Archive for April, 2010
childhood obesity quiz
About.com has useful information on childhood obesity. One of their sub-topics is the Obesity Quiz. The Quiz has different levels on obesity. I decided to do all 20 questions and test my own knowledge. My overall score was 64%. I thought I knew plenty on serving sizes and symptoms; but I was wrong. The quiz gives you the correct answers and it can also be found with-in their tutorials.
Take the obesity quiz the information might surprise you. Copy and paste the link in the search engine and then select the level you want to begin with.
http://pediatrics.about.com/library/newquiz/bl_obesity_quiz.htm
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Why would a woman want to achieve a goal to weight 1000 pounds?
A month ago there was footage on the news, and for those who missed it; You Tube has several videos on Donna Simpson. Currently, Michelle Obama is increasing awareness with her obesity campaign. Mrs. Simpson on the other hand is working on the opposite health guidelines. She is increasing obesity awareness in a controversial way.
Donna Simpsons goal is to become the fattest women in America. Weighing over 600 pounds she has already beat the record for being the biggest women in America. Her goal is to be 1000 pounds within two years. She has viewers follow her on her website to watch her eat in abundance, struggle to move, and view her naked photos.
Why would any woman want to object themselves to become morbidly obese? Mrs. Simpsons answer is simply for entertainment. She loves having people watch over- eat and stuff herself with unhealthy foods.
She further talks about her fiancé who supports and encourages her to continue with her weight gain. She has offers from several individuals who purchase her food, gift cards, and receives access to credit card information to stock up her refrigerator. The grocery bill costs around $750 a week. She is not concerned about her health. She is ignoring the consequences of any diseases or serious illnesses that can occur in the future.
Being overweight is not something to be proud of. I feel that she is grabbing the attention of the public for all the wrong reasons. This should not be treated as an embrace to her success in becoming the biggest mom in America.
The future of her child is being viewed to have her accept that obesity is fine. Reality check; being obese is a constant struggle and can harm ones health.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )Head Start helps children fight obesity
The Head Start program is a preschool for children from three to five years-old. The preschool has started to implement a nutritional program that includes teachers and families. The program comes from the University of Los Angeles. The program provides food activities for parents to practice at home as well.
They have teachers promote games that include healthier eating habits. For example, they have a pyramid game where they match the food group with-in the pyramid. It teaches them about serving sizes and eating healthy foods.
The program provides foods that they can practice in the class room. Children cut their own tomatoes and lettuce to make their own fish tacos.
The teachers receive incentives when they lose pounds. They are involved in workshops in which they receive cooking activities. Teachers cook meals that are related to the food pyramid as well.
This is a new curriculum that was introduced in March 2010. Head Start received a grant and they are using it to fight against obesity. It also helps parents recognize that there are several ways to eat healthy.
Head Start is a low-income program and it assists families who can not afford daycare. For further information families can visit their website at www.sccoe.org.
Read Full Post | Make a Comment ( None so far )TAX THE SODA
Currently in Atlanta there was a study done to tax soda in hopes to reduce childhood obesity. Not everyone agrees that there should be a tax on soda. Taxing soda between 12 to 24 cents I do not think will make a significant change.
Ronald Strum and his colleagues used a national survey from 2004 on 7,300 fifth graders to research on the changes in soda consumption when the taxes were raised. They found no significant decrease in consumption if the taxes were raised up to 12 cents. Even with an income of 25,000 or less families showed to cut down one soda a week.
I do not believe that by taxing the manufacturer it will make families buy less sugar or energy drinks. Tax does not have an impact on purchasing a product unless it is over 24 cents for a bottle of soda. Making a carbonated drink more expensive does not always mean people will not purchase the item they will probably purchase a less quantity of it.
Carbonated sodas and energy drinks are targeted to children. Certain states feel that there should be a tax to decrease the purchases of these products. This is one strategy that is trying to change what children drink but is it affective enough? I still believe that finding a minimum of an hour a day for a child to exercise indoors or outdoors can help maintain a child actively healthy.
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Childrens Healthcare Blog 