Weight Watchers introduces Eat! Move! Play! initiative

You don’t have to look far to find someone talking about increasing levels of childhood obesity caused by poor diets and lack of exercise.

Now, Weight Watchers in the USA is starting an initiative to encourage parents to get their kids active, eating well, and ultimately being both happy and healthy.

Eat! Move! Play! is designed to break down some of the challenges that parents and children face.

Five Simple Rules help kids to learn about the importance of smart food choices and a love of physical activity:

1. Focus on wholesome, nutritious foods
2. Ensure that treats in reasonable portions are part of kids’ eating habits
3. Limit screen time, like television and video games
4. Ensure at least one hour of daily physical activity
5. Apply these rules to everyone in the home

Eat! Move! Play! guides readers on a variety of topics including how to speak with a child’s pediatrician about weight and how to deal with picky eaters and food challenges at all ages and stages.

The book provides gradual steps towards a healthier family lifestyle that can start simply with swapping white grains for whole grains, integrating family activities that involve exercise, planning healthy recipes and allowing children to play an active role in cooking. With more than 75 kid-tested recipes, checklists, and goal sheets for the month and near future, parents have a simple yet successful blueprint for healthier kids.

If you’re not in the US, fear not, because the book is available internationally too. Here’s the link for the book on Amazon UK: Weight Watchers Eat! Move! Play!: A Parent’s Guide for Raising Healthy, Happy Kids

Pregnancy roundup: epilepsy, exercise, incontinence

A trio of pregnancy-related health topics hit the headlines last week. Here’s a roundup.

Drinking during pregnancy increases epilepsy risk

According to research from the University of New Mexico’s Department of Neurosciences, children of mothers who drink during their pregnancy are six times more likely to suffer from epilepsy as they grow older, with an increased risk of at least one seizure at some point during their lives.

This adds to a growing body of study that indicates connections between drinking during pregnancy and rates of alcoholism, drug abuse, depression, Parkinson’s Disease and stroke, and while it’s important to note that there’s no direct cause-effect here, it’s definitely something worth considering.

Via

Exercising mothers give birth to lighter babies

Women who exercise while pregnant gave birth to babies on average a third of a pound lighter than those of women who didn’t.

By ‘exercise’, we’re talking about the equivalent of daily 40-minute stationary cycling sessions, maintained until at least the 36th week of pregnancy.

Dr Paul Hofman who led the study said: “Our findings show that regular aerobic exercise alters the maternal environment in some way that has an impact on nutrient stimulation of fetal growth, resulting in a reduction in offspring birth weight. Given that large birth size is associated with increased risk of obesity, a modest reduction in birthweight may have long-term health benefits for offspring by lowering this risk later in life.”

Via

Incontinence during pregnancy ups risk afterwards

Women who experience any kind of incontinence during pregnancy are more likely than other women to have the problem after giving birth.

Unsurprisingly, natural childbirth carried a higher risk than those who had a caesarian section.

Via

Sex may be as good as going to the gym for body workout

It’s not the best reason to want to have sex with a partner, but a new survey suggests that many people (over a quarter) are initiating intimacy as a way to trim their bodies and lose a few pounds.

Nearly half of those questioned believe that an energetic sex session gives them a better workout than they would get at the gym.

The poll of 3,000 Brits also revealed that non gym goers are getting similar benefits to those who regularly exercise at a health club by hitting the sack with their loved one.

The research shows the average Brit has sex an average of three times a week, lasting 24 minutes a session, yet the typical gym member will only fare four minutes better, by exercising twice a week, spending 38 minutes working out each time and their hard earned cash on expensive membership fees.

16% of fitness freaks questioned said they count sex as being part of their exercise regime, which isn’t surprising as 11% of people claim to feel completely exhausted after a workout between the sheets, and another third always feel tired and out of breath.

More than three quarters end up sweating, with 40% saying they sweat more after sex, than they do after a gym session.

Britain may also see its population fitness levels rocket further as more than half of the Brits surveyed say they are planning to have more sex in 2009 and 27% claim to be having more sex thanks to the credit crunch.

However, the energetic sex doesn’t always go to plan as 37% have suffered an injury after getting too frisky.

