Heart and Stroke Foundation spokesperson, says "An
increase of this magnitude in this age group is astonishing." and she
also says, "These children are in grave danger ... of developing
long-term health effects such as premature heart disease and type 2
diabetes."
The healthy lifestyle that would address this issue is not one that is
universal, by any means. Neither is it the easiest one to stick to, or
the most "fun". The pressure to eat according to the big corporations
profit margin needs rather than heart health needs is enormous. Think
about all the ads you see for various fast foods, and how very often
you see them. They are indeed omnipresent, from McDonald's "I'm Lovin'
It" to KFC's "We Do Chicken Right", and the least healthy food choices,
like some sugar-laden breakfast cereals are the ones most aggressively
marketed directly to children as young as age two, according to a new
study from Yale University in New Haven, Conn.
Lead researcher Jennifer L. Harris, director of marketing initiatives
at Yale's Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, says "The total
amount of breakfast cereal marketing to children on television and
computer screens, and at their eye-level in stores, combined with the
appalling nutrient profile of the cereals most frequently marketed is
staggering." Check the list below, because if you feed any of these to
your kids, you're helping them get a great head start on the road to
obesity, poor heart health and diabetes. According to the Yale study,
here are the sugar facts for five popular cereals:

Cocoa Puffs: 44 per cent sugar
Cap'n Crunch: 44 per cent sugar
Froot Loops: 41 per cent sugar
Lucky Charms: 41 per cent sugar
Cinnamon Toast Crunch: 32 per cent sugar

Again, according to the Yale study, "The average pre-schooler sees 642
cereal ads per year on television alone, almost all for cereals with
the worst nutrition rankings." Combating such pressure takes the
involvement of the whole family to start with and needs to move outward
to the whole community. Of course, with profit margin on the line,
getting the whole community onside, including the big corporations is
probably going to take something damn near apocalyptic, so it falls
back on the family above all to save the next generation from being the
first to start succumbing to health problems normally associated with
old age, like stroke, before their parents do.
There is simply nothing to beat the effectiveness of example. When the
parent sits on the couch and orders the child to go exercise, it's much
less effective then when the parent laces up their own Reeboks and
leads the whole group out the door for an hour of physical exertion. I
know all about the demands of today's busy life, but I'm not just
indulging in facile advice-giving. I've talked the talk and walked the
walk, myself. There is no easy, quick solution to the problem of
childhood obesity, but there is one that you can make into family fun.
The list of "fun" activities is just about endless, and all it takes is
a little willingness from the parent(s). Stomping purposely through
every puddle you can find on a rainy day, kicking your feet through the
fallen leaves in the local park, staging a good old-fashioned snowball
fight in the midst of a thick snowfall ... about the only limit to the
list is your imagination. It really does work magic to make the
onerous "fun" and if you need any proof of that or maybe a little
start-up inspiration for your efforts to save the health of a kid you
care about - not to mention your own health - try watching the video
below. You'll find yourself viewing "The Piano Staircase" from the good
folks at the fun theory site, who feel sure that "something as simple
as fun is the easiest way to change people’s behaviour for the better."
Fighting for your kids' health might have you feeling at times like
you're bucking the whole world, but armed with a smile or two, you just
might win the battle.

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Posted By aka.alias to aka.alias at 10/27/2009 04:47:00 PM