That's Fit

If your kid has a big neck, he or she may be more likely to develop a sleep-related breathing disorder, say researchers at the University of Virginia. Translation for big: Obese.

Of 215 children, ages 18 months to 18 years, who were referred to a pediatric sleep clinic, 37.3 percent were obese and snored more than not-so-heavy kids, says this Virginia study. Basically, neck size showed a strong inverse correlation with oxygen saturation and was an even better indicator of breathing problems than BMI, weight, or tonsil size.

One implication of this finding, says study author Dr. Pearl L. Yu, is this: "Children with bigger neck sizes for age should be queried about snoring, apnea, excessive sleepiness, and hyperactivity. Neck size should be considered in the clinical evaluation of children with a history of snoring and apnea."

So are we finally starting to curb our obesity issue, or are Australia's problems just more out of control than our own? Recent headlines suggest that obesity rates in America -- for women and children, at least -- are leveling off. Leveling off is a very good first step, but when 25% of our citizens are still struggling with obesity, it's clear we still have a long way to go.

No, it's not time to celebrate yet. But when we get our rates closer to those of healthier countries like Canada (14%), Spain (13%), Sweden (10%), or -- dare we dream? -- Japan (3%), then it'll be time to get out the party decorations.

(via Diet-Blog)

When you enter into a relationship, you fully expect your partner to have some excess baggage -- past loves, insecurities, and worries about your relationship's future. Most of us are equipped to deal with that. But what do you do when your partners excess "baggage" also includes baggage in the form of extra pounds?

Dr. Rovenia Brock says that to best help an overweight partner you need to stop criticizing and start caring. Criticizing a partner's weight will most likely be counterproductive. That doesn't mean you can't talk to your partner about your concerns, but you need to approach it with a little TLC. Let your partner know that you're making suggestions because you care. But you should even keep that to a minimum. Instead, start making healthy changes that will promote your partner's better health:

• Order two appetizers instead of a meal when eating out, or just order one entree and split it.
• Avoid or cut back on alcoholic beverages.

Health and fitness are big topics nowadays and because they're important to us in our everyday lives, they're also important to us in our work lives -- we spend too many waking hours at work to not worry about how our jobs are impacting our healthy living goals.

But what about thinking the reverse: how is your health affecting the success and happiness of your work life? Namely, do you think your weight is affecting your career?

Being overweight is not genetic. If you've heard otherwise, consider it a myth, says Scholastic Parent & Child magazine. There are very few inherited conditions that cause someone to be overweight. In fact, if everyone in a family is heavy and kids are following the same path, it's because lifestyle habits have been passed down through generations, not because weightiness is in the genes.

Ever hear yourself muttering these words to explain why your child is not exercising: "My kid's not athletic." Hey, guess what? You don't need to be athletic to be fit. One 30-minute walk every day -- a power walk, not a stroll -- is all one needs to achieve fitness. I'm not athletic. Still, I've found a way to be a pretty good runner.

Another kid myth: Talking about weight encourages eating disorders. Nope. But here's a fact: Talking about it in a positive light, focusing on exercise and not weight, and rewarding kids not with food but with activities and time together will help steer your kids in the right direction.

Can you remember the last time you had a candy bar? If you can't, it may be due to the fact that you've eaten too many of them. That's because spikes in blood sugar can have damaging effects on your short-term memory.

A study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that when adults were given memory tests after consuming a sugary drink, those with the highest resulting blood glucose levels exhibited the worst recall ability.

High blood sugar has also been linked to a number of other health complications, including obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. Thankfully, it's often possible to avoid blood glucose-related issues by limiting your diet to foods rich in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates, and by following a regular exercise program.

It's always interesting to learn why people exercise. For some, it's for more general health reasons; exercise, eat right, be fit, live a long and healthy life -- that sort of thing. But for others, the reasons can be far more specific.

For some heavier people, being able to run around the yard and play with their kids seems to be a wonderfully common theme. Older men and women sometimes have a similar inspiration, only in their case it's their grandchildren they want to keep up with. For a good number of other folks, looking better is their primary motivation -- and there's no shame in that whatsoever. Being overly prideful is one thing, but taking care of yourself and wanting to be happy and confident in the way you look is just as good a reason as any.

For me, it's a combination of a few things. I like feeling healthy just as much as I like looking healthy. Plus, I hope to live to be 120 years old. A bit lofty of a goal, I know, but it's a goal nonetheless. What about you? I'm sure everyone would be interested to know what motivates you to run all those miles and lift all those weights day in and day out. Please feel free to share with the group :)

Before my father was retired he had to wake up at 3 a.m. for work. After retirement, his early morning habit proved hard to break. Subsequently, the afternoons would inevitably find him snoozing on his recliner. Without fail, as soon as he'd hit a deep sleep he'd let out a massive snort, wake himself up, and grumble at my mom and I for "waking him up."
My dad's afternoon snoring puts him in the company of many others. How about you? Do you snore, too? Revolution Health offers some tips on snoring. Snoring is caused by a narrowing of the throat due to congestion, enlarged tonsils, or other issues. Conditions like asthma and obesity can also cause or exacerbate snoring. Contrary to what some might believe, snoring doesn't necessarily mean you have sleep apnea. But if you feel your snoring is excessive, it's a good idea to check with your doctor.

