More disturbing news about the effects of obesity on children – A new report finds overweight preschoolers as young as age three can begin to show signs of heart disease. Researchers say kids with high BMIs and large waist circumferences are more likely to have elevated levels of C-reactive protein and lower levels of HDL cholesterol – both risk factors of heart disease – than children who are at a normal weight.

Here are more posts on children and obesity:

Obesity epidemic hits toddlers

Obese kids have middle-aged arteries

How to talk to your kids about obesity

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I don’t see this happening anytime soon, but… A new study finds banning fast-food advertising on TV in the U.S. could reduce the number of overweight children by as much as 18 percent. But the report’s authors at the National Bureau of Economic Research question whether it would be practical to make this happen – so far, only Sweden, Norway and Finland have done this. To give you an idea of just how many unhealthy ads kids see, check out this report on advertisements for unhealthy foods during children’s programming.

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Earlier this month, we told you how the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends some children as young as age eight take cholesterol-fighting drugs to prevent having heart problems when they get older.

Now, the New York Times reports hundreds of thousands of American children are taking drugs for a wide range of chronic conditions related to childhood obesity – Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and acid reflux – all problems linked to obesity that were practically unheard-of in children 20 years ago.

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This is just the kind of story I like to hear – some Philadelphia elementary schools made changes to fight fat… and they won big! It was all part of a government-funded study to see if a few healthy tweaks could reduce the number of overweight kids.

Ten Philadelphia schools were in this study. Half of them made healthy changes to their vending machines, cafeterias, and classrooms. The report focused on 4th, 5th, and 6th graders – about 40 percent of them were overweight or obese when the study started in 2002.

Here are some of the changes the five elementary schools made:

• Replaced sodas with fruit juice, water, and low-fat milk
• Snacks had to be low in salt, fat, and sugar
• Got rid of candy
• During recess, students were urged to exercise at activity stations

If the students made healthy food choices, they got raffle tickets to win prizes like bikes and jump ropes. And the schools spent a lot of time teaching kids, their parents and teachers about good nutrition. The result? Fewer overweight kids – the number of students who gained weight during the two-year program was half the number of those in schools who did not make these changes.

“We found when you give children healthy choices, they pick them,” says Grace McGinley, a school nurse at one of the test schools.

Other things that helped cut back on overweight kids included teaching staff, students, and parents about good nutrition. And using creative ways to reinforce the message. For example, food labels were used to help teach fractions. And a fundraiser successfully substituted fruit salad for baked goods.

After two years, not only were there fewer new overweight kids, but the overall number of overweight students at the five schools dropped about 10 to 15 percent. At the schools that didn’t make the changes, the number of overweight children went up a quarter – to 20 percent.

Some bad news – there was no difference between the two school groups as far as new obese students (6 percent) or the overall number of obese students (about 25 percent). The researchers think obese children probably benefit more when they are targeted individually.

True, there is still work that needs to be done, but the results of this study make me realize it can be done. You go, Philadelphia schools!

The study is in the April issue of the journal, Pediatrics.

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The effects of lack of sleep start at a young age – not getting enough Zzzs could determine your kids’ weight. A new report finds infants and toddlers who sleep less than 12 hours a day are twice as likely to become overweight by age three than children who sleep longer. And if they sleep less than 12 hours plus watch TV two or more hours a day, they have a 16 percent chance of becoming overweight by age three.

Other studies have shown a similar link between lack of sleep and being overweight in older children, adolescents, and adults, but this one finds the connection in very young children.

Add in the TV factor, and your kids really have an uphill battle.

“Getting enough sleep is becoming more and more difficult with TV, Internet, and video games in the rooms where children sleep,” says lead author, Elsie Taveras, M.D., Harvard Medical School.

Taveras suggests parents remove televisions from children’s bedrooms to help them get more sleep… and better quality Zzz’s, too.

You can see the full study in the April 2008 issue of Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine.

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The obesity epidemic is getting worse. A new study from the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) finds adult obesity rates went up in 31 states last year.

The fourth annual F as in Fat report also shows obesity rates increased for the second year in a row in 22 states; no states decreased.

Topping the list is Mississippi with the highest rate of adult obesity in the country for the third year in a row. It is also the first state to reach a rate of over 30 percent. And again, Colorado is the leanest state… but its adult obesity rate increased over the past year – from 16.9 to 17.6 percent.

The report also shows ten of the 15 states with the highest rates of adult obesity are in the South. And the rates of adult obesity are now more than 25 percent in 19 states – up from 14 states last year.

Children are not spared from the epidemic. The study finds the rates of overweight kids ages 10 to 17 range from a high of 22.8 percent in Washington, D.D. to a low of 8.5 percent in Utah. Eight of the ten states with the highest rates of overweight children are in the South.

Other findings from the report:

• Twenty-two percent of American adults report that they do not engage in any physical
activity. Mississippi has the highest rate of inactivity at 31.6 percent and Minnesota had the
lowest rate of inactivity at 15.4 percent.
• Seventeen states require their school lunches, breakfasts and snacks to meet higher nutritional
standards than the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) requires (6 states enacted new
laws in 2006-07).
• Twenty-two states have set nutritional standards for foods sold in vending machines, à la
carte, in school stores, or in bake sales in schools (9 states enacted new laws in 2006-07), and
26 states limit when and where these foods may be sold on school property beyond federal
requirements (6 states enacted new laws in 2006-07).
• While every state has school physical education requirements, many are limited in scope or
are not enforced.
• Sixteen states screen students’ body mass index (BMI) or fitness status and confidentially
provide information to parents or guardians (8 states enacted new laws in 2006-07).

You can see the full report, including state rankings in all categories, at the TFAH’s Web site.

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