Obesity

I am just typing below some of the problems obesity brings in children:

Cardiovascular: Chronic inflammation, coagulo-pathy, dyslipidemia, endothelial dysfunction, hypertension

Gastrointestinal: Constipation, gallstones, gastro-intestinal reflux, steatohepatitis

Musculoskeletal: Back pain, Blount’s disease, flat feet, forearm fracture, slipped capital femoral epiphysis

Neurologic: Pseudotumor cerebri

Psychosocial: Anxiety, depression, eating dis-orders, lower educational attainment, poor self-esteem, social isolation

Pulmonary: Asthma, exercise intolerance, sleep apnea

Renal: Glomenulosclerosis

[adapted from D. S. Ludwig: Childhood Obesity — The Shape of Things to Come, New England Journal of Medicine 2007; 357 (23): 2325-2327]

My poll "Daily Routine for KIds" (see the link typed below) has question related to obesity in kids.

I, further, think strip-to-waist policy for kids under 11 should dicourage them being obese or underweight. See my poll:

Clohing Limits for Kids in Pulbic Places http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/503847

Polls related to health surveillance in school:

Attire and Health Surveillance for School-Going Kids http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/362818

Attire and Health Surveillance for School-Going Kids http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/436125

Current Schooling Practices Regarding Health and Safety http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/462667

Polls related to family health habits:

Daily Routine for Kids [Q. 16, Fourth Choice should read: In a hurried manner (AFTER getting dressed)] http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/375675

Bedtime and Indoor Clothing for Kids http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/356060

Polls related to professional health care:

Physical Examination for Kids: Quality and Value for Money http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/351624

Physical Examination for Kids: Quality and Value for Money2 http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/450441

Poll addressing security issues at airport and kids are:

Airport Security and Kids http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/356908

Airport Security and Kids1 http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/369674

Airport Security and Kids2 http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/369487

Airport Security and Kids3 http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/475983

Strip-to-Waist policy for kids: benefits

Health: Strip-to-waist policy would alert parent, teachers and social workers to obese and wasted kids, child would try to maintain good posture and better body image. Air and sun exposure may give them adequate doses of Vitamin D; prevent rickets, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis and tuberculosis. Kids dressed in briefs/panties (stripped-to-waist) and barefoot in doctor’s office-waiting area, would provide opportunity to observe their free movement. Before the start of formal examination the physician would be able to collect data (if video-recording facilities are available and the play area is structured to elicit different activities, who could uncover various orthopedic, neurological and psychiatric disorders) on interaction with other kids, parents, posture (in various activities) and gait (walking, running, climbing, jumping, etc.)

Hygiene: Children growing rapidly. Fitting clothing bought become too tight quickly, bad for circulation and restricts movement. Too loose clothing may get caught up during activities. Upper part of clothing gets dirty easily during free play, painting, sand and mud activity. Children sweat easily. Sweating shirt worn for long may cause skin infections and irritations. There are tan lines caused by wearing sleeveless garments.

Security and Safety: No explosives, sharp objects or controlled substances could be hidden in clothes, easier to control these in schools, airports [airport terminals and while traveling in aircrafts] and customs [no need for heart-and-brain-function unfriendly security gates OR body-damaging-backscatter-X-ray (full body) scan]

Economy: Lesser clothes need to be bought for rapidly growing children, which could be diverted to purchase healthy foods, sports-activity fees and vacations.

Discipline/Emotional Stability: Japanese consider that the students reared this way are more disciplined, and they have lesser tendencies of resorting to violence.

Mental Capability/Creativity: Nikitin children in the suburb of Moscow raised in this fashion have shown very high IQ. One of the Nikitin kids completed a university degree just when he was 13 years old.

Spiritual: Whether it be Buddhists, Muslims or Hindus, spiritual maturity is achieved, when a male worshipper is required to strip-to-waist and covering the upper part of body using a loose sheet.

Pedagogical: Increased tactile stimulation (back rubbing, touching) to back, arms, legs, may help kids learn better. Difficult concepts/words may be taught better, if figures are drawn and words are written on palms (Helen Keller sensed the words written on her palm), arms, feet soles, legs, back, neck, etc. [cf. Atkinson RL, Atkinson RC, Hilgard ER, Introduction to Psychology, Eighth Edition, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, San Diego, New York, Chicago, Washington DC, Atlanta, London, Sydney, Toronto, Chapter 4: Sensory Processes, p 128: Skin Senses – The author shows a figure on which image of telephone, converted into the pattern of dots, is projected on the bare back of a blind woman, in the form of hundreds of tiny cones, which vibrate against her back, allowing her to feel the dot pattern and perceive the phone image.

Physical Education: Primary-school children could easily undress to briefs/panties, saving the time for changing and allowing the teacher to impart quality education when she can observe body form and movements properly.

Sylvee F Clinton

sylvee(at the rate of)live.com