There are three out of 1000 American children who are born with hearing loss at a detectable level on one or both ears. Many of these children are not getting the proper help and might be at risk for behavioral, emotional, and learning difficulties. Watching for signs helps you execute hearing loss intervention when it matters most.
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Kids seem to have an endless supply of energy. They come back from school, run straight to practice, come back home and still want to play with their friends outside. Therefore, worrying about your kids having too much physical activity is not entirely surprising.
The sad reality is that most children aren’t getting nearly enough exercise to begin with. Their desire to run around is only a natural response to their increased energy levels, so in most cases you should just let them run their course.
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With childhood obesity on the rise, more and more parents are looking for ways to keep their kids active and fit. The process starts at home with fridges and pantries that are devoid of the fat- and sugar-laden, processed foods that populate store shelves these days. Instead, parents must work a little harder to provide nutritious and balanced meals that will give kids the energy they need to face each day without the spike and crash that comes from soda and sugary snacks.
But of course, diet is only part of the equation when it comes to the health of your kids. You also need to get them outdoors and running around if you want them to remain active and fit throughout their childhood and beyond. So here are just a few ways to pry them away from their video games and social media and get them on track for some physical fun.
Summer is the perfect time to get out of the house to enjoy some fresh air and exercise. Fitness is a lifelong investment that starts in childhood. Developing healthy fitness habits early promotes healthy behaviors, improves self-esteem and facilitates wellness throughout life.
Always remember that parents are the best role model for both inspiring an active fitness lifestyle, and also for promoting safety as a top priority in sports and recreation. The best thing parents can do for their kids, is to stay happy, healthy, and active.
Children as young as two benefit from fitness activities. Toddlers like to explore and they play to learn more about their world. They prefer unstructured play such as running, swinging, climbing, kicking a ball, and playing in the sand box. Toddlers also enjoy interacting with peers to improve socialization skills.
If you drink milk, and you’re not a hard-gainer trying to pack on muscle mass, your milk should be low fat – skim or 1%. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said recently that nearly 73% of kids and teenagers consume milk, which is good, but then only around 20% of them tend to consume the low-fat variety. In fact, about 45% of them choose reduced-fat milk (2 percent), while 32% claim to regularly consume whole-fat milk.
 Drink Milk? |
I’ve been complaining about this for years, and I’m glad someone is finally echoing my sentiments. For babies and toddlers I can see using whole or 2% milk, because they need a ton of good nutrition to grow up strong. However, I have always believed that kids in pre-k, k, and elementary school should switch to 1% or skim milk. There really is no need to add extra milk fat into a child’s diet, not when American kids are clearly, on average, the most obese children in the world.
Researchers and experts collectively agree that the low consumption of low-fat milk implies that most kids and teenagers don’t live by the recommendations of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics, who state that kids ages 2 and older should drink low-fat milk. Recent efforts by both First Lady Michelle Obama, and the Surgeon General promote the consumption of low-fat milk and water over sweetened beverages. Adhering to these suggestions will help you and your child avoid dangerous conditions such as obesity and diabetes.
File this next report under the extremely-interesting-but-dangerous-to-publish category.
Parents of fat kids unite! You now have another reason to sit back and let your child get fatter rather than teaching him how to exercise and eat properly.
 Future Fat Boy |
Apparently a study has turned up the adenovirus 36 (AD36) as a possible cause of childhood obesity. Adenovirus 36 (AD36) is also responsible for passing on the common cold. Supposedly that means we can now blame the common cold for the reason our children are fat!
After reading the results of the study, I’ve determined that AD36 could contribute to obesity in a small portion of obese children, but there’s no way that it is a leading cause of obesity in America. Read the post then let me know if you agree or disagree.
It’s official! After many long years of arguing with fools, I am validated! Based on hundreds of studies and thousands of hours of research, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) and the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) have finally taken the position that age-appropriate resistance training is not only good for kids, but recommended.
 Strong Kid |
The childhood obesity epidemic is real. Our kids are fat, lazy, bored, depressed, and for the most part unhealthy.
Don’t believe me? Doug Robb of Health Habits wrote about a study comparing childhood obesity in 1967 and now.
The findings: children considered obese in 1967 are considered normal by today’s standards.
Here’s some recent health news for the day.
In an issue that is close to my own heart, there may be a new, better medication for controlling chronic blood clots. The drug, called Dabigatran Etexilate, is just as effective at controlling clots as Warfarin/Coumadin, but is far easier to manage.
Regarding Dabigatran, Dr. Sam Schulman of McMaster University and the Henderson Research Center in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada said this:
“For patients and health-care providers, Dabigatran is a far more convenient drug than Warfarin because it has no known interactions with foods and minimal interactions with other drugs and therefore does not require routine blood-coagulation testing.”
Today I would like to take a break from exercise and nutrition news to tell you about a real problem in our world: child molestation. It is a taboo topic but it is also reality. Child molestation destroys lives on a daily basis and the perpetrators are often slapped on the wrist and released back into society. It has to stop and I am willing to fight for our kids.
 Joel Dutton |
There is a revolution happening in Hooksett, NH this month.
Thanks to a group of angry neighbors, myself included, there is a movement to put restrictions into place for convicted and registered sex offenders in the town of Hooksett, NH. Read on to find out how it all began and what is happening today.
You guys are still eating too many french fries!
 Obesity |
In the past year adult obesity rates have continued to climb. Two advocacy groups said on Wednesday, 23 US states reported that their citizens are fatter now than they were a year ago. In fact, two-thirds of American adults are either overweight or obese.
No states reported a decrease in obesity.
Executive director of Trust for America’s Health, Jeff Levi reportedly said, “Our health care costs have grown along with our waist lines,” as part of a warning that the US obesity epidemic could interfere with efforts by lawmakers to reform the nation’s health system.
Your Questions |
I get plenty of questions in various comments throughout the website, but I also get comments and questions via the Project Swole Contact Form.
Generally I address those questions through e-mail, but often I do not have the time to reply to each and every question personally.
From now on I want to take a more proactive approach to answering Your Health Questions by posting them separately in the blog. This way we can be sure that everyone benefits from the Q & A.
“Is there an age limit to starting to do body building or can you start at any age?”
After a 25 year increase, it seems that the percentage of obese or overweight children has plateaued. This news offers us some hope that perhaps the future of America will not be riddled with diabetes and heart disease.
One expert, Dr. David Ludwig, has commented that even though he is encouraged by these findings, “it is still too soon to know if this really means we’re beginning to make meaningful inroads into this epidemic. It may simply be a statistical fluke.” Another expert maintains that there is at least a small level of optimism about these results.
