A recent study theorized that banning fast food commercials would have a positive impact on childhood obesity. After all, most kids watch an awful lot of television -- being tempted by burgers and fries (not to mention the toys they're packaged with) can be a big draw. Pair that with the potential sleep problems and loss of physical activity due to TV watching and you've got a recipe for childhood obesity. Or do you?

I asked That's Fit readers what they thought about banning fast food commercials. Here are the results:

• 56.6 percent think banning fast food commercials is a good idea. Remove the temptation and maybe kids would beg and plead for fast food less often.
• 34.5 percent of you think kids will still want fast food, whether they see it on commercials or not.
  
• 8.7 percent of you voted for other. Many comments focused on the fact that it shouldn't matter whether kids see commercials or not -- parents should determine the types of food that their family is eating. Kids shouldn't be the ones who dictate what they eat.

Do you think you're up on knowledge about childhood obesity? Take this AOL Health childhood obesity quiz and find out.

Skyrocketing childhood obesity rates have an unwanted side effect -- more kids are being put on prescription medications to combat related chronic diseases.

A recent study revealed there have been surges in prescriptions for children with diabetes and asthma as well as smaller increases in high blood pressure and high cholesterol medications. To varying degrees, obesity can play a role in all of those conditions. While some of the medication increase can be attributed to modified guidelines, the rise is concerning.

If your child is overweight, there are many positive, supportive ways you can help. AOL Health has other suggestions for battling childhood obesity.

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Prevention.com offers some great suggestions for folks who long for exciting physical fitness and have fond memories of childhood play. Check them out and see if they don't win out over your desires to exercise within the confines of four gym walls.

• If you liked 4-Square, try tennis or racquetball.
• If you liked climbing trees, try indoor or outdoor rock climbing.
• If you liked yard games, try golf without the cart.
• If you liked dodgeball, try volleyball.
• If you liked gymnastics or cheerleading, try aerobics classes.
• If you liked Red Rover, try martial arts.
• If you liked sledding, try showshoeing or cross-country skiing.
• If you liked tag, try joining a jogging, bicycling, or hiking group.
• If you liked jump rope or hopscotch, try aerobics on a mini-trampoline (called rebounding).
  
  

Now, there's no reason you still can't engage in your long-ago kid games. Jump rope, for example, is quite an adult thing to do, after all. And why not go sledding if the climate is right? Clearly, you've got options here. Just pick and chose. Just have fun, whatever you decide to do.

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Of all the things that are blamed for the obesity epidemic, soda has received the worst publicity. But we often forget about soda's equally harmful cousin, juice. Sure, juice contains nutrients that soda is missing, but they share a number one ingredient: sugar. It might even be fair to say that juice is merely a type of non-fizzy soda aimed at children.

Not so fast, says some research. Apparently the link between juice consumption and obesity is a weak one, and evidence even suggests that giving juice to your kids is a good way to make sure they're getting their recommended intake of fruit.

Do you agree with these findings? Myself, I'm a bit skeptical of these findings, but like all things, I think moderation is the key; One glass a day won't alone make kids fat if they're getting regular activity and eating healthy. But five or six a day? That might become a problem.

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If you have a child with asthma, you might already know that fitness is especially important -- it can help improve childhood asthma. And with summer approaching, you might be thinking about swimming. It's a great physical activity, and kids love it, so you're set, right?

Not so fast. A recent article by Claire McCarthy, M.D., of Harvard Medical School urges parents to take caution with their asthmatic children when it comes to swimming. While the activity itself helps to strengthen their lungs -- and swimming is one form of fitness that's less likely to cause asthma symptoms -- there is one problem. The chlorine.

The article cites a study done in Belgium, where "children who swam as infants in chlorinated swimming pools were more likely to have asthma later in childhood. It appeared that the chlorine may have damaged the lining of the lungs."

