Childhood Obesity Cause Worst Health Problems Later in Life.

What ever happened to "Go outside and play?"

Hey folks,

I'm being serious here. I know, I know, it's a different time and people have to be more careful today. I have told this story many times over the years, but it is important to talk about in this situation. I grew up in a small town called Salisbury Mills NY. I do not even think my Grandma had locks on her door.

There was a little Store, simply called "The Store" in the center of town, a Firehouse, Post Office, and two Bars. Other than them, there where people. Oh, and an abandon Paper Mill that we use to play in all the time. But the rest of the Town were Neighbors. Truly. Everyone knew everyone, and everyone knew Dot. My Grandmother. Which, in turn meant, everyone knew who I was.

Me and Billy use to "go outside and play" all the time. It was a true mystery how my Grandmother always knew what we were doing even if we were on the other side of town. Now I understand, but back then? We though she was a witch of something. She always knew.

But we did. We went out and played. From sun up to to dinner in the summer. Then to sun down after dinner in the summer. We did not have computer games, computers period, automated toys, and all the stuff kids have today. We did not have cell phones. If I wanted to talk to my friend Billy, I have to get on my BIKE, not battery or gas powered, but peddle powered BIKE and go to his house. Then he would get on his, and off we went.

We had a great imagination. A stick we found in the woods would be a sword, gun, magic wand, whatever. We played Sports with other kids in the neighborhood. None of this silly touch only or not even touch Sports. No, every time we got together one of us, boys OR girls, went home injured, got patched up, and back into the middle of it again we went.

My point is this. We moved more, than we ate. None of us were really obese. Billy was a little chubby in the yearly years, but he is now over six feet  tall. The point is, we were ACTIVE. Always active. Always doing something.

Today, our kids would rather stay home and sit on their,,,well,,,you know, playing video games and playing on the computer. Even the Toys do most of the work for them today. So? in the name of convenience, and in less income single parent homes, a necessity, parents are feeding their kids more and more crap. There is something wrong when a single mom can go through a drive through and spend $3.00 for a meal of processed garbage, yet can not spend that same three dollars to buy much of anything else. Hell, a head of lettuce and a gallon of milk would exceed $5.00.  Forget about buying healthy food. That would cost much much more. Then you have the whole, no time to cook, or the inability to cook.

So our kids, eat garbage, and are pretty much sedentary. So we get what we get. Over weight and obese kids. That is why I have promoted the ELMM Diet for years. Eat Less, Move More. But fat kids is not the only issue. We all know that being over weigh is not good for you. With all that extra weigh comes a barrage of health problems. Not only now as kids, but in their later years as well. A new study has look at one such issue. Cancer. Yup. Liver Cancer to be exact.

According to Health Day - Childhood Obesity May Raise Odds of Adult Liver Cancer by -- Robert Preidt

Findings underscore importance of healthy weight in youth, researcher says 


Just one such reason. But it is an interesting article

FRIDAY, April 20 (HealthDay News) -- Adults who were obese as children are at increased risk for liver cancer, a new study suggests.

Researchers looked at the birth weight and body-mass index (a measurement of body fat based on height and weight commonly called BMI) of more than 165,000 men and 160,000 women in Denmark born between 1930 and 1989.

Of those participants, 252 developed hepatocellular carcinoma, the most common form of liver cancer in adulthood.

The study authors calculated that at age 7, the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma increased by 12 percent for every one-point increase in BMI. By age 13, that risk increased to 25 percent. Therefore, as units of BMI increased into adulthood, so did the risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma. This was consistently similar across both genders and all ages.

Other factors associated with liver cancer include alcoholism, infection by hepatitis B and C, and other liver diseases. But the study results did not change when participants with these factors were removed from the study, which indicates that childhood obesity was the major factor in the development of hepatocellular carcinoma, the researchers said.

The study was slated for presentation Thursday at the International Liver Congress in Barcelona.

"Childhood obesity not only leads to the development of many adverse metabolic conditions -- such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease -- but also fatty liver disease, which may subsequently result in liver cancer," Dr. Frank Lammert, a scientific committee member of the European Association for the Study of the Liver, said in an association news release.

"The importance of maintaining a healthy childhood BMI cannot be underestimated," Lammert said in the release. "These alarming study results point to a potential correlation between childhood obesity and development of liver cancer in adulthood."
Data and conclusions presented at meetings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed medical journal.

More information The American Liver Foundation has more about liver cancer.

Like I said, I understand it is a differ time. Many years have past, and society has changed, since those good  old days of my youth. But that is not excuse. If your child is getting heavy. Start thinking about ways you can change course. If they are not yet, then you still need to seek ways to keep them active. Join Sports. Martial Arts. Go for walks WITH them. Bike rides. Whatever. Active parents have active kids. I'm not saying to forbid them their video games and or computer. But limit the time so they are getting the much needed exercise they need. Being over weight is much more worse than just looking bad.
Peter