You Can Fight Childhood Obesity – Parents Have Power Over Food Companies Recently, a company introduced a chocolate-flavored toddler formula to the market, claiming that it would encourage picky eaters to get more of the nutrition they needed. Sounds good, right? The problem came when you took time to read the label...
Childhood Obesity: Kids Must Play the Hand They’re Dealt
Childhood Obesity: Kids Must Play the Hand They’re Dealt Children want to be just like their friends. This can be a positive, such as encouraging each other to get good grades or to join a sports team. Or it can be a negative, such as filling up on junk food. But the...
Parents: Are Your Kids Getting Too Much Salt?
Parents: Are Your Kids Getting Too Much Salt? High blood pressure in children is not as rare as you might think. In fact, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has found that about 5% of children have blood pressure that’s higher than normal. Less than 1% of children have blood pressure that’s...
Visit Farmers Markets to Battle Childhood Obesity
Visit Farmers Markets to Battle Childhood Obesity One reason for today’s childhood obesity epidemic is that children do not eat enough fruits and vegetables. Instead, they fill up on packaged food with little to no nutritional value. But how do you get your kids excited about eating more fruits and veggies? Introduce...
The Emotional Impact of Obesity on Children
The Emotional Impact of Obesity on Children As a pediatrician, I care about more than just your children’s physical health. Mental and emotional wellbeing are equally important. Sadly, the greatest preventable threat to your child’s physical health also threatens their mental and emotional health. I’m talking, of course, about childhood obesity. Studies...
New Year Resolutions for Eating Healthy
New Year Resolutions for Eating Healthy Everybody has good intentions at the beginning of a new year. We promise to be good, to eat right and to exercise regularly; even when those were the old, un-met goals for the year that just ended. I know, because I do it every year too....
U.S. Obesity Rates Continue to Rise
U.S. Obesity Rates Continue to Rise “Our heath care cost have grown along with our waist line”, said Jeff Levi, PhD, executive director of Trust for America’s Health. “The obesity epidemic is a big contributor to the skyrocketing health care costs in the United States”. Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled...
Timing Meals: An Important Step in Improving the Quality of the Food We Eat
Timing Meals: An Important Step in Improving the Quality of the Food We Eat Children will eat at different times of the day, if we allow them to. But should we schedule meals throughout the day, or is it better to eat on demand? The answer depends on the age of the...
The Key to Good Nutrition
The Key to Good Nutrition The increasing incidence of obesity in our society calls for a careful analysis of possible causes, as well as investigation and application of useful advice. Here is the key to a solution that sound simple but is, in fact, not so easy to comply with: Just pay...
Protect Young Children from Heat Stroke
Protect Young Children from Heat Stroke Heat stroke deaths can occur at surprisingly low temperatures, and Texas children are especially vulnerable because we have so many hot days. Heat stroke in children isn’t limited to unattended vehicles. Children can also become extremely overheated when playing outside in hot weather. Infants who are dressed...