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A few weeks ago I wrote about fitness ideas for the whole family. Today I ran across this article with some more fun fitness ideas. Exercising with your kids is so important. It sets a healthy example that they'll hopefully carry through their lives. It's also vital to developing strong muscles and bones and prevents childhood obesity. On top of all the health benefits, it's just plain fun!
My son is constantly in motion and keeping up with him can be a challenge. But when I step outside of my aerobics box (my exercise of choice) I find that I have a lot of fun keeping fit with my son. Just this morning, for reasons known only to him, my son started a round of hokey-pokey in the kitchen. It got pretty silly and pretty active. By the end of it we were both laughing -- and breathing a bit harder to boot.

Whatever exercise you choose -- walking, hiking, team sports, playing at the playground, dancing in your living room -- you and your kids are sure to see the benefits.

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I'm literally a sobbing crying mess as I write this. I fell in love with a dying man a few weeks ago when I caught wind of him giving an amazing gift to his students, colleagues, friends and family at Carnegie Mellon University. Randy Pausch, a computer science professor gave his Last Lecture now famous on YouTube, on September 18, 2007. Randy's lecture was called "Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams." Now, I have my own spectacular husband, but I imagine anyone who knows, or knows of Randy . . . would love him very much.

For a man whose pancreas is being destroyed by a cancer that could take his life within months . . . he was hysterical, energetic, inspirational, and relentless about the idea that life can be wonderful every day, and that his days still are. He told stories of his childhood and made one of the most insightful statements I've ever heard. "Are you a Tigger or an Eeyore? Choose!"

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When we think of diabetes, we tend to assume that it affects either those who were diagnosed with it in childhood or those who are severely overweight. But guess what? Normal weight people can have diabetes too, and even if you don't notice the symptoms--fatigue, thirst, excessive urination--doesn't mean they're not there in a milder form.

This article from The Daily Mail talks about Diabetes in depth and even looks at the blood sugar levels of a handful of average adults. The results are surprising -- some seemingly healthy adults have blood sugar levels that should be investigated.

Does this mean that if you're tired, you have diabetes? No, but it does mean that you should be careful -- don't ignore your symptoms, and let your doctor know if something seems off.

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Having a young child with a dangerous medical condition can be a parent's worse nightmare. Especially when that medical condition is referred to as "the rarest of the rare." Niemann-Pick disease afflicts around 200 people in the United States, so people can only imagine how limited the treatment options are.

A family in Oregon is battling with such a problem alongside their 10-year-old son, Peyton. He has this genetic metabolic disorder which leads to neurological deterioration. It's so rare that the drugs alone cost over $100,000 (and there is no cure). Dementia is also part of Niemann-Pick which leads to it being called "childhood Alzheimer's."

The issue is that this disease affects Peyton's spleen, liver and brain due to his inability to metabolize cholesterol. The Hadleys know that their son's chances of living past his 20s are very slim, due to Niemann-Pick Type C being fatal. But Peyton is a normal kid who loves to collect baseball cards and read the Hardy Boys. If you'd like to help support this family, head on over to HadleyHope.com and find out more!

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• Childhood obesity can decrease life expectancy by two to five years.
  
  

• One in three obese children have excess fat in their liver, which can lead to hepatitis, cirrhosis, or liver failure.
  
  

• Obesity affects every organ system in a child's body in a much more serious way than obesity affects adults because kids are still growing and developing.
  
  

While the American Heart Association is at work trying to get better physical education and more nutritious foods in school, parents are the most important piece in the childhood obesity puzzle. It's critical they help their kids make wise dietary choices so they can live long, productive, and healthy lives.

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Sabrina Bryan, former Dancing with the Stars hopeful and member of Disney's Cheetah Girl singing group, is committed to fighting childhood obesity and promoting health body image among young girls. How exactly is she doing it? With a hop-hop fitness DVD, that's how.

"My opportunity with the project was to bring a health-conscious topic up in a fun way for girls," says Bryan whose three-part workout (called Byou: pronounced Be You) was a team effort with Healthy Kids Challenge, a nonprofit that focuses on creating children's nutrition.

