MedlinePlus, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health published the following press release on their site regarding  study findings that support kids teaching kids when it comes to fighting obesity.

MONDAY, Feb. 10, 2014 (HealthDay News) — When older kids teach younger kids about nutrition and the benefits of exercise, the little ones seem to lose weight and gain knowledge about healthy living, Canadian researchers report.

Such a program — called Healthy Buddies — was tested in Manitoba elementary schools. It helped heavy kids lose an average of half an inch off their waist and increased their knowledge of diet and exercise, the researchers said.

“Engaging older kids in delivering health messages to younger peers is an effective method for preventing weight gain, improving knowledge of healthy living and increasing self-esteem,” said lead researcher Jonathan McGavock, an assistant professor at the University of Manitoba.

“The effects of this peer mentoring model of healthy living promotion is particularly effective for overweight children,” McGavock said. This approach — detailed online in the Feb. 10 issue of the journal JAMA Pediatrics — could help curb the obesity epidemic among young children in North America, he said. The percentage of U.S. children aged 6 to 11 considered obese increased from 7 percent in 1980 to nearly 18 percent in 2010, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

McGavock said younger children see older children as role models, which is why their advice is taken more seriously than when the same message is delivered by adults. “Younger children likely pay more attention to messages or cues from older peers,” he said. “Therefore, proper role modeling of healthy behaviors should be a key objective of elementary schools.”

Dr. David Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research Center in New Haven, Conn., said he wasn’t surprised by the findings. “In my many interactions with parents regarding the importance of good nutrition in childhood, one of the more frequent protests over the years has been peer pressure,” Katz said. “Parents, it seems, often feel powerless to overcome the negative influence of peers eating badly.”

But Katz, a father of five, said he has seen the upside of peer pressure. “My wife and I have shared our devotion to healthy living with our children, and they have made it their own,” he said. “They, in turn, have helped pay it forward, influencing their peers favorably.”This paper illustrates the opportunity to convert negative peer pressure into a positive peer influence,” Katz said.

“We can teach healthy living skills to older kids and they, of course, benefit,” he said. “They can then help pass these skills along to younger kids, and both groups benefit some more. This paper highlights an important opportunity we have only begun to leverage — peer pressure, for good.”

Healthy Buddies has lessons that focus on physical activity, healthy eating, self-esteem and body image. The instruction is given by 9- to 12-year-olds to 6- to 8-year-olds.

In this study, 19 schools were randomly assigned to use the Healthy Buddies curriculum or their regular instruction during the 2009-’10 school year. Over the course of the school year, the researchers looked at changes in waist size and body-mass index (BMI), as well as physical activity, heart fitness, self-image and knowledge about healthy living and diet.

They found that the waist size of children in the Healthy Buddies program dropped an average of half an inch compared with children in the regular curriculum. There was no difference in BMI — a measurement of fat based on height and weight — between the groups.

Based on responses to questionnaires, knowledge about healthy living, self-image and diet increased among kids in the Healthy Buddies program, compared with other children, the researchers said. No differences, however, were seen between the groups in terms of physical activity (steps taken per day) or heart and lung fitness, the researchers said.

This suggests that the reduction in waist size seen among the Healthy Buddies participants is attributable to dietary changes, the researchers said.

SOURCES: Jonathan McGavock, Ph.D., assistant professor, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada; David Katz, M.D., M.P.H., director, Yale University Prevention Research Center, New Haven, Conn.; Feb. 10, 2014, JAMA Pediatrics, online

At some time in their growing up years, most children want a dog. They pester and promise until many parents agree; a dog is then picked out of a kennel, or a rescue site often based on size, how cute the dog is, and how friendly it appears to be compared to the other dogs at the kennel or rescue site.

But, what about avoiding dog breeds not generally considered the best choice for kids? This is not to say they aren’t great dogs, many are nice, but they are typically known to be better for adults, not children.  Energy level is also a consideration for most families.  Dogs who are extremely powerful, protective, or have high prey drive are best suited to be owned by responsible adults.  Dogs may be scared by the erratic movements and noises of children.  “It’s all in how you raise them” is a common thing you hear, but this is not entirely true.  Temperament depends a lot on a dog’s genetics.  Not just the breed itself, but a combination of the genetics, training, and how the owner raises and socializes the dog and teaches the children to interact properly with the dog.

