My son often comes home with stories about kids teasing him or kids picking on another child during the school day. It was true when I was in school and it's still true today ... kids can be cruel. So I can only imagine how difficult life might be for a child or teenager who's morbidly obese. In addition to obvious health complications it creates, their self-esteem and social life are at risk as well.

Lifestyle habits are difficult to change. If losing weight was easy, then who would be overweight? It takes enormous commitment and a willingness to shake things up and substitute bad habits with healthier behaviors. The Wellspring Academy in a remote area of North Carolina seeks to help students (age 11 or older) lose weight and learn to live healthfully.

Students must be at least 30 pounds overweight to be accepted to the school which has a maximum enrollment of 50 students. One month's tuition costs $6,250; the required minimum length of stay is four months making the minimum investment $25,000. Participants undergo extensive behavior therapy and rapid weight loss. According to Wellspring's president, the average weight loss for students who stay for eight months is 81 pounds. He also states that the first class of 15 students maintained their weight loss for 10 months.

Source

My son is very athletically inclined. He does well at every team sport he plays and he invariably picks active play over anything else. He's constantly riding his bike, roller-blading, or running around the neighborhood. So, needless to say, my son is in good shape. But lately, he's been complaining that his legs feel "weak."

I didn't know what was going on at first. In fact, I thought maybe his baseball practices were wearing him out. So I had suggested he start jogging to build up his leg muscles. But then I noticed that his eating habits have changed a bit and his sleep patterns are a bit off-kilter, too. So it finally hit me. Growing pains.

I'll admit that it took me longer to catch on than it should have. But I'm new to this parenting gig. My 10-year-old son is adopted and has only lived with me since last June. So, though he's likely experienced growing pains several times now, this is my first experience with them as a parent.

Source

One universal truth in the land of kids these days is a love for sweets and anything that tastes sweet. Is there such a thing as having a sweet -- but nutritious -- kids' snack or dessert?

You betcha -- because high fat content and calorie loading doesn't have to come at the expense of taste or kids' preference for sweetness.

There are some great (and tasty) dessert choices for kids discussed over at The Diet Channel, and my favorite one is the substituting of ice cream for frozen yogurt. This is probably the easiest change of all for many kids, and the fat content drop alone makes it especially useful for the concerned parent.

Source

Kids are more obese than ever and Superman is super cool. So I can't help but absolutely love the idea of these FitDeck exercise flash cards for kids ... more importantly, for my kids!

They are a colorfully packaged card deck that includes 50 exercise cards, four instructional and two stretching flashcards, accompanied by a game and activities workbook. Each flashcard features illustrations and instructions describing a different exercise. You don't need any equipment and you use your own body weight to do the exercises. It's a novel product, targeted towards children ages 4 to 16 (in my opinion 4 to 10 would be more appropriate) . After all, what young kid wouldn't want to work out with the big guy sporting the "S" on his chest?

"Superman's greatest enemy is no longer Lex Luthor. It's childhood obesity," says FitDeck creator, Phil Black.

Source

In an effort to assert more control in the classroom, more and more teachers are refusing to let kids use the bathroom during class.

On one hand, it makes sense. I remember middle and high school, when kids would play the bathroom card every time they were bored, wanted to cheat on tests, or just felt like disrupting class.

However, according to Christopher Cooper, a pediatric urologist at the University of Iowa Children's Hospital, an increasing number of children are showing up at his office with urinary tract infections, incontinence, and damaged kidneys. He feels it's because aren't allowed to use the bathroom in school.

Even though people of all ages should use the bathroom every two or three hours, "So many parents would tell [Cooper's staff], 'We can't do that. The teachers won't let them go to the bathroom.'"

While I can understand teachers needing to put their foot down with regard to discipline, given the potential health risks, this doesn't seem like an appropriate way to take a stand.

Source

As part of the fight against childhood obesity, the World Cancer Research Fund is now using cartoons to get kids interested in eating right, and getting active. Much like Captain Planet taught children about protecting the environment, the WCRF hopes Snack the dog, Professor Foodsmart and the Great Grub Club Gang can teach them about the benefits of a healthy lifestyle.

The idea is to target 4 to 7-year-olds, in order to preempt disease and obesity later in life. This latest initiative comes after news that children only eat 2 of their recommended 5 daily portions of fruits and vegetables, and that 92% of kids eat too much saturated fat.

However, while it seems like a great way to educate kids, the question remains: is it fun? Children will identify with a cartoon initially, but if it isn't entertaining, I imagine the initiative will quickly lose steam -- or only succeed with families who were already interested in healthy eating and physical fitness.

Source

"There's increasing use of medication in children the last 20 years, but does that mean we're treating them successfully or that we're overmedicating?"

That speculation by Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health, was quoted by the Associated Press in response to a recent study that found more and more adolescents are being prescribed long-term medicines designed for adults.

For instance, the number of girls taking drugs for Type 2 diabetes has tripled in the last five years, and the use of drugs to combat psychotic behavior and insomnia has doubled.

But is it working? Or should we instead be focusing on strategies that don't require medication -- like counseling, exercise, changes in diet, caffeine intake, etc.

We all want what's best for our children -- anything to keep them healthy and happy. On the other hand, especially because adolescents' brains are still developing, maybe we've been too quick to jump on the prescription drug bandwagon.

Source

In what looks like a model program for teenagers grappling with weight issues, specialists at Children's Hospital of Iowa are offering the Better Eating, Stronger Teens (BEST) program for seventh- through 12th-grade girls.

The program is for those girls who are overweight or at risk for being overweight. This is needed for both boys and girls in many ways, but for a pilot program, I think something of this magnitude is fantastic. The program will extend to boys after the 10-week pilot ends as well.

The program involves twice-weekly exercise sessions as well as group sessions that focus around issues surrounding eating and exercise -- two large contributors to weight problems in most of the teenage obese I'll bet.

Source