School-based physical education plays a key role in curbing obesity and improving fitness among adolescents from low-income communities, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco and UC Berkeley.
The study, which identifies opportunities for adolescents to improve their health based on routine daily activities, finds that regular participation in PE class is significantly associated with greater cardiovascular fitness and lower body mass index.
“We took an incredibly comprehensive look at all of the opportunities kids have throughout their day to engage in physical activity and determined which are the most strongly linked to fitness and weight status,” said first author Kristine Madsen, MD, MPH, an assistant professor of pediatrics at UCSF Children’s Hospital. “Obesity continues to be a major public health concern, particularly in low-income communities, so it is imperative that we develop targeted interventions to improve the health of at-risk youth.”
“This research will help support moving physical education policy forward. Clearly, physical education in schools is an underutilized tool in our efforts to reduce pediatric obesity,” said Patricia Crawford, DrPH, RD, the study’s senior author and director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health at UC Berkeley.
The study appears in the November 2009 issue of the journal “Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine”.
Continue reading "Physical education key to improving health in low-income adolescents" »
Health and medical professionals have cited sobering statistics in recent years about the ever-increasing waistline of adults and children in the United States and the long-term impact carrying that extra weight will have on our collective health and economy.
The facts are staggering: nearly two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese; 34 percent of children and adolescents between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight or obese. The increase in obesity - fueled by unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity - has led to a surge in diabetes during the last 20 years. Moreover, in California, some ethnic groups - Latinos, African Americans, Asian/Pacific Islanders and Native Americans - are affected disproportionately. And if nothing is done to curtail the increasing rates of obesity in children, they will be the first generation of offspring who will not outlive their parents.
Those are some of the findings included in a report being distributed today to California law makers. The 42-page Legislative Task Force on Diabetes & Obesity Report to the California Legislature covers the impact obesity and diabetes has on a number of different levels, from personal health to economics. It also includes recommendations on how policies can be implemented to address obesity at home, in the workplace, schools and community.
The report was co-written by Cooperative Extension Specialist Patricia B. Crawford, co-director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health and UC Davis professors Rudy Ortiz and M.R.C Greenwood. The authors are members of the Legislative Task Force on Diabetes and Obesity.
Continue reading "Report Details Increasing Overweight and Obesity in California" »
Researchers CNR have identified a new enzyme that plays a far more important role than expected in controlling the breakdown of fat. In a new study in the journal Nature Medicine, researchers report that mice that have had this enzyme disabled remained lean despite eating a high-fat diet and losing a hormone that suppresses appetite.
[Video from ABC-7 News]
"We have discovered a new enzyme within fat cells that is a key regulator of fat metabolism and body weight, making it a promising target in the search for a treatment for human obesity," said Hei Sook Sul, professor of nutritional sciences and toxicology and principal investigator of the research.
Sul's research team includes the three co-lead authors of the paper, all from UC Berkeley's Department of Nutritional Sciences and Toxicology: Kathy Jaworski, former post-doctoral researcher; Maryam Ahmadian, graduate student; and Robin Duncan, post-doctoral fellow.
Continue reading " Mice without key enzyme eat without becoming obese" »
Reports in the press related to diet and nutrition are often conflicting -- and can easily confuse than clarify the issue of what people should eat to prevent obesity.
Researchers at the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health recently conducted a comprehensive review of the literature published between 1992 and 2003 on the dietary determinants of obesity in children
and adults.
Read about their findings here. (PDF)
From California Agriculture
The statistics are alarming: the prevalence of overweight children has tripled over the last 30 years, and now affects one in six school-aged children nationwide. But while the problem is plain to see, the remedy has been elusive. Recent studies by UC researchers and others reveal that the rise in childhood obesity is rooted in fundamental social changes, explaining why this epidemic is so hard to control as well as bringing us closer to a solution.
“We used to think the primary cause was parenting, then we thought it was genetic,” says Pat Crawford, co-director of the Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Center for Weight and Health. “But neither could explain the rapid increase in childhood obesity — we found that a significant fraction is environmental.”
Children are considered to be overweight when their body mass index (weight divided by height squared) is at or above the 95th percentile for their age. Half of overweight children continue to be overweight as adults, increasing their risk of illnesses including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and asthma.
Continue reading "Teaming up helps bring down childhood overweight" »
The Dr. Robert C. and Veronica Atkins Foundation has pledged $10 million to the Center for Weight and Health at the University of California, Berkeley, to support nutrition research and obesity prevention programs.
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On Homecoming weekend, Professor Marc Hellerstein presented major themes of his current research in nutritional sciences, including working with complex systems, promising research in ALS (Lou Gherig's Disease), and harnessing the health benefits of caloric restriction and exercise.
Continue reading "Biochemical Moving Pictures: Homecoming Podcast" »
Dieting, particularly in adolescence, can be counterproductive.
One expert, Joanne Ikeda, found that out when she surveyed adult women about their dieting habits in a study published in 2004 in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association. She asked 149 obese women if they had dieted and if so, how many times and when.
Continue reading "Child diets don't fight obesity" »
