Weight loss diets

Cutting kids’ TV and computer time by half reduced the amount of food they ate and helped them lose weight, a new study found.

The finding offers hope to the problem of childhood obesity in the United States, where an estimated 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 years old are overweight, a 45 percent increase in one decade, according to federal researchers.

For the study, a professor in the department of pediatrics and social and preventive medicine at the University at Buffalo,  and his colleagues studied 70 overweight children, aged 4 to 7, who watched TV or played computer games for at least 14 hours a week.

The researchers installed a monitoring device on each television and computer the child used; the device allowed for the reduction of the children’s weekly screen time by 10 percent a week until a 50 percent reduction had been reached. Each family member was given a unique code to activate the TV or computer. In addition, the kids received such incentives as money and stickers to spend less time with TVs or computers.

The other overweight children had no restriction on their use of TVs or computers.

Professor‘s team found that the children who had no restrictions on their computer or TV use reduced their TV watching or computer-games playing by 5.2 hours a week. But the kids with restricted use cut their TV and computer time by 17.5 hours a week.

And, the children with restricted TV and computer time lost more weight than the other children. However, the researchers found no difference between the two groups in terms of physical activity.

“Using technology to modify television viewing eliminates parental vigilance needed to enforce family rules and reduces the disciplinary action needed if a child exceeds his or her sedentary behavior limits,” the authors concluded. “Perhaps most important, the device puts the choice of when to watch television in the child’s control, as opposed to a rule such as ‘no television time until homework is completed.’”

For teens looking to keep weight off, it doesn’t have to be a breakfast of champions, but it should be some kind of breakfast — and preferably a healthy one.

Yet another study is confirming that adolescents who skip breakfast have a higher risk of being overweight.

“There’s a pretty significant inverse association between how frequently kids report eating breakfast and how much weight they gain over time, and we took into account other dietary factors and physical activity,” said co-author of the study, published in the March issue of Pediatrics.

“It’s interesting to note that the kids who eat breakfast on a daily basis overall have a much better diet and are more physically active,”

More than one-third of teens aged 12 to 19 are now overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. And over the past two decades, the proportion of children who are overweight has doubled; among teens, the proportion has tripled, according to background information with the study.

An estimated 12 percent to 34 percent of children and adolescents skip breakfast on a regular basis, a number that increases with age. Previous studies have linked breakfast skipping with a greater tendency to gain weight.

“There has been quite a lot of published scientific literature already on the relationship between breakfast habits in both children as well as adults and obesity risk,” said an associate professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. “It’s pretty darn consistent in the literature that people who eat breakfast are at lower risk for obesity, but most of those studies have some methodological limitations.”

The new study was both cross-sectional and prospective — moving forward in time. More than 2,000 adolescents were followed for five years. Participants completed detailed surveys on their eating patterns and also provided information on their height, weight, body-mass index and physical activity.

The more often a person ate breakfast, the less likely he or she was to be overweight or obese.

“What happens is that total fat and saturated fat as a percentage of total daily energy were lower in the breakfast eaters compared with breakfast skippers,” Richel explained. “This really shows that we have the potential to improve energy balance and weight control with healthy breakfast consumption. We’re not talking pop-tarts.”

In another Pediatrics article, researchers reported that an Internet-based program helped keep teens’ weight in check over the short term and also reduced binge eating. Those who participated in the program also had less concern about their weight and shape, compared with teens who did not participate, suggesting that the program may lower the risk for eating disorders.

The 16-week program included education, behavioral modification, journaling, discussion and motivational messages.

30 years ago, the campers were mostly teenage girls, 100 pounds-plus overweight. The menu consisted of food like liver, fish and alfalfa sprouts, and the exercise was running and sit-ups.

The goal was to lose as much weight in as short amount of time as possible.