This list was compiled based on experience and opinions of  trainers, veterinarians, breeders of dogs, and statistics from the Center for Disease Control (CDC).

1. Chow Chow– may not like to be touched, aloof, independent
2. Terriers (Rat Terrier, Jack Russell)– bred to kill vermin, often avoided due to tendency to nip, sometimes too hyper
3. Chihuahua– any toy breed is too small and delicate for kids, ex. breaking a leg falling off a bed, and may be intimidated and snap
4. Belgian Malinois– like many herding/protection breeds, they are too high-energy, high-drive and too impulsive to be suitable as a child’s pet
5. Cane Corso– Large, very powerful, and may not tolerate children well
6. Border Collie– any herding breed is not the best choice, may try to “herd” children by nipping, some have fear/anxiety issues and may bite, very energetic
7. South African Boerboel– can be dominant, too over-protective, and are very large and powerful
8. Siberian Husky– the CDC considers them high risk for bites
9. Doberman– territorial, and some may be too protective over children
10. Shar Pei– guard dog instincts, independent

Other breeds of dogs that might also not be the best choice for young children are:  Rottweiler, Dachshund, Presa Canario, Akita, German Shepherd, and a St.Bernard.

Whatever the breed, never leave your children unattended with dogs. Children need to understand that dogs are not toys. Children need to be taught to respect dogs.

If you are going to get a dog, make the commitment to get the dog obedience training, which is essential for all dogs.

Sources:

 Dynamic Dogs Training & Behavior, The CDC Dog Bite Prevention

 Brigham Young University issued a press release on January 16, 2014  sharing findings of a new study documenting that children who were the object of bullying during P.E. class or other physical activities were less likely to participate in physical activity one year later.

Study findings indicated that overweight or obese children who experienced teasing during physical activity had a lower perceived health-related quality of life (referring to physical, social, academic and emotional functioning) one year later. Even children with a healthy weight who were subjected to bullying during physical activity tended to exercise less often one year later. Many previous studies have already correlated bullying with decreased physical activity among kids who are obese or overweight, but it was surprising to find that the correlation didn’t end there.

“Our finding that this applies to normal-weight kids also was novel,” said Chad Jensen, a psychology professor at BYU and lead author on the study published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology.

This study looked at associations between bullying, physical activity and quality of life over time, following up with the same participants after a full year.

The participants in this study were 4th and 5th grade students from six different elementary schools in the Midwest. Participants completed three surveys at the beginning of the study and then completed the same three surveys again one year later.

The first survey asked questions about problems with health and activities, emotional well-being, getting along with classmates and academic abilities. The second survey assessed teasing experiences during physical activity. The third survey asked specific situational questions to determine whether the student had been bullied during physical activity and the emotional effect it had. The questions explored experiences such as:

• Being made fun of when playing sports or exercising.
• Not being chosen to be on a sports team or other children looking or acting upset when the child was placed on the team.
• Being called insulting names when playing sports or exercising.

Study results showed a decrease in physical activity of healthy-weight students who are bullied, and a decrease in health-related quality of life for students who were overweight or obese who reported teasing in the first survey.

“Overweight kids who were teased reported poorer functional ability across domains (physical, social, academic and physical),” said Jensen. “If we can help them to have a better perception of their physical and social skills, then physical activity may increase and health-related quality is likely to improve.”

While most schools participate in comprehensive anti-bullying programs, Jensen recommends implementing policies that discourage peer victimization based on physical abilities.

“We hope our study will raise awareness that educators should consider bullying prevention during physical education and free play (recess) when kids may be discouraged from being physically active because of teasing experiences,” Jensen said.

