The conductors of the study relied upon past information indicating that children born with low birth weights have an increased likelihood of suffering from health problems later in life -- many of these health problems are results of obesity. Generally -- the study found -- children born small but who catch up to average children by age two, tend to have higher central fat distributions later in life. The authors assert that this information is valuable because it suggests that reducing factors that lead to premature births may help in reducing the number of obese children.
Rimm, Dr. Sylvia. (2004). Rescuing the Emotional Lives of Overweight Children. New York: St. Martin's Press.
Dr. Rimm argues in her book that many of the social pressures put upon overweight children tend to have emotional results that perpetuate their weight problems. She refers to, throughout her book, many studies that she and others have conducted. After identifying many of the pressures overweight children are forced to face she goes on to offer possible methods for helping these children. The majority of the solutions are directed toward parents, and the role parents must play in providing their child with adequate self-esteem to deal with their obesity problems. Generally, Rimm attributes most of the behavioral causes of obesity to psychological issues; the most important of which are low self-esteem and social anxiety.
Sahota, Pinki and Mary C.J. Rudolf et al., eds. (2001). Evaluation of Implementation and Effect of Primary School Based Intervention to Reduce Risk Factors for Obesity. BMJ, Nov. 3; 323(7320): 1027.
The authors describe the study they conducted in which they implemented school action plans to determine if they were effective in reducing the levels of childhood obesity in those schools. Among the most important factors identified were school meal plans, and physical education. The schools agreed to incorporate nutrition education into their normal curriculum, and attempted to promote higher levels of fitness within their existing physical education program. They find...
Schools have a high level of contact with the children that attend them, and can significantly influence the diets and educational habits of their students.
Sothern, Melinda S. And T. Kristian von Almen, et al., eds. (2001). Trim Kids. New York: Harper Collins Publishers.
With this book the authors attempt to outline a twelve step plan for helping obese children reach more healthy body weights. It is suggested that this goal can be attained in just twelve weeks. First, causes are identified -- such as television, social issues, and industrialization -- then, general and rather obvious solutions are put forward. The authors argue that the parents themselves need to alter the way they eat in order to influence their children; they also need to lead more active lifestyles. This is because it is unlikely that the child will change their behavior independently. Essentially, this book offers nothing particularly new to the problem of childhood obesity and relies very little on actual scientific research or hypotheses.
Willms, J. Douglas. (2004). Early Childhood Obesity: A Call for Early Surveillance and Preventative Measures. Canadian Medical Association, Aug. 3; 171 (3).
Willms, throughout this article, points to results from a study conducted by Canning, Courage and Frizzell which sought to illustrate the importance of early surveillance of childhood obesity. He admits that there are certain limitations when attempting to define obesity for children and adolescents, but maintains that the methods for measuring this used by Canning and associates circumvented most of these issues. Willms further believes that evidence indicating childhood obesity produces health problems later in life is meager at this point and time and will require much more study than has currently been conducted. The article argues that obesity in children needs to be watched closely by experts because the implications for the health care systems of…