Now, things are a little less extreme: About 40 percent of the campers are boys. Most kids need to lose between 20 and 40 pounds. Menus offer a broader range of food, and exercise is downright fun, with activities such as tennis and kayaking. The camps emphasize healthy lifestyles and skills the kids can take home with them.

In short, so-called “fat camps” are more likely to resemble regular camps that just happen to specialize in teaching good decision-making techniques.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent of children ages 6 to 19 are overweight or obese в a number that has tripled since 1980.

The number of weight-loss camps has remained relatively the same, says executive director of the National Camp Association. There are about 15 to 20 out of a total of 10,000 camps in the organization. (Some camps have multiple locations.)

Who used to run Weight Watchers camps, says campers tend to be younger than they used to be. A large number of the 1,500 kids he expects will sign up for his three summer camps over the next few weeks will be between the ages of 7 and 12.

That age group tends to be more successful because parents have more input on the child’s eating and exercise habits, he says. Bad eating habits are also less ingrained in younger children.

And camps are all about building habits, not just handing out quick fixes. They offer classes about nutrition, portion control, emotional eating, and dealing with situations like pizza and ice cream parties.

“The biggest misconception about weight-loss camp is that they don’t serve you enough food and that they overwork you,” says Daniel, 15, who was featured in the MTV documentary “Return to Fat Camp” based on New Image Camp Pocono Trails in Pennsylvania. He lost 40 pounds at the camp. “It’s the exact opposite. They feed you the right amount of food and work you out just enough.”

Changing behavior is key to sustaining weight loss, says Ryan Craig, president of Wellspring, which runs 11 weight-loss summer programs around the world, including nine camps and two adult vacations, as well as programs at two boarding schools.

Wellspring participants learn to cook, shop, order at restaurants, and work with psychologists on stress management, frustration tolerance and emotional eating.

“It’s not a lack of information,” says Craig, referring to the reason kids are overweight. “They know what it means to be healthy. They’re resorting to food as an unhealthy coping mechanism.”

Some campers want to be there, as opposed to years ago when their parents made them go.

Rod Rezvani, 20, who at one point weighed 440 pounds, says his father suggested attending Wellspring Camp last summer. But, he says, it was “completely my decision.”

“I was happy I was finally making a change,” says Rezvani, who has lost 167 pounds and is enrolled in the Wellspring college program in Reedley, Calif.

Maya Murray, 8, of Long Island, N.Y., who was 112 pounds, attended New Image Weight Loss Camps last summer and came home 16 pounds slimmer, more confident and independent, and making healthier choices. She continued to lose weight, with her family’s support, and is now 76 pounds.

“I wanted to feel better and look better,” says Maya. “I couldn’t breathe that well. I couldn’t run fast. It was hard to be active.”

Wellspring makes sure that parents are part of the process, says Craig, offering family workshops the last two days of camp, a home-transition plan for each child and an after-care program.

Losing the weight does come at a price. New Image Weight Loss Camps cost about $1,100 a week; the camp does give out scholarships. Wellspring Camps cost about $5,950 for four weeks, but insurance covers some of that because of the therapy, says Craig.

Still, those costs may put some of these programs out of reach, especially for inner-city youth, who have higher rates of obesity.

There are cheaper options, says Susan Blech, co-author of the weight-loss memoir “Confessions of a Carb Queen” and the senior care coordinator at Brookdale Hospital’s childhood obesity program in Brooklyn, N.Y. She recommends parents look into schools or churches that run camps, sports activities or a program similar to hers, which is free.

The important thing is to keep kids active in the summer, says Madelyn Fernstrom, founder and director of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Weight Management Center.

Solomon also says more traditional camps are now focused on children’s fitness and health, serving more nutritious fare and encouraging lots of exercise.

“Any camp is great because it will force the child to have structured time in the summer,” Fernstrom says. “You want to choose a camp even if it’s a special camp like arts or science that has some activity.”

Test your weight-loss IQ by labeling the following statements TRUE or FALSE, then learn the truth from the experts.

