There is lots of talk this month about the accuracy of BMI calculations and kids.

A new study published in Pediatrics is suggesting that measuring a child’s neck circumference could be a better tool for quickly assessing children’s potential weight status.   After evaluating 1102 children, this study indicated that neck circumference correlated with age, BMI and waist circumference.

• Optimal Neck Circumference cutoff indicative of high BMI in boys ranged from 28.5 to 39.0 cm.
• Corresponding values in girls ranged from 27.0 to 34.6 cm.

We will have to keep our eye on this potential tool.

BMI has always had the limitation of not being able to differentiate between fat and muscle.  Because children are growing and height can be different for the same age children, that has to be accounted for when determining BMI significance.  This is why, kids have their BMI calculated and placed on a growth chart so it determines how their BMI score compares with other children of their age and provides a percentile.  Kids with a BMI percentile of greater than 85% (meaning their weight on the growth chart is higher than 85% of the kids their age in America) are considered overweight.

But once again, this is a tool, a guide but not definitive.  I think it is good that researchers are still evaluating other possible tools that may be easier and more accurate in helping determining children at risk.

I think what is most important is

how healthy is your child’s diet

• are they getting enough fruits and vegetables and fiber to help them develop properly and build strong immune systems
• are they limiting or avoiding processed foods that can be loaded with chemicals that may affect their brain and personality
• are they active every day

Being healthy is not only dependent upon weight.

Read more information on BMI

Use our BMI percentile tool and calculate your child’s score

This week, make a list of diseases that run in your family. Next time you see your doctor discuss your risk and recommended screenings for each family member.

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Keep Your Heart in Check
Heart month is coming up; get a healthy head start by having your family’s cholesterol checked. High LDL has been linked to an increased risk for heart attack, so make an appointment to be screened this Monday!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!
Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Help the kids get active is a great healthy goal for kids and families.

Getting kids to be active is more than enrolling them in sports.  Sporting activities are great but sometimes the focus of sport is winning and losing and not necessarily the need to be active.

Kids need to be active every day for at least one hour.  In fact, that is what is really good for all of us.

The best way to help your kids love activity and develop daily exercise as a habit is to:

• lead by example, be an active parent
• find activities that they love so it is not “exercise” but fun
• sports is good but discuss the role of sports in helping them be active every day
• have some active fun as a family
• let little ones play, the playground or park is a great way for kids to be creative and have fun being active

Related resources from Nourish Interactive- The Fun Way to Learn About Nutrition!

Be Active- family agreement

Daily Activity printable tracking sheet

Printable Healthy Goals Tracking Sheets For Kids

Activities for kids printable list of fun ideas to be active! Print out and put on fridge as reminder to have fun and be active.

Get the kids moving!

Limiting kids TV time article

Printable Tracking Sheets

Click Here for Kids' Physical Activity Tracker Page

Click here for printable tracking chart for kids!

Related resources links:

Kids Be Active 60 Minutes a Day- NFL Fuel up to Play 360

Too much focus on sports & not enough fun activities

All activity may not be equal article

A new book, title “The Adventures of Captain Heart, has just been published.

A pediatrician, Eugene Lipov M.D., wrote this clever book with the help of his six year old son to help kids, ages 3 -7 years old, learn about a healthy heart.

The book features a heart that is an superhero.The story portrays the Superhero, Captain Heart (who looked like a heart with legs), who helps a young boy and his grandfather become strong again by eating right and exercising.

You may be thinking, three year old kids are too young to be learning about how to keep a heart healthy. Well think again.

Studies show that by the time children start kindergarten, 40% will have one or more risk factors for heart disease (obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, or diabetes.). In addition, a study using ultrasound imaging and presented earlier this year at a meeting of the American Heart Association, suggested that the carotid arteries in the necks of teenagers and children as young as 10 had fatty buildup and signs of other cardiovascular disease similar to that of an average 45-year-old!

