Un estudio acaba de confirmar lo que muchos ya sospechaban y temían, un niño obeso tiene más probabilidad de convertirse en blanco de los acosadores.
“Sienten un dolor emocional tan grande como un niño que tiene cáncer”, dice Maritza Azaret, Socióloga.

La investigación de la universidad de Michigan concluyó que ni la raza ni el sexo ni la condición socioeconómica lo expone tanto a ser hostigado como el estar obeso.

El estudio analizó la experiencia de 821 niños de ambos sexos de 3er a 6to grado y que tenían entre 8 y 11 años de edad. Otros estudios ya habían determinado que los niños hostigados experimentan más depresión, ansiedad y soledad que los no acosados, los efectos a largo plazo pueden ser devastadores.

“Esas heridas que quedan bien adentro son muy difíciles de borrar en la vida de un ser humano” Maritza Azaret, Socióloga.

La obesidad entre los niños de los Estados Unidos alcanza proporciones epidémicas cerca de un 1/3 de ellos está sobre su peso normal una estadística que bien podría pronosticar mucho más casos de acoso en el horizonte.

“Van madurando o van creciendo, y ellos se vuelven en los abusadores, en los que acosan a otros niños sobre todo cuando están hablando de los varoncitos” Maritza Azaret, Socióloga.

Un círculo vicioso que podría detenerse con un programa de dietas y ejercicios, según esta entrenadora especializada en niños.

“Ellos se dan cuenta de que es algo de lo que ellos tienen control y pueden solucionarlo si hacen las decisiones alimenticias correctas”, aseguró Teri Sibai, entrenadora de “Kids and Fitness”.

Kids and Fitness on Telemundo

Using data from the ever-mineable National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found that, among adults with high blood pressure, only 27.3% had it under control in the 1988-94 study period. But that number had risen to 50.1% by the 2007-08 study period.

Way to go, hypertensives!

That’s not to say that rates of hypertension are falling. Rates rose from 23.9% of adults in the 1988-94 study period to 28.5% in 1999 and 2000. But, hey, then they held fairly steady through 2007 and 2008. That’s … something.

Way to go, people who could’ve become hypertensive and didn’t!

The researchers note that the improvements are not, repeat not, because people are exercising and eating right. Ha. They write:

“Healthy lifestyles are an unlikely explanation for lower [blood pressure] and better control among patients with hypertension, because eating patterns became less “DASH-like” and obesity increased over time.”

Think, instead, ”blood pressure medication.”

The improvements in the overall blood pressure picture can be traced in no small part to increased awareness and treatment, the researchers conclude. Some groups need more assistance in getting the awareness message; others need more help in getting the treatment message:

“Data suggest that initiatives to improve [blood pressure] control among Hispanic individuals should emphasize screening and referral to a primary care medical home, whereas more emphasis on treatment effectiveness is needed for black individuals.”

The report offers much data — by ethnicity, age, gender … and you can peruse it all. Here’s the full blood-pressure study, published in Wednesday’s Journal of the American Medical Assn.

Oh, and here’s more information on the aforementioned DASH diet; a guide from Mayo Clinic on choosing blood pressure medication; and our recent, helpful-if-I-do-say-so-myself advice on controlling blood pressure.

It’s not unusual for children to have bad diets, unfortunately. When they’re little and we can control what they eat, we can ensure they’re eating healthy foods. As they grow up, however, they develop their own tastes as far as food is concerned. They may only like to eat macaroni and cheese or peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. How do you get them to eat fruits and vegetables, too?

Children learn by example in almost everything. If they see parents, siblings, and friends eating potato chips and drinking soft drinks, they’ll want to eat those as well. The reverse is true; if they see everyone eating fresh fruits and vegetables they’ll be more likely to follow suit. So, if you want your children to become healthy eaters, the adults in the family will want to set the pace.

Offer your child healthy foods for snacks. Rather than giving them cookies or candy for a snack, offer fresh fruit like apples, oranges, or grapes, depending upon your child’s age. If you don’t have junk food in your home, your child won’t learn to eat it.

Experts say to offer your child a new food at least twenty times before they’ll eat it. If you’re introducing a new food, put just a bite on their plate. Ask them to taste it; if they don’t want to try it immediately, don’t push them. Each meal you serve that food, continue to put a bite on their plate and ask them to taste it. Before too long they’ll do at least that.

Be sure you’re not introducing too many new foods at once. In fact, it’s better if you only introduce one new food at a time until your child starts eating it. This means that if you’re trying to get your child to eat peas, wait until you’ve had success with those before you introduce Brussels sprouts.

If the food is on their plate, let them play with the food. They may roll the food around on their plate, make faces in it by putting other food into it, or some other creative idea. If you allow them to play with the food, it won’t seem so intimidating.

Even though you might be tempted, don’t hide vegetables in something you fix. This might backfire on you. Although your intention to get your child to eat vegetables is good, they may decide to stop eating whatever you’ve hidden the vegetables in from now on.

Your own parents probably made you finish everything on your plate “because there are poor, malnourished children all over the world.” You don’t have to follow in your parent’s eating style. If your child doesn’t want to eat anymore, don’t make them finish their plate.

Give them what they like, to a point. If they like eating hot dogs, look for ones that have lower fat content. If they want ice cream buy the single serving sizes so they won’t be tempted to eat more than they need.

It’s not easy having a child who’s a picky eater, but you can survive it. Follow these do’s and don’ts of encouraging children to become healthy eaters. It may not happen overnight, but if you’re persistent it will happen.