child obesity

Do I look fat? Obsessing over body image and calories to the point of disordered eating is an affliction most commonly associated with young women and the glare of Hollywood, not with the sweet young things running around the playground. Sadly though, there's a disturbing trend that's seeing younger and younger children being treated for serious eating disorders. Reporting on the results of a new study on eating disorders — which shockingly included two 6-year-olds, four 7-year-olds, and even a tot as young as 3 in treatment — doctors say that statistics like this are likely just the "tip of the iceberg" when it comes to the number of preteens actually suffering from debilitating conditions like anorexia and bulimia. Though it's nearly impossible to pinpoint one cause, doctors did say that "the pressure put on young people to conform to a certain body image could be blamed on a large number of eating disorders."

We've been hearing a lot about the childhood obesity epidemic lately, but not so much about the other end of the spectrum. Are you concerned about tots developing disordered eating?

Maybe Jamie Oliver needs to invade our homes, not our schools. Between shuttling tots between activities, managing our careers, and running our households, moms are busier than ever before and it's showing in how we feed our kids.

A new study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association finds that more kids are eating foods prepared outside the home than ever before and this may be tied to the rise in tots' daily caloric intake. According to researchers, since 1994 parents have been feeding lil ones more store-prepared and fast foods than ever before, and they're not eating them in their own homes. In 1977, kids ate 23.4 percent of their calories outside their home, while in 2006 that number was closer to 34 percent.

Busy times call for meals that can be grabbed and consumed on the go. Tell the truth, how often does your family really eat a home-cooked meal at home?

Roly-poly babies may be fun to tickle and pinch, but how healthy are they? As the White House tries to focus attention on our childhood obesity epidemic, new evidence suggests that we should take a look at the nation's youngest tots, in addition to those who are already in school.

The Science section of today's New York Times, features an article that suggests childhood obesity can be detected as early as infancy. While much attention is paid to the diet and activity levels of school-aged kids, one in 10 children under two-years-old is overweight. According to the author:

More and more evidence points to pivotal events very early in life — during the toddler years, infancy and even before birth, in the womb — that can set young children on an obesity trajectory that is hard to alter by the time they’re in kindergarten. The evidence is not ironclad, but it suggests that prevention efforts should start very early.

The author goes on to show that losing weight prior to pregnancy, early diagnosis of gestational diabetes, eliminating smoking during pregnancy, increasing the number of hours a newborn sleeps each night and breastfeeding can all help reduce the risk of obesity.

The first lady spoke about childhood obesity today at a forum about health and wellness. It looks like Michelle took extra precautions while getting dressed this morning, making sure she didn't get pinched for not wearing green. Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The average weight for a 14-year-old boy is roughly 112 pounds. When a child packs on a score or two more than that, most people start to notice the thicker waistline. So when a South Carolina boy tipped the scales at 555 pounds, it wasn't just friends and strangers that noticed — local authorities did, too. The teen's mother, Jerri Gray, was taken into custody for child neglect and may face jail time if found guilty. The working mama blamed her work schedule for feeding her son unhealthy meals, but claims she has been trying to help him lose weight.

Do you think child obesity is a form of child abuse?

Jerri Gray, the mother of a 14-year-old boy who weighs 555 pounds, has been charged with felony child neglect by South Carolina. Her son has been taken to foster care, and she faces 10 years in prison for putting her son at risk by neglecting his medical needs. Gray, who works three jobs, has told the media that her son got so overweight because she could not keep track of what he was eating.

Gray was a fugitive this past Spring, going to Maryland with her son while authorities attempted to bring the abuse charges. At that time, South Carolina's Department of Social Services said: "This agency doesn't get involved in such cases based on a child's weight alone, but will take action in cases where health care professionals believe the child is at risk due to the parent's possible neglect in providing medical care."

Still, Gray's attorneys say the case could potentially set a dangerous precedent that could, for example, be used to charge parents of anorexic children. If you can charge a parent for a kid being overweight, could you charge parents with underweight children too?

Should childhood obesity be considered grounds for charging a parent with child abuse?