How Young Is Too Young To Diet?

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scaleFrom Your Health Journal…..”An excellent article from ABC News in Denver via the Tampa Bay Times called How Young Is Too Young To Diet? More than one-third of US children now are overweight or obese. The childhood-obesity rate more than tripled in 30 years. The White House (with the support of Mrs. Obama) has declared the epidemic a national priority. Worldwide, childhood obesity is quickly becoming an epidemic, as many experts are worried this could be the first generation of children to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Children are also showing risk factors for heart disease, with signs of high cholesterol and blood pressure – and many children have type 2 diabetes. Today’s article review discusses dieting for children. Many times, I do have a problem with parents putting their child on a diet, unless they get approved by a nutritionist, dietician, or pediatrician. Child and dieting is not necessary unless approved by professional, and should never really be done based on parental decisions. Many parents are not educated on doing it the correct way, and in many cases, neglect certain food groups needed for normal growth and development for children. Please visit the ABC web site to view (link provided below) the complete article.”

From the article…..

A couple of years ago, Dara-Lynn Weiss set out to do something that health experts have urged millions of American moms and dads to do: help her obese child lose weight.

At nearly 4 feet 5 and 93 pounds, then-7-year-old Bea would hardly rate a second glance from Jerry Springer. But her pediatrician declared she was in the 98th percentile for weight related to height, placing her within the definition of pediatric obesity.

On a physician-approved diet closely (and I mean closely) monitored by Mom, Bea peeled off 16 pounds and grew more than an inch over the course of a year, landing her at a healthy weight. Weiss — with her daughter’s approval — reported their experience last year in Vogue magazine, accompanied by glamorous photos.

Whatever applause there might have been, however, was drowned out by fury. Columnists and bloggers around the world accused Weiss of numerous offenses, such as being “the worst mother in the world.”

They thought the diet was too strict for such a young child. They criticized Weiss for “publicly shaming” Bea by sometimes declining rich desserts. They predicted Bea would develop eating disorders and hate her mother.

Even the doctor who provided the family with Bea’s diet got into the brawl, complaining the child didn’t stick with the weekly weigh-ins at her office.

Now Weiss has dusted herself off and turned the experience into a book, “The Heavy — A Mother, A Daughter, A Diet.” It stands out from the pack in the annual onslaught of diet-related books.

More than a third of American children now are considered overweight or obese. The childhood-obesity rate more than tripled in 30 years. The White House has declared the epidemic a national priority. “The Biggest Loser” is putting obese kids on prime-time TV, though apparently with far more sensitivity than the grown-ups get.

But what I hadn’t heard until now is a detailed account of a parent watching a beloved child become obese, despite careful guidance, healthy foods and opportunities to be active.

I would not have expected to sympathize with a woman who would take a half-finished hot chocolate away from her child when she found out that it had far more calories than the store advertised.

To read the full article…..Click here