Director of onjoy.com Monique Carty said, “The average lovemaking session can burn between 50 and 100 calories. This means that having sex three times a week burns 7500 calories per year, the equivalent of jogging 75 miles! With the gloomy weather and shorter days, Brits should embrace the health benefits of sex by staying longer in bed with their partner – and shape up at the same time.”

London sports company organises family run to tackle child obesity

One event is not going to solve childhood obesity, but at least the sports event company “The Fix UK” is doing its bit to tackle the problem by organising a five kilometre family run on Epsom Downs and Racecourse on Sunday 19th October.

It will offer families the opportunity to take part together, with the added bonus that children can run for free when taking part with their family.

Ben Leach, Director, The Fix UK, said, “The latest government obesity figures prove grim reading. People in Britain are getting fatter and in particular this is affecting our children. Obesity brings with it a host of health related problems that cost the NHS an estimated £2bn every year, and brings with it misery to families. If our children are becoming obese before adulthood, for health and longevity this is surely a ticking time bomb. We are trying to put the onus back on the parents to help take responsibility for their children’s physical fitness.”

For entry details see The Fix UK

Kids who don’t play grow up lacking life and social skills

Free play is a vital part of a child’s development, and children of future generations could enter adulthood lacking vital life and social skills because of a lack of it.

That’s according to a new study by Persil, whose Every Child Has The Right campaign has recently launched.

A staggering 85% of British mums are concerned that children are growing up too quickly, and 64% believe children are being deprived of childhood through the lack of free play.

Free play helps the following areas of children’s development:

• Boosts their imagination and creativity
• Improves language and expression
• Helps them stay active and prevents obesity
• Reduces stress
• Helps raise self-confidence
• Increases emotional development and social skills for later on in life

Ideally, parents should make time each day for at least one hour of active play, outdoors if possible.

Children need little structure or encouragement, because they are naturally active. They just need the time, permission, and the right space.

The Free Play Initiative focuses on five areas within play that can help a child’s development: Play, Explore, Create, Imagine and Experiment.

More information is available at www.persil.com.

Bygone toys could help alleviate back pain in children

The summer holidays are upon us, a time which sees many children glued to TVs, slumped over computers and lounging around the house for up to six weeks.

According to market research by the British Chiropractic Association (BCA), back pain in the UK has risen by a staggering 5% since last year and in another poll, the BCA revealed that nearly half (44%) of 16-24 year-olds suffer from back pain.

BCA Chiropractor Tim Hutchful commented, “We are concerned that the incidence of back pain has grown so dramatically amongst young people. In 2004, less than one in five young people were suffering, now that figure has risen to every other young person in the UK having some form of back pain, which is of serious concern.”

To help alleviate the incidence of increased back pain, the BCA is encouraging the nation to look to the past and ‘bring backÂ’ some of those well-loved toys and get active again. By inviting the nation to leave behind their lazy lifestyles, ditch the computer games and engage in some outdoor activities, the BCA is looking to the toys that kept our parents and grandparents amused for hours, to assist in alleviating the UK’s ongoing back problems.

• Skipping Ropes: assist with fitness and improves balance
• Hula Hoops: helps core stability and helps increase mobility of the spine, as well as toning abdominal muscles
• Space Hoppers: strengthens the spine, improves core stability
• Bat & Ball: important in improving hand and eye co-ordination (it is amazing how many people have difficulty catching these days!)

By providing activity for all the family, these retro toys are not only fun to play with, they can also help promote and strengthen your posture as well as improve your general fitness levels.

Chiropractor Tim Hutchful continues, “We want to educate people about how making a few simple lifestyle changes can help to reduce the risk of back pain as well as making you feel and look better. Using any of the toys mentioned or incorporating a very simple three minute exercise routine entitled “Straighten Up UK” into your daily lives will help to strengthen your spine and improve your posture.”

Straighten Up UK is a simple, three minute posture care programme designed to help you feel and look your best. The programme is divided into three quick sessions:

• Stars (warm up)
• Flying Friends (posture care)
• Core Balance (to finish off the session)

By promoting balance, strength and flexibility in your spine, the risk of getting problems with your back now and in the future can be substantially reduced.

The exercise routine is available to download from www.straightenupuk.org or for more information and a free Straighten Up leaflet visit www.chiropractic-uk.co.uk.