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- Milk not the only factor for healthy bones
- "Everything in my lunchbox is healthy - except the spoon ... and the chocolate"
- Idle threat: Sedentary kids at risk of Chronic Fatigue
- Are overweight kids malnourished?
- Heart Disease can begin early, parents warned
- Help for square eyes
- Fish, what's all the Fuss?
- Are our kids meeting their nutritional needs?
- Say 'cheese' for calcium
- Teenagers who skip breakfast
- Children not getting enough sleep: US Study
- Revised Infant Feeding Guidelines
- Childhood Obesity - Causes and Contributing Factors
Australian children alarmingly low in Iodine
Many Australian children are mildly iodine deficient. Researchers from Sydney University measured iodine levels in 1709 8-10 year old school children from across Australia, finding that overall, Australian children are borderline iodine deficient. On a state basis, NSW and Victorian children are mildly iodine deficient, South Australian children are borderline iodine deficient and both Queensland and Western Australian children are iodine sufficient. Iodine is needed by the body to create thyroid hormones vital for growth and development. In adults iodine deficiency causes sluggishness and weight gain. During pregnancy it may impair development of the fetus, causing the extreme and irreversible mental and physical retardation known as cretinism. Iodine deficiency in early childhood is typically associated with and poor academic performance. The study authors conclude by calling for the urgent implementation of mandatory iodisation of all edible salt in Australia.
Reference: Li et al, 2006, Are Australian children iodine deficient? Results of the Australian National Iodine Nutrition Study, Med J Aust. 2006 Feb 20;184(4):165-9.
Milk not the only factor for healthy bones
Kids who
drink more milk do not necessarily grow healthier bones. A review published in
this month's issue of the journal Pediatrics
stress
the importance of exercise and regular consumption of a variety of calcium-rich foods
like tofu. Other ways to obtain the absorbable calcium found in one cup of
cow's milk include a cup of fortified orange juice, a cup of soy milk,
two-thirds of a cup of tofu, or one and two-thirds a cup of broccoli, the
report says.
The researchers reviewed 37 prior studies into the impact of dietary calcium
intake on bone strength in children aged 7 years or older concluding that 27
of the stud did not support drinking more milk to boost calcium.
Several studies, which examined such factors as bone density and rate of
fractures, concluded that exercise may be more important than increased
calcium consumption in developing strong bones (data was scarce on the effect of calcium intake for children younger than
seven years).
In an accompanying commentary, Dr Frank Greer, a US paediatrician, says the ideal way to achieve the goal of healthy bones is to
make sure children exercise and consume up to 1300 milligrams a day of
calcium.
Source: Reuters
Tuesday, 8 March 2005
"Everything in my lunchbox is healthy - except the spoon ... and the chocolate"
After fruit, biscuits are the most commonly packed snack in school lunch boxes (present in 59% of school lunches). Researchers from Deakin University collected data from 1001 school children (aged 4-12 years) to see what was in their lunchbox. Muesli/fruit bars were the next most common (present in 39% of lunchboxes) followed by chips (36%). Twenty-six percent of children had chocolate and/or lollies in their lunchbox.
Bell AC, Kremer PJ, Swinburn BA, 2004, “Everything in my lunchbox is healthy – except for the spoon … and the chocolate”; Asia Pacific Journal Clinical Nutrition, vol. 13 (Suppl), pp. S38.
Idle threat: Sedentary kids at risk of Chronic Fatigue
Those who led sedentary lives as children appear to be at greater risk of developing chronic fatigue syndrome (myalgic encephalomyelitits), says a study published in October's British Medical Journal. This is contrary to earlier suggestions that high levels of exercise might increase the risk. The study - of the 1970 British cohort: 16 567 babies who were regularly monitored until age 30 - found no link between the disease and early psychological distress, academic ability, birth order or parental illness.
Are overweight kids malnourished? We tend to assume that the obese child is overfed however new thinking is pointing towards childhood obesity in fact being a form of malnutrition. The term malnutrition can be defined as ‘lack of proper nutrition resulting from deficiencies in the diet’ and a recent study of Australian school children found that many obese children were shorter than the other children by about 2 centimetres. The findings suggest that while these children are obviously consuming more than dietary energy, the types of food that they are commonly consuming do not provide enough of the vital nutrients required for growth and development. It seems as though excess calories are replacing the core food groups of meat, milk, fruit and vegetables in the diet so despite all the food the obese child is eating they may actually be missing out on vital vitamins and minerals. Source: http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/s1073786.htm
Heart Disease can begin early, parents warned Doctors at Sydney's Royal Prince Alfred Hospital have found that obese children as young as nine already show signs of thickening of the arteries. The study used ultrasound to examine the arteries of 36 obese and 36 normal weight kids finding that by the age of 10, obese children already had damaged arteries comparable to those of heavy smokers or adults with high blood cholesterol. The good news is that the damage is reversible if children stick to a diet and exercise program. Researchers commented that the effects were evident even in children described as 'chubby' and not just in those who were significantly overweight. Source: Sophie Scott, ABC news 27/4/05. Transcript available at http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/sophie_scott/newsitems/s1095952.htm
Help for square eyes.