Bryan, 24, remembers clearly body image issues she experienced during her adolescent and teenage years.

"I went through this whole, 'I hate my body,' thing," she said.

Becoming active in sports and dancing was key for Bryan who practices balance in her adult life.

"It is good to have balance," she says. "Anything that is too one way or the other is where you end up doing binge kinds of things which is not what we want in the minds of young girls."

For more on Bryan's dance outreach, visit the official Byou site.

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"Are you proud of me, mommy?" four-year-old Danny asked just after he'd run the 100-yard dash event in our city's first annual Reindeer Run on Saturday. "I am very proud of you," I told the boy who beamed up me with pure delight at having won a red ribbon for his participation in an event intended to help fight childhood obesity. Danny also attempted to run the mile event -- like his big brother did -- and while he couldn't run the entire course, he did cross the finish line and earned himself a medal. He's already got it stashed in his backpack, ready for Pre-K Show & Tell on Thursday.

Brother Joey also rocked the Reindeer Run. Like the last time we ran in a race together, the kid passed me right by and never looked back. Impressive for a six-year-old who feels the rush of the crowd and simply must power forward. He's like a rocket, that boy. He makes me proud too.

I love seeing my kids excel physically. I love watching them exert themselves -- after running, they kicked soccer balls, threw footballs, shot baskets, and collected a few blue ribbons -- and I love the fact that the fitness lessons they learn now might just carry them through life.

The signs of a race well-done are displayed all over our house, race numbers hanging on the fridge, medals hanging next to the boys' Christmas stockings, ribbons balancing on our sparkly tree, and race shirts waiting to be laundered so they can be worn again -- and again and again, until next year when they run like little reindeers for a second time and collect a brand new shirt. I can't wait.

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According to a new U.S. study released this last week, the development of type 2 diabetes in adults can be predicted in childhood.

Somehow, that's comforting, since recognizing problems in childhood would appear to make it much easier to design and integrate treatments into the lifestyles of those who need it.

In the study, it was found that a parental history of diabetes, as well as the presence of metabolic syndrome in childhood were major predictors of type 2 diabetes in adulthood.

Those are two areas that are easily checked in kids (and their parental histories), although the presence of metabolic syndrome in any child is disconcerting. Metabolic syndrome sounds like a collapsing of good health: high blood pressure; high triglycerides; high body mass; high blood glucose; and low levels of "good" high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol. You must have three of the five to qualify.

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Pretty much everyone was bullied at some point in their childhood. Whether it was by the dominant kid in a social group who never let anyone else decide what games to play, or the traditional big kid on the playground who terrorized every other child, chances are you've had to deal with some form of bullying when you were little.

Many of us think that all gets left behind when we grow up into confident adults, but unfortunately that's not always the case. Have you ever been to one of your kids' sports matches and seen another parent blow up at a referee? Or perhaps you're a part of the PTA and one of the other parents consistently refuses to listen to your suggestions or ignores you altogether? Maybe you dread going to work every day because a gossipy co-worker tries to belittle you with the information he or she spreads to your fellow workers?

According to this, all of the above constitute adult bullying. Even as a grown-up there are people who will try to boost their own confidence by intimidating others and trying to cut them down. If you think you may be a victim of adult bullying, take a look at the piece for suggestions on how to deal with it. If you know someone at work or in your social circle who is being picked on, stand up for them. Much like when with kids, a bully will often back down if they know that no one else is willing to stand for it.

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It appears that the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Ad Council and the National Football League (NFL) will form a partnership to launch a new series of advertisements with a goal of reaching more consumers about the dangers of childhood obesity.

Normally, I'm no fan of the overhyped and overpaid NFL, but when the league joins into a campaign to help make awareness of childhood obesity more available, credit is due.

The ad campaign will encourage kids to "get up and play an hour a day." That's good news for families and parents everywhere, but perhaps these folks will listen when NFL players start delivering the message instead of non-celebrities.

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