Portfolious

Another step in Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity is to urge the nation’s largest food companies to make their food products healthier by reducing fat, salt and sugar in their products. She is also requesting that these same companies reconsider directing their marketing of unhealthy foods to children.

At a meeting of the Grocery Manufacturers Association last week, Michelle Obama told the food industry “to not just tweak around the edges but entirely rethink the products you are offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children,” she said.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which counts Kraft Foods Inc., Coca Cola Co. and General Mills Inc. among its members, invited her to speak at its science forum this week.  Attendees gave her a standing ovation.

Welcoming the first lady and helping implement her campaign against childhood obesity could have its advantages. The food industry is in a situation where their profits are expected to decrease in the coming year, due to a child nutrition bill that is moving through Congress that could potentially remove all junk food in schools.

Former President Bill Clinton, who in 2005 partnered with the American Heart Association for a similar campaign against childhood obesity, said he was thrilled that Michelle Obama had joined the cause. “She’ll get visibility for it that I can’t get. She’s a lot younger than I am. She’ll relate better to a lot of the kids in the schools. They’ll relate better to her. I think it’s a really great thing for her to do this.”

Last week, Clinton announced that he has been able to reduce beverage calories shipped to schools by 88%.   His effort was aimed at replacing full calorie soft drinks with reduced calorie, smaller portion beverages in school cafeterias and vending machines.

Since the science forum last week, Kraft Foods Inc. has announced that they are going to make positive changes and reduce fat, salt and sugar in their products.  Michelle Obama expects that other companies will announce changes to their products in the coming weeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michelle_obama_food_companies

In the state of the union address a few weeks ago, President Barack Obama announced that his wife, Michelle, has been laying the groundwork for over a year, developing a plan to fight childhood obesity.   To achieve this goal, Michelle Obama has requested the help of parents, schools, health professionals, sports and entertainment role models, business leaders and governments.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that causes numerous health problems that can affect children now and as they grow into adults.  Currently 1 out of every 3 children is considered overweight.

There are several factors contributing to this epidemic including the following:

Busy parents opt for fast food rather than healthy family dinners at home.

Vending machines stocked with soda and candy bars.

Availability of high fat, high calorie snacks marketed towards children.

High cost of healthy options (there may be a link between obesity and low income).

Children rather watch TV or play games than play outside and exercise.

Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association, said Obama’s focus will help generate the motivation needed to change attitudes.  Michelle Obama, known as a mother, motivator and role model is the perfect fit to get this job done.  Yancy admits Michelle has a tough job ahead of her, but he thinks that her goals can be achieved only with the help of several of organizations that can make substantive changes such as reducing fatty snacks and sodas in schools, providing better nutrition labeling of processed foods.

Michelle Obama’s plan to end childhood obesity includes the following:

Increase federal money to make cafeteria options healthier

Get the junk food out of school vending machines.

Expand time for school recess and physical education.

Offer federal incentives to low income families so that they can purchase healthier foods.

Stop companies from marketing junk food to children.

Pass laws to make restaurants to print nutrition information on menus.

Encourage health practitioners to do more medical screening for obesity in children.

Work with FDA to improve food labeling.

Provide behavior counseling to overweight kids.

Included in this list is the ‘School Lunch Program’ which is up for review by Congress this year.  Parents can control their child’s diet most of the time, but a huge weakness in her fight against obesity is the options available to kids when their parents aren’t around – at school.  To help with the School Lunch Program, President Barack Obama’s proposed budget calls for an additional 1 billion dollars each year for child nutrition programs.

Dora Rivas, president of the School Nutrition Association and director of food services for the Dallas public schools, said schools need more federal dollars to be able to use fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains into lunches, and to keep up with the growing numbers of children who qualify for free or reduced-cost meals.

Michelle Obama has a tough road ahead of her, but she said last month that she won’t be satisfied unless she knows she’s made a difference. “That is the legacy I want,” she said. “I want to leave something behind that we can say, because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.”

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_first_lady_s_cause

SOURCE:  http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=13585&blogid=564

A new study revealed hope for families with children that are autistic. For the first time, researchers have discovered that if a child is diagnosed with autism as early as 18 months of age, they can raise IQ levels and improve language skills through age-appropriate therapy.  “Early intervention can be very effective for toddlers with autism,” says Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, and one of the two lead authors of the study.

Children with autism can have one of several complex neurological disorders, which lead to social impairments, communication difficulties and restrictive and repetitive behaviors. While the cause of autism in not known , the benefits of early intervention have been shown to reduce disruptive behaviors and teach the child skills that will lead to greater independence as he or she gets older.

There is no known cure for autism. The researchers in this study are quick to point out that they were not able to cure children with autism, the subjects of the study still have autism, but in a milder form.

