Stress contributes to childhood obesity

Childcare experts are helping the growing number of American children who are falling victim to the epidemic of childhood obesity. The solution is not as simple as it might seem.

There are many factors beyond overeating that contribute to child and adolescent obesity, including lack of regular exercise, television viewing, overexposure to advertisements that promote high-calorie foods, computer usage and other sedentary behaviors that take up time that can be used for physical activity.

There’s another, often overlooked factor: emotional stress. For kids who may have trouble verbalizing their feelings or emotional state, overeating and overindulgence in high-fat foods may be a response to stress or depression.

"It’s not always just what our kids are eating," said C.T. O’Donnell II, president and CEO of the national children’s crisis charity KidsPeace. "Sometimes, it’s what’s eating our kids. We will never win this battle until we help kids eat right and also solve the emotional roots of overeating."

That’s why KidsPeace, which helps youngsters to overcome depression, eating disorders, personal traumas and other emotional crises, has joined with nationally renowned experts in pediatrics and child psychology and the consumer concept group Mass Connections to launch "Join the Fight to Help Kids Eat Right," the first innovative, uniquely comprehensive approach to fighting childhood obesity that attacks both the physical and emotional causes of the problem.

"If America wants to make sure our kids are eating right and feeling right, what better way than for us to prepare the meal ourselves and use mealtime to talk more and help kids problem-solve the hot-topic issues in their lives?" said KidsPeace national spokesperson, producer and television personality Leeza Gibbons. "It’s a simple way to ensure good food and good food for thought."

Family dinnertime and particularly home cooking can be valuable tools not only for ensuring that your children are eating right from a nutritional standpoint but also for providing support, letting them know you’re there for them, and finding out and helping solve the day-to-day challenges your children may be facing. These challenges can lead to depression or eating disorders without family support in meeting them.

"Food itself is not always the problem," said Carolyn Nakken, president of Mass Connections. "We all need to join the fight to help kids eat right by preparing healthy meals, eating as a family, and working through the stresses that can lead kids to overeat."

Free information on healthy eating for kids, tips for spotting eating disorders and free problem-solving resources are available to millions of parents and children via no-cost expert brochures created by KidsPeace, distributed through grocery stores and on the Web at www.kidspeace.org for adults, www.familymonth.net for families and www.teencentral.net for kids and teens.

The problem-resolution website TeenCentral.net, created by top national children’s experts Dr. Alvin Poussaint of Harvard Medical School and Dr. Lewis Lipsitt of Brown University, allows older kids and teens to identify and work out the problems of growing up, and offers them anonymity and the support of clinical supervisors and peers across the country or across the globe.

"The campaign is important because it not only helps kids to eat healthily but also gives them tools to overcome the underlying emotional reasons that can lead to overeating––a two-sided approach you don’t normally read about in the newspapers," said Poussaint, who also serves as national director of the KidsPeace Lee Salk Center for Research.

This story provided by North American Precis Syndicate, Inc.