Green Options » childhood obesity

A Case for Healthy School Lunches

Becky Striepe — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 19:30:21 +0000

The Child Nutrition Act is up for renewal and Congress has extended the deadline to early 2010. We’ve talked before about the pitiful school lunch situation in the U.S. and about how you can help advocate healthy lunches for healthy kids. What we haven’t really covered are the whys. Are the benefits of healthier lunches really worth the cost?

Green Books Campaign: Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run

Jennifer Lance — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 18:00:08 +0000

Editor’s Note: This review is part of the Green Books campaign. Today 100 bloggers are reviewing 100 great books printed in an environmentally friendly way. Our goal is to encourage publishers to get greener and readers to take the environment into consideration when purchasing books. This campaign is organized by Eco-Libris, a a green company working to green up the book industry by promoting the adoption of green practices, balancing out books by planting trees, and supporting green books. A full list of participating blogs and links to their reviews is available on Eco-Libris website.

Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run by Ann Kenrick is a book about sustainable school travel. Any parent, no matter the size of their child’s school, has witnessed the traffic jam and exhaust fumes associated with the start and end of the school day, but it wasn’t always so. According to Kenrick, if you picked a random group of 40-year-old and asked them how they traveled to school, over “90% will say they walked” to school. Let Me Out! How to enjoy the school run contemplates why school transportation trends have changed in such a short time and suggest methods to “reverse the trend.”

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Hypermedia and High Blood Pressure in Kids

Cate Nelson — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 12:27:16 +0000

Of course we know that childhood obesity is a problem. And children who are obese often have higher blood pressure.

But a new study shows a link between the amount of screen time a kid has and high blood pressure, no matter what size the child is.

We’ve known from previous studies that sedentary behaviors are linked to obesity, and that obesity is linked to high blood pressure, but this is the first time that we’ve linked those behaviors directly to elevated blood pressure.

The real worry here is that these kids only averaged 1.5 hours of TV a day, less than the two hours max that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends. It’s all the other “sitting around” behavior that can lead to high blood pressure.

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Kids, Obesity, and the Cookie Gene

Cate Nelson — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 12:00:00 +0000

In a study of 131 children, British researchers think they might have isolated a gene that affects obesity. Okay, so it’s not called the “cookie” gene. But the FTO gene may play a role in whether someone is satiated, or knows she is full. Lead author Jane Wardle says the results show:

Some children don’t know when to stop, which could lead to the onset of obesity and a lifetime of health problems.

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World Diabetes Day and a Moment of Outrage: Pfuck Phiser?

Jessica Gottlieb — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 18:09:28 +0000

Today is “World Diabetes Day” brought to you by:

Eli Lilly
Astra Zeneca
LifeScan
Insulet
Medtronic
Pfiser
Takeda

And a handful of others. You see, diabetes is big business, insulin costs and insurance will always pay. Diabetes is one of the many preventable diseases that mothers give their children.

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More Neighborhood Green Space May Reduce Childhood Obesity

Joel Bittle — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 04:26:17 +0000

A new study in the December 2008 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine suggests that an increase of green space in a neighborhood may decrease the chance for childhood obesity among neighborhood children.

In the study, researchers from the University of Washington, Indiana University-Purdue University and Indiana University School of Medicine followed more than 3800 children aged 3 to 16 over a two year period. Using satellite imagery, the researchers found that of the predominantly African-American and poor children studied, those who lived near greater concentrations of green space had a greater chance of lower body mass index (BMI.) Children whose activities were limited to streets and sidewalks faced greater risk of childhood obesity than those who had access to open spaces such as yards, parks, or vacant lots.

This study finds that what is good for adults may not be good for children. A previous study done by the same researchers found that higher urban concentrations led to less driving and more walking by adults, and a corresponding drop in BMI.

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