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About Maggie

I am a nurse and a mother of 2. I am also the founder of Nourish Interactive. I am very concerned about the health and well being of our children. I started the Nourishing Thoughts Blog so that I could help parents keep up on the latest trends in children's nutrition and exercise.

I know that much like reading and writing is the foundation for learning, nutrition is the foundation for healthy children. But with so many new studies, products and trends constantly being reported it is hard to keep up. I just want to make it a little easier for parents by doing some of the legwork and providing you with up to date information.

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Childhood obesity- too many reasons not to take action

We want to keep our kids eating healthy and prevent childhood obesity with:

  • early nutrition education
  • positive healthy food associations
  • healthy parent role modeling
  • daily activity
  • developing good habits while they are young

Why is this so important? It’s about giving our children a quality of life they deserve.

Here is a list of obesity related complications. I think this list says it all!

Childhood obesity complications:

WELL-BEING:

  • poor self-esteem
  • depression

BRAIN

  • increased pressure causing headaches and double vision

LUNGS

  • sleep apnea
  • asthma
  • shortness of breath with exertion

HEART

  • high LDL (the bad cholesterol that clogs the heart vessels)
  • low HDL (the good cholesterol that helps keep our vessels clean)
  • high triglycerides (essentially fat in the blood)
  • abnormal blood clotting
  • high blood pressure
  • chronic inflammation that damages the blood vessels

DIGESTIVE TRACT

  • acid reflux
  • constipation
  • gallstones
  • fatty liver

ENDOCRINE SYSTEM

  • type 2 diabetes (body doesn’t make enough insulin)
  • early puberty (in girls- polycystic ovarian syndrome
  • changes in hormone levels which can induce ovarian cysts, irregular menstrual cycles, and excessive hair growth on the chin, chest, abdomen and upper lip

BONES AND JOINTS

  • dislocated growth plate in hip socket
  • bowed knees
  • flat feet
  • pain in weight-bearing joints such as feet, knees, hips, lower back

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This entry was posted on Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 6:48 am and is filed under Activity, Balanced meals, Changing your child's diet, Childhood obesity, Exercise, Healthy Child, Nutrition Education, Parent' Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Childhood obesity- too many reasons not to take action”

  1. Tim Says:
    April 20th, 2009 at 11:25 pm

    I think weight loss is all about three things – attitude, diet and exercise. From my experience, reducing carb intake and doing aerobic exercises are keys to successful weight loss. my blog is http://www.losetenpounds101.com

  2. Donna Byron Says:
    April 21st, 2009 at 6:53 pm

    I would like to than the owners of this site.it has lots of good information and i hope that i can contribute to it on a daily basis.thanks and keep it up

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