Bigger size, worsened value

Even though I blog from Kuwait and often talk about culture specific problems, the issues tackled in this blog are global.  I got an email from a design team from the U.S.  who worked on an "infographic" which aims to raise awareness and educate people around the issue of obesity.  It is very well done, and is a true eye-opener especially since we can see the same rise in obesity rates here in Kuwait.  I agreed to share the graphic hoping someone in Kuwait can work on one for us as well...  It ALL starts with education.  Educate yourselves, and let us educate our youngsters.  They deserve to live a better, healthier and longer life...

http://www.medicalcodingcareerguide.com/fat-future-of-america

***Follow the link on the picture for a larger view

Provided by: MedicalCodingCareerGuide.com

The Other Voice: Little man's grub

Today's The Other Voice post is by the wonderful Noor Al Zabin...

Following the notes I shared with you regarding organic baby food and their availability, I thought I’d share some tips in preparing fresh food that I have tried with my child that could be of help.

Once a baby is set on a 4/5 meal plan (breakfast-snack-lunch-snack-dinner) is it’s important to ensure that the meals that you prepare are wholesome, fresh and varied.. Babies’ palates are clean and virgin to any tastes and preferences and it is as you go along that they start to develop their likes and dislikes. With that in mind I feel it is very important to introduce different tastes and flavors early on to avoid major dislikes in the future. Here are a few foods that you can try including with your cooked meals:

1)    Tofu: A fantastic source of protein, calcium and iron.. This would make a great alternative to meats a few times a week and its quite bland so babies usually don’t mind it mixed with their usual vegetables

2)    Quinoa: Packed with protein, vitamins A.C, B1 and B2. This could be cooked and added to vegetable and meat meals.

3)    Lentils: I make sure my little one has lentils with vegetables a couple of times a week on his meat-free days… Lentils are high in six minerals, fiber, protein and B vitamins.

4)    Vegetables: Be adventurous within boundaries. Include vegetables you might usually not have at home but know are very nutritious. Parsnips, broccoli, squash, cauliflower, asparagus, avocado, spinach and beetroot all make regular appearances in my little one’s diet.

5)   Fruit: As recommended by our pediatrician I avoid tropical fruit (mango, pineapple, strawberries) during the first year to minimize risk of any allergic reactions. That mentioned, it’s beneficial to ensure fruits are a part of the daily program such as bananas, grapes, oranges, pears, apples, peaches, plums.

As with any new food introduced to babies, it’s important to try each new food with caution looking out for any allergic reactions. After all every baby is different...

"The Other Voice"- Is our contributing authors post.  If you would like to contribute, email me at zalzabin@gmail.com for approval, editing and eventual posting:)

Another Shot

Sharing another interesting article from SHOTS entitled : 

Now Children Need Cholesterol Tests, Too

By Nancy Shute

Children today are growing up fast — so fast that they're now being told to have their cholesterol tested before they hit puberty.

The new recommendation to test all children for cholesterol at ages 9 to 11 comes from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. The goal is to reduce the risk of heart disease in adulthood. But the new recommendation runs counter to the advice of another federally-funded independent panel, which says routine screening isn't needed before age 20.

"The more we learn the more we realize that the atherosclerosis process really begins early in life," says Steven Daniels, chair of the panel that wrote the new guidelines, and a pediatric cardiologist who chairs the department of pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. The earlier in life cholesterol risk can be identified, the premise goes, the easier to keep it under control.

Pediatricians were already supposed to be doing cholesterol tests in children who are obese, have diabetes or have a family history of heart disease. But after studies found that those screening tools weren't catching some grade-schoolers with high cholesterol, the notion of universal screening gained traction.

Kids won't like it, because it requires a blood draw, and that means a needle. But the test won't require a special visit; it will be part of regular well child visits. The new guidelines are endorsed by the American Academy of Pediatrics is publishing them Monday in the journal Pediatrics.

But the new recommendation isn't universally endorsed. Some doctors think the call for universal screening is overkill, since only about half of children with high cholesterol will go on to have that problem as adults. And researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last year that in many children, high levels of LDL cholesterol corrected themselves by the next office visit.

A 2007 recommendation from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a federally-funded group that sets practice guidelines, says there's not enough evidence to recommend universal screening under age 20.

Daniels says that universal screening is intended to find children with very high LDL cholsterol, the "bad" kind, is 190 milligrams of the stuff in each decliter oof blood. Overall, less than 1 percent of children would be candidates for treatment with statin drugs, he says. "I don't think it's likely that there will be overtreatment."

More likely is that Mom and Dad will need to get serious about exercise eating healthy. Daniel says: "It gives them a stronger rationale for working hard on making the home the healthiest environment that it could be."

Even though statins have an enviable safety record in adults, no studies have been done on the implications of putting children on statins for the rest of their lives. That's why today's recommendation gives some physicians pause.

Posted not tweeted!

Apologies for those of you who were searching for the LoFat twitter updates today. LoFat was unfortunately unable to provide real-time tweets of the dietician training, so I will give you a brief overview! Today's focus was on how to approach, motivate and succeed with teenagers in regards to health. 