A new study from the
Bassett Health Care Research Institute in New York has developed an education
program to help children who watch too much television to help break the habit.
Researchers from the institute have devised lessons for preschoolers to
encourage them and their families to watch less TV. The lessons promoted
reading and other activities or alternatives to TV. After five months of
classes the children had reduced their viewing by three hours per week, while a
group of similar preschoolers who didn't receive lessons increased their small
screen viewing time by more than an hour each week. For more details go to
www.bassett.org//pediatricsresearch.cfm
Fish, what's all the Fuss? In March of this year Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) updated their advice to on mercury in fish. The revised advice has been extended to provide not just advice for pregnant women, and women considering pregnancy, but also for young children and the general population. There are only a few types of fish that FSANZ recommends limiting in the diet – these are billfish (swordfish/broadbill and marlin), shark/flake, orange roughy (also known as sea perch) and catfish. Pregnant women, women planning pregnancy, and young children should limit their intake of shark (flake), broadbill, marlin and swordfish to no more than one serve per fortnight with no other fish to be consumed during that fortnight. For orange roughy and catfish, the advice is to consume no more than one serve per week, with no other fish being consumed during that week.
Fish is an excellent source of protein for all people, it is low in saturated fats and high in unsaturated fats and omega 3 oils and is an excellent source of iodine. Because of this it is important that women in particular continue to eat fish throughout pregnancy. However some types of fish, usually those large species that are at the top of the food chain or that live a long time may accumulate higher levels of mercury. FSANZ therefore advises against eating too much of these types of fish. This advice is particularly important to pregnant women because the unborn baby is more vulnerable to the harmful effects of mercury.
It is essential that people not interpret this as advice to stop or reduce their consumption of fish. Health benefits from eating oily fish generally outweigh potential problems about pollutants and toxins. Aim for one to two portions of salmon, mackerel or tuna each week. Eat a variety of fish but limit consumption of those species of fish with high mercury levels.
Are our kids meeting their nutritional needs? Kids need:
- Calcium for growing bones and teeth
- Vitamins A and C, zinc and iron for their immune system
- B group vitamins for energy
- Iron for energy. Iron deficiency can affect memory, concentration and physical performance. Children who are iron deficient also tend to display more 'picky eating' behaviours.
However 50% of boys and 75% of girls aged between 4 and 7 years get less than the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI) for calcium, more than 70% of girls between 8-11 years are not reaching the enough calcium or zinc and the majority of girls aged 12-15 get less than the RDI for zinc and iron. While there is no simple test for nutritional deficiencies in kids and teenagers, things to look out for include: irritability, sleep problems, slow wound healing and frequent colds and flus. Ensure that children consume a diet that contains a wide variety of foods. Constantly introduce your kids to new foods, let the kids come shopping with you and let them choose different fruits, vegetables and foods to be included in family meals.
Say 'cheese' for calcium Cheddar, edam, brie, Swiss …… whatever you like. In a trial of 10- to 12-year-old girls by Finnish researchers has found that cheese as a source of calcium may be superior to calcium supplements. The findings are based on the girls’ levels of bone accrual over a two year period. Not only is cheese a superior source of calcium, researchers reckon, it is also easier to get children to eat it than to swallow pills. The research was in part triggered by concerns that girls are not drinking as much milk as they used to. The girls in the cheese-eating group consumed 100g of cheddar or edam a day. Girls in the supplements group took 1000mg of calcium carbonate a day. A third group received a placebo. Swiss cheese is in-fact the best cheese source of dietary calcium (equivalent to that of milk).
Teenagers who skip breakfast are more likely to smoke, not exercise, have lower education levels, drink more alcohol, have a higher body mass index (BMI) and have more behavioural problems than their breakfast-eating counterparts. The Finnish Study of more than 10000 teenagers also found that the most statistically significant factor in teenage breakfast eating was whether the teenager's parents ate breakfast regularly. Reference: A Keski-Rahkonen et al. Breakfast Skipping and Health-compromising Behaviors in Adolescents and Adults. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2003) 57, 842-853
Children not getting enough sleep: US Study. A new poll by the National Sleep Foundation in the U.S. has found that two-thirds of preschool aged children there are not getting enough sleep. Sleep experts over here agree saying that many Australian children's lives are so packed with activity that they're not resting enough. Dr Margot Davey, from the Melbourne Children's Sleep Unit comments that "the demands on the modern child are such that sleep is not always a priority and that has a significant impact on young lives" and Dr Arthur Teng from the Sleep Medicine Unit at Sydney Children's Hospital says that parents need to know why sleep is so important to their children "I don't think that there is enough emphasis yet because when you're looking at young children who might present with behavioural or learning problems, a lot of doctors are not even asking about sleep, and it has been shown in research studies that it is very rate that parents actually bring up the issue of sleep, even with their GPs" and its not just the children who suffer, the same U.S. poll also noted that parents are losing up to 200 hours sleep a year as a result of their children's lack of sleep (Reference: ABC Online, PM Program available at http://www.abc.net.au/pm/content/2004/s1078259.htm)
Revised Infant Feeding Guidelines Australia's National Health and Medical Research Council has revised it's guidelines for the introduction of solid foods for infants. The new recommendations encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life. For more information go to www.health.gov.au/nhmrc.