California students getting fitter with age?

PALO ALTO, California — According to multiple 2015 data sets now available on Kidsdata.org, California students are showing improved fitness outcomes as they age.

First, more students are able to meet physical fitness standards as they rise between 5th, 7th, and 9th grades. In 2015, 26 percent of the state’s 5th graders met all fitness standards, compared with 33 percent of 7th graders and 38 percent of 9th graders. The upward trend was consistent across all races and ethnicities.

Second, younger students showed higher rates of obesity compared with older students. In 2015, 40 percent of 5th graders were overweight or obese, compared with 39 percent of 7th graders and 36 percent of 9th graders.

Overweight and obese children are at higher risk for a range of health problems, including heart disease, stroke, asthma and some types of cancer; they also are more likely to stay overweight or obese as adults.

In addition, children with obesity are at increased risk for joint and bone problems, sleep apnea and social and emotional difficulties, such as stigmatization and low self-esteem.

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans and the American Academy of Pediatrics recommend that children and adolescents participate in moderate-to-vigorous exercise at least 60 minutes every day. However, according to a 2014 report (PDF), only about one quarter of youth nationwide get the recommended amount of exercise.

According to experts, policy options that could improve children’s physical activity include ensuring that all schools meet state physical education requirements, making school recreational facilities available for use outside of school hours, and encouraging child care and after-school programs to incorporate physical activity opportunities.

Additional recommendations that would reduce childhood obesity include providing access to affordable healthful foods and beverages, and reducing access to high-calorie and sugar-sweetened drinks and foods.

source: globalnation.inquirer.net

Young male smokers may raise obesity risk in their future sons

LONDON - Men who start smoking before the age of 11 risk having sons who are overweight, British researchers have found, adding to evidence that lifestyle factors even in childhood can affect the health of future offspring.

The scientists said the findings, part of ongoing work in a larger "Children of the 90s" study, could indicate that exposure to tobacco smoke before the start of puberty in men may lead to metabolic changes in the next generation.

"This discovery of transgenerational effects has big implications for research into the current rise in obesity and the evaluation of preventative measures," said Marcus Pembrey, a professor of genetics at University College London, who led the study and presented its findings at a briefing on Wednesday.

Smoking rates in Britain and some other parts of Europe are on the decline, but worldwide, almost one billion men smoke - about 35 percent of men in developed countries and 50 percent in developing ones, according to the World Health Organization.

While previous studies in animals and in people have found some transgenerational health impacts, the evidence so far is limited. It points, however, to epigenetics - a process where lifestyle and environmental factors can turn certain genes on or off - having an effect on the health of descendants.

Pembrey said his team's research was prompted in part by signals from earlier Swedish studies that linked how plentiful a paternal ancestor's food supply was in mid childhood with future death rates in grandchildren.

For the new study, published in the European Journal of Human Genetics, the researchers had access to detailed lifestyle, genetic and other health data from 9,886 fathers.

Of these, 5,376, or 54 percent, were smokers at some time and of those, 166, or 3 percent, said they had started smoking regularly before the age of 11.

Looking at the next generation, the team found that at age 13, 15 and 17, the sons of men who started smoking before 11 had the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) scores compared with the sons of men who had started smoking later or who had never smoked.

"These boys had markedly higher levels of fat mass - ranging from an extra five kilograms (kg) to 10kg between ages 13 and 17," the study said.

Although it was there, the effect was not seen to the same degree in daughters.

External experts not involved with the research were more guarded about drawing firm conclusions from its findings.

Graham Burdge, an expert in human nutrition at the University of Southampton said the findings "may potentially provide new insights into factors that may influence development of obesity in childhood".

"However, the findings only show associations and cannot be interpreted as indicating that paternal smoking at an early age causes obesity in their sons," he added.

Tim Spector, a professor of genetic epidemiology at King's College London, said the findings were intriguing and rare.

"The data are persuasive but not yet definitive as we need to confirm the same smoking related epigenetics changes in the kids' DNA," he said. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

US childhood obesity fight sees some success – group

US companies and other groups that have made attempts to reverse the nation's rising childhood obesity rate are starting to see results as more American kids exercise and have better access to healthy foods, they said on Thursday.

More than 1,700 US cities have promoted exercise to get nearly 3 million more kids moving in the last year, according to a report by the Partnership for a Healthier America, a nonprofit that works to get private companies and organizations to pledge specific action to fight the weight epidemic.

Still, if left unchecked, about half of all Americans will be obese by 2030, according to the group, whose partners range from Darden Restaurants Inc and Walmart Stores Inc to the YMCA and the US Olympic Committee.

Some health advocates welcomed the findings but said more effort was still needed, including government action.

Already, one in three US youth are obese and another third are overweight. Experts are worried because heavier children are more likely to remain overweight as adults, and suffer a higher incidence of diabetes, heart disease and other conditions.

"We're seeing pockets of progress toward reversing the childhood obesity epidemic," said Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. "For progress to reach every corner of our country, we must redouble our efforts: parents, schools, nonprofit organizations, government at all levels, and the private sector."

Childhood obesity carries significant healthcare related costs and even poses national security risks, experts say, by reducing the pool of those fit for military service.

Some of the partner companies have pledged to change food offerings on restaurant menus or work to get more children into activities like soccer or tennis, according to the group, which released the report as part of its annual conference in Washington that also headlined First Lady Michelle Obama.

The group has said it wants to help 10 million Americans gain access to healthier foods, saying 23.5 million people in the United States – including 6.5 million children – have no nearby access to options like fresh produce or cannot afford to buy it.

Already, 141 grocery stores have been built or renovated in so-called "food deserts," often low-income urban neighborhoods without nearby grocery stores, helping more than a half-million people, it said.

"In places like Philadelphia, New York City and Mississippi - places where folks from every sector are working together - we've seen childhood obesity rates begin to come down," said Obama, who has made tackling obesity her signature issue while in the White House.

Fruits and vegetables, meat and other whole foods can often be more expensive than processed ones that contain subsidized ingredients such as high fructose corn syrup.

Some health experts have been critical of the food industry for offering unhealthy products. Manufacturers have long pointed to consumer choice, but many have begun to change their offerings in recent years as more US consumers become health conscious.

Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker, another honorary vice chairman and a Democrat, told MSNBC the annual progress report is important for holding companies accountable to their commitments to change.

On Thursday, several more companies joined the partnership, including GE Healthcare, part of General Electric Co, and Cerner Corp, among others. – Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com