In 2007, the American Academy of Pediatrics recommended that all children be screened for autism at the ages of 18 months and 24 months.  What was always unclear was once a child was diagnosed as autistic, no one knew the next steps for therapy.

Geraldine Dawson and Sally Rogers from the University of California-Davis M.I.N.D. Institute devised the trial involving 48 children with autism.  All the children in the trial were between 18 months and 2 1/2 years old at the beginning of the study. Half of the children were given community-based interventions or therapies and the other half were enrolled in a 20-hour per week intervention program called “Early Start Denver Model” (ESDM), developed by Rogers. The goal of this research was to determine how they can reduce the debilitating effects of autism.

The Early Start Denver Model was designed to address the needs of toddlers with autism as young as 12 months old.  ESDM is delivered by trained therapists and their parents in a very natural setting, usually the child’s own home. Children are sitting on the floor and playing, rather than having adult-directed therapy. “It’s a very pleasing kind of therapy, kids are happy. It is play, and it can happen everywhere,” Rogers explains. Dawson adds that this type of intervention builds on a fun, positive relationship with the therapist. This is a contrast to traditional Applied Behavioral Analysis, which is delivered at a desk, with the child sitting next to the teacher or therapist, who breaks down complex tasks into small components and then gives tangible reinforcements.

At the end of the two year study, all children showed improvement.  However, the children in the ESDM group had increased their IQ by nearly 18 points.  This was 10 points higher than the children getting the standard autism therapy offered in the community. Scores for listening and understanding were higher in the ESDM group as well as self-care skills. 

The study’s authors also noted that the children in the ESDM group required only 15 hours of weekly intervention with a therapist, compared with the usual 40 recommended hours. This can have a significant economic impact on families. In 2006, a Harvard study estimated the lifelong cost of care for person with autism is more than $3 million. Rogers says parents can pick up the ESDM therapy methods quite easily. “They can learn this within six hours of working with therapists,” she says. Then parents can use the skills in everyday settings, not just during specific therapy sessions.

“This is a good-news story” says Dr. Fred Volkmar, an autism expert and director of Yale University’s Child Study Center.  He says it shows that by effectively intervening at this young age, it is possible to prevent some of the early problems autism causes.

For more information on how to recognize autism, EDMS and other possible therapies, go to http://www.autismspeaks.org/ and http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/mindinstitute/.

SOURCE:  http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/conditions/11/30/autism.study/index.html

Children are the most ‘at risk’ group concerning illness.  The current state of national emergency with H1N1 has brought attention to some of the other preventable diseases and illnesses.  Here is what you can do to protect your child’s health by taking the proper steps to prevent illness with immunizations.

Immunizations start right after birth, and many are given throughout a baby’s first 23 months. Booster shots (the later doses of any vaccines that need to be repeated over time) occur throughout life.  Before beginning any type of immunization schedule, you should always talk with your pediatrician about possible side effects and pre existing conditions that your child may to help prevent complications of the shots.  You may also want to set up an immunization schedule with your doctor as timing of each shot is crucial to prevention. 

Immunizations shots are given to children to prevent the following illnesses:

• Diphtheria
• Tetanus
• Pertussis (whooping cough)
• Polio
• Measles
• Mumps
• Rubella
• Chickenpox
• Rotavirus
• Bacterial Meningitis
• Hepatitis B
• Hepatitis A
• Human Papillomavirus (HPV)
• Haemophilus influenzae Type b disease  (HIB disease)
• Pneumococcal disease and Flu (influenza)

Please review the attached recommended Immunization Schedule approved by the Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

• http://www.aafp.org/online/etc/medialib/aafp_org/documents/clinical/immunization/childsched.Par.0001.File.tmp/09childsched.pdf

Fewer immunizations are needed after age 6 although older children and teens need shots too (such as those for bacterial meningitis and for tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough). Some shots, such as Tetanus, are also given during adulthood.

It is important to keep good records including immunizations received and a list of any reactions to the vaccines, as your child may need them later for acceptance to schools and for travel purposes.  

What about negative side effects?  The CDC is aware that there are myths and misinformation about vaccine safety abound that can confuse parents who are trying to make sound decisions about their children’s healthcare.  While some of the sickness or reactions that follow vaccination may be caused by the vaccine, many are unrelated events that occur by coincidence after vaccination. Therefore, the scientific research that attempts to distinguish true vaccine adverse events from unrelated, chance occurrences is important.  The CDC is responsible for ongoing research, noting all cases of adverse reactions and complications.  Overall the benefits clearly outway the negative side effects and vaccinations are promoted and encouraged by the CDC. 

 http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/updates/

 http://www.aafp.org/online/en/home/clinical/immunizationres/child.html

 http://www.babycenter.com/shots