Great Job, Parents!

From the desk of Nurse Practitioner Romina GiesemanRomina Gieseman, CPNPAccording to the New York Times, federal authorities reported a 43 percent drop in the obesity rate among 2-to 5-year-old children over the past decade.  This is a significant finding that has given some researchers hope that policy changes, may positively affect health behavior. The behaviors cited that are believed to have contributed to the decline are:1.    Children now consume less calories from sugary beverages than they did in 1999 and consume 4-7% less calories than they did ten years ago (down 7% for boys; down 4% for girls). 2.   More women are breastfeeding, which can lead to healthier weight gain for younger children. 3.   Families with children have been buying lower-calorie foods over the past decade. Children ages 2 to 5 years old from low-income families have a 6% decrease in obesity from 2004-2012. (New York Times; 2/26/14) Barry M. Poplin, a researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, stated that the buying of lower-calorie foods over the past decade was unrelated to the economic downturn. He gave credit to  the WIC program, which stands for the federally funded "Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children"(WIC).  The program has reduced funding to subsidize fruit juices, cheese and eggs while it has increased funding for whole fruits and vegetables.  First ...
Source: Pediatric Health Associates - Category: Pediatrics Tags: Healthy Habits Source Type: news