1. You can’t lose a lot of weight and keep it off.
2. Your “set point” determines how much you weigh.
3. Poor willpower is to blame for excess weight.
4. The best weight loss regimens incorporate structured exercise three to five times a week.
5. Losing just a small amount of weight has significant health benefits.
6. You should eat only low-fat and no-fat foods.

Answers

1. FALSE. Congressional hearings, diet books and the media have for many years bred hopelessness among dieters by quoting the statistic that 95% of people who lose weight regain it—and then some—within a few months or years. But that figure is based on a 1959 study of only 100 people and, say obesity experts, cannot be considered a universal truth. The National Weight Loss Registry, launched in 1994 to get a more accurate picture of long-term dieters, offers signs of encouragement. Researchers Rena Wing, Ph.D., of the University of Pittsburgh and the Brown University School of Medicine, and James Hill, M.D., of the University of Colorado, were surprised at how easy it was to find people who have achieved major weight loss goals. The project’s 2,800 respondents have maintained an average 67-pound weight loss for five years, with up to 14% of them staving off a more than 100-pound weight loss. Wing and Hill are now compiling profiles of successful dieters to learn just how they did it.
2. FALSE. The set-point theory holds that we all have an internal weight regulator, like a thermostat, that adjusts our metabolic rate up or down whenever we gain or shed pounds in order to return our body to its predetermined weight. Undoubtedly, some controls do exist or we would all be obese, or, alternately, wasting away, says Roland Weinsier, M.D., chair of the department of nutrition sciences at the School of Medicine at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. But studies show that when we lose weight, our metabolism actually shifts to a normal rate for that new weight, independent of individual differences. People nevertheless embrace the theory to blame their bodies, rather than their own behavior, for their weight-loss failure, says Weinsier. “It offers comfort to those who refuse to accept the fact that weight control requires a commitment to a physically active and calorie-conscious lifestyle.”
3. FALSE. Being overweight is not a simple problem of willpower or self-control but a cocktail of genetic, metabolic, biochemical, cultural and psychosocial factors, according to Joseph Riggs, M.D., a spokesperson for the American Medical Association. While there are some exceptions, he says, most people are overweight because societal changes over the last 20 to 30 years have increased easy access to delicious, high-fat foods and decreased opportunity and motivation for physical activity. When it comes to stopping overeating, exerting willpower can’t hurt. But to lose weight and keep it off, an active lifestyle is the most important step.
4. FALSE. While pursuing a physically active lifestyle is the best way to maintain weight loss, you don’t have to live in the gym to do it. Two studies published in 1999 in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that everyday physical activities, such as simply walking for 30 minutes most days of the week, are as effective over the long term at lowering body fat and blood pressure and boosting aerobic fitness as traditional, structured exercise performed three to five days a week.
5. TRUE. Even small weight changes can have a major impact on your health and quality of life. The American Medical Association published results of a four-year study in which overweight women who lost as few as five pounds completed everyday activities more easily and complained of fewer aches and pains. The effect is most pronounced among the obese. A 12-year study published by the International Obesity Task Force, an agency working with the World Health Organization, showed that weight loss of only 10 to 20 pounds among overweight women with obesity-related diseases led to a 20% drop in total mortality, a 50% reduction in mortality from obesity-related cancers, and a 40% reduction in diabetes-related deaths. It also improved their depression, anxiety, psychosocial functioning, mood and quality of life.
6. FALSE. Lower-fat foods may promise smaller waistlines, but not when you eat a whole box of them in one sitting. Many people avoid fatty foods only to overeat foods billed as “low-fat” or “fat-free,” leading, paradoxically, to extra pounds. “You end up getting more calories from a bunch of low-fat cookies than you would have with one or two regular cookies,” says Deborah Galuska, Ph.D., author of a study sponsored by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Research by the American Medical Association confirms that reducing fat intake is only effective if we reduce calories as well.