Resources:

Tips on promoting a healthy heart for your family

According to another study, published in Pediatrics,

70% of American children are at increased risk for bone and heart disease because of low levels of vitamin D.

The study looked at a representative sample of more than 6000 individuals between the ages of 1 – 21 years old, using the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) issued new guidelines on the prevention of vitamin D deficiency in kids by doubling the recommended amount of daily vitamin D to 400IU.

List of foods high in Vitamin D:

Resources:

Nutrition and your child’s bones and teeth strong

Ways to help your child get enough calcium

Questions about milk

Keep your child’s heart healthy

Why pledge to go meatless one day a week.

Our friends at Meatless Monday reminds us that it is more than just our own personal health. It also saves our environment. You may not realize this but the livestock that provides meat for us to eat is responsible for an estimated 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions. (Read the UN Livestock report)

You might be shocked by what would change if we all went meatless just one day a week. Take 5 minutes and see for yourself how doing one simple act can have a huge impact on your health, your child’s health and our planet’s health. Just one day!

New research that will be published in September has more compelling data about the need for early nutrition education.

Researchers looked at the data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) ov over 12, 384 children. Their study showed that not only are kids becoming obese but they are becoming severely obese.

This is very sad and disturbing news. A new category has now been added for children whose body mass index (BMI) score is in the 99th percentile- severe obesity.

We now have 5 ratings for kids:

• underweight – less than 5 percentile
• normal weight – 5 to 84 percentile
• overweight – 85 to 94% percentile
• obese – 95 to 98 percentile
• severe obesity – 99 or greater percentile

The research found that the prevelance of severe obesity has tripled from 1976-90 when compared to kids BMI scores in 1999-2004. This represents 2.7 severely obese children here in the United States.

I can say as a nurse, this is not just about being overweight. This is not about body image. These kids are at a much greater risk for heart disease, diabetes, amputations, joint disease, to mention just a few conditions. What kind of quality of life will they have when they become severely limited in their activities not just from weight but from these diseases.- and at a much younger age.

These were the facts, the statistics that made we want to do something to be part of the solution. The long term solution is educating children while they are young to have healthy habits, eat a balanced meal filled with healthy fruits and vegetables and to be active every day.

It is so much easier to keep a healthy weight than it is to try to lose weight (I speak from experience!)

But kids are growing which makes it a little easier for them. You can start with small, easy goals for the whole family. All kids need nutrition education, not just kids who are overweight.

Resources:

Find out your child’s BMI score.

Learn more about BMI scores for kids.

Set nutrition goals for the family to improve your nutrition and eating habits.

Track your nutrition and lifestyle goals with these cute kid-friendly tracking sheets so it is fun for the kids.

This Monday get the facts

Ask a doctor or nurse which tests you need for your age, lifestyle and medical history. Then schedule an appointment!

Mondays are a great day to renew Family Health vows. Every Monday, you will find some healthy tip to help your family start the week off on a Healthy Note!

Thanks to Healthy Monday organization for sharing their Monday tips.

Resources:

Print the appropriate sheet for your child's age and take it to your child's next pediatric annual physical. These sheets provide some good topics to discuss with your pediatrician, nurse or dietician.

Pediatrian sheets:  

Kids need to learn about the importance of being physically fit when they are young, before the habits are formed. Before they are overrun with commercials about junk food and how it is to eat them (you even get a toy sometimes!)

Being able to do a pull up is a good measure of physical fitness. Why not teach this to your child early.

How to help your child learn to do a pull up:

• combine a height adjustable pull up bar with a technique called leg assisted pull ups in which kids jump and pull at the same time
• lower the bar to a level where your child can easily do 8 leg assisted pull ups
• gradually raise the bar one inch every week or every other week,
• eventually they run out of leg assistance and suddenly they’re doing conventional pull ups

Technique from an article citing Dr. Jacob Egbert, a Columbia, MO based physician specializing in physical medicine and rehabilitation.

Visit our website for printable ‘Be Active’ weekly time tracking sheets, daily food diary for kids and more healthy family goal sheets and tips!