Little kids and shopping carts can be a bad combination, especially if a child doesn’t understand the dangers of standing up in or trying to climb out of a cart. It only takes a few seconds, while a parent or other adult is intent on picking a product off the shelf, for an accident to happen. The following news release states that new, U.S. research finds a child is being seen in an emergency room every 22 minutes because of an injury related to shopping carts.

Falling from shopping carts caused 70 percent of the injuries, followed by running into/falling over a cart, cart tip-overs, and fingers, legs, or arms getting trapped in a cart.

The study in the January issue of Clinical Pediatrics, found that more than 500,000 children under the age of 15 were treated at emergency rooms for shopping cart-related injuries between 1990 and 2011, an average of more than 24,000 a year.

Seventy-eight percent of the injuries were to the head. Soft tissue injuries were the most common type of head injury, but the annual rate of concussions and internal head injuries rose by more than 200 percent during the study period, from 3,483 in 1990 to 12,333 in 2011. Most of this increase occurred in infants and toddlers.

Voluntary shopping cart safety standards introduced in the United States in 2004 have done little good, the researchers noted.

“The findings from our study show that the current voluntary standards for shopping cart safety are not adequate,” Dr. Gary Smith, director of the Center for Injury Research and Policy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, said in a hospital news release.

“Not only have the overall number of child injuries associated with shopping carts not decreased since implementation of the safety standards, but the number of concussions and closed head injuries is actually increasing,” Smith said. “It is time we take action to protect our children by strengthening shopping cart safety standards with requirements that will more effectively prevent tip-overs and falls from shopping carts.”

Suggestions include improved restraint systems, placing child seats in shopping carts closer to the floor, teaching parents about shopping cart safety and having stores promote the use of cart safety belts.

Researchers added that there is even more that parents can do to keep their children safe around shopping carts. These include not using carts that lack safety restraints or have broken wheels, staying with the cart and child at all times, and not putting infant seats on top of shopping carts. Parents would be better off putting their infants either in strollers or in carriers that strap to the front or back of the parent’s body.

“It is important for parents to understand that shopping carts can be a source of serious injury for their children,” said Smith, a professor of pediatrics at Ohio State University College of Medicine. “However, they can reduce the risk of injury by taking a few simple steps of precaution, such as always using the shopping cart safety belts if their child needs to ride in the cart.”

SOURCE: Nationwide Children’s Hospital, news release, Jan. 21, 2014

The School Nutrition Association (SNA) launched a PR campaign called Tray Talk in 2010. The official website (www.TrayTalk.org), is designed to emphasize the benefits of school meals and showcase success stories from school nutrition programs nationwide. SNA members can help send positive messages about school meals by submitting their own “school nutrition success stories” at the Tray Talk website.

Here is some of the information shared on the site:

School meals are well-balanced, healthy meals that are required to meet science-based, federal nutrition standards.

• • No more than 30% of calories can come from fat, less than 10% from saturated fat
  • Meals must provide 1/3 of Recommended Dietary Allowances of protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium
  • School meals are served in age-appropriate portion sizes
• Every School Lunch Includes five choices that add up to a great value:
  • Milk – Fat free or 1% – flavored or regular
  • Vegetables – From jicama slaw to fresh carrot sticks
  • Fruit – Everything from kiwi to locally grown apples; often fresh
  • Grains – More whole grain items like rolls or sandwich bread
  • Meat or meat alternate –White meat chicken, bean chili, lean beef

•  In January 2011, the US Department of Agriculture released proposed nutrition standards including new calorie and sodium limits, larger fruit and vegetable serving sizes and requirements to expand the variety of vegetables served in schools each week. The standards were finalized in 2012.
  

The School Nutrition Association makes the case for your child eating a school lunch saying, “A school lunch provides students with their choice of milk, fruits and vegetables, grains and proteins. School meals are a great value and a huge convenience for busy parents. School cafeterias offer students a variety of healthy choices and help children learn how to assemble a well-balanced meal. Parents can be assured that there’s no super-sizing in school cafeterias because federal regulations require schools to serve age-appropriate portions.”

For more information on healthy school meals, visit www.schoolnutrition.org.