American Heart Association Tips for Parents to Combat Childhood Obesity

Parents Are Key in Helping Obese Kids Lose Weight, AHA Says The key to combating juvenile obesity lies with parents, the American Heart Association says. Amid concerns about school nutrition, junk food in school vending machines and other external sources of obesity, the AHA says parents are the primary gatekeeper for weight loss and kids. The AHA released a scientific statement in its most recent issue of "Circulation" journal. Here are tips for parents to curb weight problems in kids, based on that report. Read on...

Parent Smoking Increases Risk of Ear Infection, Surgery in Kids

Parent Smoking Increases Risk of Ear Infection, Surgery in Kids Children's exposure to secondhand smoke has long been a health concern. A study published in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine adds increased risk of middle ear disease to the list of SHTS-related issues. Here are details about ear infections, household smoking and resources for parents. Read more...

How to Parent an Obese Child

How This Mom Would Help an Obese Child Lose Weight and Be Healthy In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, an 8-year-old child was taken from his mother's home and placed in foster care. Why? He weighs over 200 pounds. Mom is being charged with medical neglect, for not making him diet. Despite having access to more community support networks than his mother, the foster family isn't finding it so easy to get his weight down either.

Obesity isn't a simple matter, as they are finding. It's not just nutrition and exercise that determine a child's weight. Some kids can live on junk food and never gain weight. Other children, no matter how well they are fed, will go through a pudgy stage. Genetic makeup, breastfed or bottle, family poverty, intellectual stimulation, puberty, depression and emotional issues, thyroid problems, Prader-Willi Syndrome all these factors and more can affect a child's weight. If I was a parent, these are the steps I would take to care for this obese child. I know what it's like to be the overweight kid. I also know what it's like to parent a child who struggles with weight problems and a child with an eating disorder. So many factors enter into the equation. The important thing is to address the emotional health issues, provide good nutrition and fitness opportunities and let puberty take its course. Read on...