Scientists from the University of Cincinnati have come up with a new preventive strategy to fight childhood obesity.
This issue has become an important cause of concern for both the parent and the society. In the spring season the researchers recruited many parents and children for a program in Meade County, Ky to fight childhood obesity. The program extended for a period of 12-weeks. Now the researchers are planning to launch the new program among the fifth-graders. The obesity intervention program is the creation of Megan Canavera, a registered dietician and master's degree candidate in the program of health promotion and education, UC College of Education, Criminal Justice, and Human Services, and her advisor, Manoj Sharma, associate professor of health promotion and education.The UC researchers are coordinating with the Brandenburg school's physical education teacher as they test the intervention program developed around four specific components: Regular physical activity: Enforcing healthy eating habits, such as limiting portion size, cutting soft drink consumption and adding fruits and vegetables to the children's diet Cutting back on time watching TV Improving parent-child communication to reinforce behaviors that cut back on obesity. Canavera, a 24-year-old native of Brandenburg, Ky., says she chose Meade County because of its diversity, resulting from families based around the U.S. Army Armor Center in Ft. Knox, Ky.
‘Typically, urban areas are the focus of this kind of programming,’ Sharma says, ‘but we chose this area because rural areas do not have a lot of health education programs and the need there is much greater.’ ‘Part of the problem is that children are becoming more sedentary – they're doing less and less physical activity and spending more and more time in front of the television and their computers,’ Sharma says. ‘A very high percentage of people do not eat five or more daily servings of fruits and vegetables. We're consuming sugary, carbonated drinks and not getting enough water. It's not rocket science, all of these habits lead to obesity.’
Source: Eurekalert