You can minimize your snoring by changing up some of your sleep routines. Try sleeping on your side and avoiding alcohol and smoking before bedtime. Also, if you have some weight to lose, dropping excess pounds will likely help your snoring. You can also see your doctor for other possible solutions such as a mouthpiece designed to minimize snoring.

Want to learn more? Chris tells us how excessive snoring may signal a health risk.

If you pound a couple cans of soda per day, you're drinking your waistline bigger with each gulp. Even drinking one regular soda a day really isn't the best idea, for it drives your blood sugar through the roof and boosts insulin levels -- both have been linked to a number of health complications. So is drinking diet soda the answer?

Not so, says a growing body of evidence. Studies show that people who drink diet soda daily have higher obesity rates than non-drinkers. As if that weren't enough, there's plenty of information out there suggesting that dark soda (diet or regular) can contribute to the growth of kidney stones.

If you're already rolling your eyes in anticipation of what you know I'm going to say next (you're right, I am going to say it), please allow me to at least offer some tips on making a more interesting drink out of it. Here it is ... ready? Drink water. There, I said it. Now let me say this much -- if H2O is a bit too boring and flavorless for you, try adding fresh fruit to your water jug, such as berries or lemon or orange slices. There's truly no better way to stay hydrated and replenish your fluids than drinking copious amounts of water. Sorry for sounding like a Boy Scout about it, but it's the truth.

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.

If you're looking for weight loss inspiration with a side of funny, look no farther than the Pasta Queen, aka Jennette Fulda of Half of Me. Not only did Jennette lose 186 pounds through diet and exercise and a remarkable sense of humor, she also recently published a book about her experience -- Half-Assed: A Weight Loss Memoir.

Fulda was recently interviewed by the Today Show, where she talked about her early struggles with weight and what inspired her to finally take it off. What I love about Jeannette's story is that she took two years to take off the weight, leaned heavily on exercise (she just ran a half-marathon!), and cut calories by choosing nutritious foods over processed junk. If you're looking for a weight loss role model, she certainly has a great story to inspire you.

A research team at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine is pinpointing obesity as a key cause of global warming. Their argument is that it costs more in fuel to transport heavier people. Also, obese people require more food to sustain themselves.

The World Health Organization predicts that by 2015, more than 700 million people worldwide will be obese. The London-based research team feels this overweight trend will have a hefty impact on the environment as well as health.

The researchers found that people who are obese consume nearly 18% more food than their thinner counterparts. This can impact the environment by creating a higher food supply demand and by causing more food travel miles. Also, the researchers state that thin people are more likely to walk than rely on cars for travel. What do you think?

If we continue at the rate we're going, the entire U.S. population will be obese in 50 years. That's what a recent University of Missouri study suggests, anyway. Even if it doesn't turn out to be completely true, it's easy to see how it can still end up being quite close.

What can we do about it? Best I can tell, the only solution is to shape up. Through diet and regular exercise, the obesity epidemic can become a thing of the past, rather than an inevitable part of our future. With that little pep talk over, I feel obliged to now offer up a quick health tip. OK ... here goes.

Random Health Tip of the Day: add water to your cereal. Well, you don't have to add it directly to your cereal; drink a glass of water while you eat it. Men's Health magazine states that doing so will help slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream, thereby preventing hunger-causing blood sugar spikes. In addition, the water will help make the fiber in the cereal expand, which will also help you feel fuller longer.

Go to the grocery store hungry and you're bound to crave everything in sight. Blame your "Mmm" hormone, says new research that names the natural molecule ghrelin the responsible party.

Why ghrelin? Because it improves perception and memory when it comes to food. When hunger strikes, watch out, because ghrelin makes the brain find just about every food appealing, sending us on a path to diet destruction.

Researchers have long known that ghrelin, a hormone secreted in the gut, rises and falls before and after meals. Now they're learning that this "Mmm" hormone has even more power -- it causes hunger and encourages eating.

This Mother's Day, be sure to thank your mom for everything she has given you. All the love, all the affection, all the attention one person could ever ask for. But, there may be one thing your mom has given you that, if you had a say in the matter, you may have respectfully declined: her overweight genes.

Well, mom isn't completely to blame for this; dad's weight factors in equally. An article in Muscle & Body magazine points to a British study suggesting that you have a 75 percent chance of being overweight if both of your parents are. Specifically, it seems that the accumulation of body fat and waist circumference are very hereditary, whereas environmental factors played a far more limited role.

Does this mean you're doomed to be heavy if your parents are? I wouldn't say doomed. Not at all, actually. Predisposed? Perhaps. But that doesn't mean that you can't do anything to change what would appear to be your fitness fate. Regular exercise and eating a healthy diet will work just as well for you to stay fit as it will for someone whose parents are quite lean, so don't even think about counting yourself out before the race even starts.