American Medical Association approves obesity training
Following finding that 53% of health professionals have reported needing more training in obesity management, and 50% having requesed better tools to help patients understand obesity risks, the American Medical Association has approved a policy to offer training to health professionals for obesity prevention and management. Medical students in the United States will now be trained to prevent,...Read More
New type of weight measurement more accurate than BMI in teenagers
Researchers from the University of Alabama have found that triponderal body mass index (TMI) may be more accurate than BMI in estimating body fat amongst adolescents. In a study published in JAMA Paediatrics the researchers found that during adolescent development, weight was not proportional to height squared, which is the calculation for BMI. By examining data from 2,285 children and...Read More
Childhood obesity quadruples risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes
According to a large-scale study published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society a child with obesity faces a four-fold increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes by the time they are 25 than their normal weight counterparts. The study examined data from 375 GP practices around the UK, using the UK Clinical Practice Research Datalink. In total this amounted to 369,362 children between the...Read More
How to save billions in medical costs with small changes
A team from Johns Hopkins University has found that increasing the percentage of elementary school children (ages 8-11) in the US who participate in 25 minutes of exercise three times a week from 32% to 50% could save $21.9 billion. This number is a combination of medical costs and lost wages over the course of a lifetime. They also reported that there would be a reduction in the amount of...Read More
School based nutrition intervention improves BMI
A California-based programme that aims to improve children’s dietary behaviours and prevent obesity has been shown to be effective. The initiative was called ‘The Shaping Healthy Choices Program’ and involved 409 students aged 9-10, split into a control group and an intervention group. The program itself took place over the course of a year and involved the use of gardens established at the...Read More
Routine and regular bedtimes may help stave off obesity
A study from the Ohio State University has concluded that regular bedtimes, mealtimes, and limited screen time is related to emotional health and obesity in preschool children. The study has been published in the International Journal of Obesity, and uses data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. For the research itself, data from 10,955 children was included; this was then combined with...Read More