We need to first think about the real differences between young children and teenagers. One important difference is that with physical growth comes changes in hormones and metabolism. Those changes influence body image and mood. Another change is age, and with age comes increased expectations and responsibilities. A very important difference is social. Teenagers are motivated, demotivated, enabled and disabled by the social environment. The parental influence is important, but it ceases to become a motivator. Teens want to feel accepted by peers and want to feel "normal" according to the larger social circle. 

Knowing these difference and really understanding their implications helps us identify ways to motivate and inspire teenagers to succeed in a healthy lifestyle:

• By empowering teens to understand and take control of their body, they become more independent and thus successful.  Teach them about their body, how BMI works, muscle VS. weight gain/loss, etc. 
• Aid them in finding fun ways to move and exercise.  Exercise does not mean treadmill; paintball, bowling, swimming and many more can be options. 
• Educate them on making healthy food choices when they are dining out. 
• Teach them to read the labels and look for healthy recipes. 
• Help your teenager identify and establish a "buddy system". By that I simply mean having another friend or family member go through all or part of the experience with him/her. 
• Be flexible! Allow a free day for example.  
• Do not compare.  Each child is different.
• Rewards should not be with food.  An experience-based reward or more privileges are good examples.

I will add one note that is specific to parents, and I hope you can accept it from me... If you are a healthy role-model, your child will eventually learn from you.  Do not expect change, if you cannot model that change.

As an adult in the teen's life do be aware of how you approach the topic of weight loss. Focus on gaining a healthy lifestyle rather than losing weight. The dangers of unhealthy body image, eating disorders (anorexia, bulimia), and yo-yo dieting are severe. If you do suspect that your teen may be exhibiting signs of depression, anxiety, obsessive and/or disturbed behavior and mood swings, do consult with a therapist.

To fight or not to fight?

                                          

One of my favorite health blogs, is National Public Radio's (NPR) blog,  SHOTS.  An article entitled "Pediatricians Put The Kibosh On Boxing", caught my attention.  It explained the dangers of boxing as a sport for kids.  The writer noted:

Citing the risk of injuries, including concussions, the American Academy of Pediatrics and its Canadian counterpart, the Canadian Paedeatric Society, have come out in opposition to boxing as a sport for children and adolescents.  Pediatricians should strongly discourage parents from letting their kids box and suggest sports "that do not encourage intentional head injuries," says a new policy statement from the two national groups for pediatricians. (link)

One might wonder, does that mean all combat sports are bad?  

There is never a right or wrong answer because these things are relative; it depends on how the sport is taught, which combat sport it is, what the child is like (aggressive vs. calm), the child's age, the guidelines established at home, the instructor's methods, etc.  I would argue, however, that the critical point here is intent.  Sports like taekwondo and Karate are fighting/combat sports, but many instructors focus on the self-discipline aspect, and do not encourage fighting aimlessly.  Boxing and wrestling, at least in my eyes, seem to carry the intent to harm, and children watching and practicing these sports, tend to act-out the sport more often. 

There is merit to some of these combat sports.  Children can build strong self-esteem and courage based on the experience.  With martial arts, many instructors focus on discipline, and an understanding of the body and mind.  They teach children to think before they act.  But the fact remains that it is a form of fighting, and some children are encouraged to rough play at home with their siblings and sometimes fathers.  Without proper guidelines, these children may transfer these lessons to the schoolyard and classroom. 

                                                    

What are your experiences?  

A heavy weight...

I had a lovely meeting this morning with Abdullah Al-Eisa, the CEO at LoFat.  I was asked to help work on improving their LoFat Juniors program.  Abdullah's vision is very much directed towards awareness and public education about the real dangers of obesity. In doing my pre-meeting research, I found a limited source of research studies, which is not surprisingly since research in general is very sparse in Kuwait.  There were, however, 2 studies in the past year about this topic. Both studies show the alarming increase of obesity in Kuwait.

LoFat's Head of Operations, Ms. Amal Lahalih was helpful is supplying me with these facts:

• Forbes ranks Kuwait the 8th most obese country in the world with a 74.2% obesity rate.
•  40% of Kuwaiti children are diagnosed with obesity
•  According to Dr Wajdan Al Shamiri citing a report by the World Health Organization and quoted in the Arab Times, no country in the entire Middle East has a higher rate of obesity among children.
•  Due to poor diet and the prevalence of obesity, 1 in 4 Kuwaitis suffer from diabetes
• More than 15 percent of the adult population has diabetes and 22 out of 100 children under the age of 14 are diabetic
• The cost to treat a person with complications that are caused by diabetes is high; the cost of diabetes has been calculated a few years ago to be nearly seven percent of the overall health expenditure in Europe.

Some helpful tips for parents:

• For real and ongoing change in diet and lifestyle, children need to be in control and not feel forced.  Try to teach your child about healthy choices.
• Choose activities for your child that s/he likes.  Do not force a diet and a physical regimen that has no chance of becoming part of their lifestyle.
• Make changes uniform.  If possible, have the whole family participate in a healthier lifestyle.
• Do not become an enabler.  Sometimes we feel guilty about "not giving our child what he wants".  Think of the bigger picture: Would you rather give your child temporary pleasure or a lifetime of health and happiness?
• Changes need to be realistic.  A severe and restrictive diet might change your child's behavior to oppositional and aggressive.  Try to be flexible and understanding.
• Praise and support your child's attempts, even if they are unsuccessful in the beginning.  They key here is for the child to be motivated and gain the will to try.