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

Soya products could significantly lower sperm count, study suggests

Men who eat a diet containing even modest amounts of soya products could be adversely affecting their sperm count, according to a recent medical study by scientists in the United States.

Even small amounts of soya products, now frequently used in the Western world as meat and dairy substitutes, as well as popularly used in Eastern cuisines, lowered the sperm count, and those with the highest intake of soya-based food had almost half the level of active sperm in their semen.

Scientists believe that isoflavones, a compound found in soya, mimics the female sex hormone oestrogen, which could therefore explain the reduction in sperm levels.

Soya products which can cause this affect include tofu, tempeh, soy sausages, bacon, burgers and mince, soy milk, cheese, yoghurt, ice cream, and soya-based roasted nuts, drinks, powders, and energy bars.

However, it’s not a cut-and-dried case, because researchers also believe that obesity plays a major factor in determining sperm count. That is probably why Asian men, who will often have a diet rich in soya products, are still fertile - obesity is much less of a problem in Asian countries, whereas in the US and other Western countries it is a serious, and increasing, issue.

(Via Yahoo! News)

4 in 10 parents failed to recognise signs of obesity in their children

A new poll from the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital found that four out of ten parents with clinically obese children (aged 6-11) said that their kids were “about the right weight”, only rarely being “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

This national study on children’s health found that among the parents of the 6-11 year old obese children, 13% rate their child as being “very overweight”, but only 7% say they are “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

Parents of older obese children (ages 12 to 17) seem to have somewhat greater awareness and concern about their kids’ weight issues, with 31% of these parents say their child is “very overweight” and 46% report being “very concerned” about their child’s weight.

National studies have shown that 35% of U.S. children (ages 6 to 17) are overweight or obese; but parent reports in this latest poll are substantially lower, dropping the proportion to 25%.

Little Helper Fun Pod: food, fun, and safety for toddlers in the kitchen

There are over 42,500 toddlers under the age of 5 who are taken to UK hospitals because of kitchen related accidents every year, and that number doesn’t take into account the thousands of minor accidents that are remedied by a cuddle and a bit of TLC.

The Little Helper Fun Pod™ is an innovative new product that not only keeps toddlers out of harm’s way but also encourages them to get involved in the kitchen.The Fun Pod provides the toddler with a safely constructed platform, enabling them to see what’s happening in the kitchen, being able to interact with their parents, but without any danger of toppling over. Read more

Diets of children could fatten their parents, study suggests

Whilst many studies of obesity in children focus on how their life is influenced by their parents, a new study reverses this thinking and instead looks at what influence kids may have on their parents:

“Parents with children are likely to be susceptible in their food choices to both the marketing of convenience in food choices as well as indirectly to the marketing directed at their children,” wrote the study’s authors, Dr. Helena Laroche of the University of Iowa and Dr. Matthew Davis of the University of Michigan Health System.

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