While many parents accuse today’s celebrities of being poor role models, a few famous faces have been encouraging their young admirers to get into shape by taking part in fitness ‘bootcamps’. With the rate at which technology is currently integrating itself into the everyday lives of young people, it’s easy to see why many children [...]
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According to a study published in Archives of Disease in Childhood journal, two thirds of obese children exhibit a problem with their health which is a contributor to heart disease. High cholesterol, blood sugar and high blood pressure may already be present by 12 years of age.
read moreA recent study from Canada has shown that the number of hours spent watching TV between two years and four years old can have a detrimental effect on the size of a child’s waistline by the age of 10. The study, which was published in a BioMed Central journal, looked at the television habits of 1,314 children. One extra hour of TV viewing each week at age four could affect the muscle fitness of a child aged 10 and also increase the size of their waste by half a millimetre.
read moreA controversial advertising campaign aimed at highlighting the issue of childhood obesity has caused outrage in the United States, but has been accepted in the UK. The adverts, which are designed to shock, feature real children who are obese with slogans on them. One reads “Warning. It’s hard to be a little girl if you’re not” and “My fat may be funny to you, but it’s killing me”.
The adverts have won the approval of the chairman (more…)
As the level of teenage drinking continues to rise, Roisin Shortall, the Irish health minister has made the suggestion that permitting teenagers to consume alcohol in the home could be a contributory factor of substance abuse among youths. Although the minister recognises that most parents allow consumption of alcohol at home in order to encourage a responsible attitude towards drinking, she believes that this practice may cause more harm.
According to the minister for health, alcohol is more damaging to teenagers than (more…)
MP Diane Abbott said in an interview with The Standard, that children must be allowed to play in the street in order to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity. The Labour MP believes that many children become obese as their parents are afraid to let them play outdoors. She also stated that the present day culture of PlayStation 3 (more…)