As a former “fat kid” I am really concerned about the huge increase in weight of children of all ages.

What passes for food these days is pretty awful nutritionally. I was appalled when the kids’ high school “couldn’t” offer anything but sodas as that would be in violation of the contract that provided the school athletic program’s primary source of income – a cut of the vending machine revenues! The parents would have been happy with bottled water as a choice because the water fountains didn’t work worth a damn most of the time.

The long-term health prospects are not good. Childhood obesity has been linked to various diseases including Type 2 Diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and sleep apnea, to name a few.

Can Kids Handle the “O” Word?
http://www.diet-blog.com/archives/2007/06/15/can_kids_handle_the_o_word.php

Psychological and Behavioral Risk Factors for Obesity Onset in Adolescent Girls: A Prospective Study
lack of serotonin that is usually inherent in depression also leads individuals to consume excessive amounts of carbohydrate-rich foods in an effort to regulate his or her serotonin levels. These foods can lead to gaining weight
http://www.apa.org/releases/teenobesity.html
http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/ccp732195.pdf – full article

Although this advice was directed to parents, it works for everyone

• limit exposure to media – too much food, unrealistic and un-affordable lifestyles and unnaturally thin actors portrayed as being “ideal” and “desirable”
• promote healthy eating and moderate physical activity
• encourage participation in activities that increase mastery and self-esteem

Learn more…

Body Image, Media, and Eating Disorders
http://ap.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/30/3/257

Do You Know the Health Risks of Being Overweight?
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/health_risks.htm

Helping Your Overweight Child
http://win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/over_child.htm

Shaping Youth is a nonprofit concerned with media & marketing’s impact on kids. We have NO political, religious, or censorship agenda. Our focus is to shift harmful messages in a more positive direction with the help of industry insiders.
http://www.shapingyouth.org

American Obesity Association – Obesity in Youth
http://obesityusa.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml

American Academy of Pediatrics

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

Adolescent Health Working Group
web resources
http://www.ahwg.net/resources/weblinks.htm
Adolescent Health Care 101: The Basics – includes some checklists for health exam
http://ahwg.net/resources/Module2-final.pdf
Body Basics – information for health care providers dealing with adolescent patients
http://ahwg.net/resources/Body%20Basics%20(changed%20version).pdf

American Association for Health Education (AAHE) AAHE serves health educators and other professionals who promote the health of all people. AAHE encourages, supports, and assists health professionals concerned with health promotion through education and other systematic strategies.
http://www.aahperd.org/aahe/template.cfm

American Academy of Pediatrics Childhood leads to the adolescent years. This link is to update publications for parents, health educators/pediatricians, & policy analysts.
http://www.aap.org/

American Public Health Association (APHA) APHA is a resource for public health professionals. They’re on the forefront of disease prevention and health promotion.
http://www.apha.org/