Newsletter Articles:
• BIG STEPS Welcomes New Addition to the Team
• Fisher Centres CHEO’s First Line
• Sounding the Alarm on Childhood Obesity
• CIBC Commits $125,000 to CHEO Foundation’s BIG STEPS Campaign
• Making a Difference One Spine at a Time
Sounding the Alarm on Childhood Obesity
Recent studies have shown that children growing up in North America today are at risk of being the first generation in modern times that will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. This is an alarming realization, which the BIG STEPS campaign is tackling by making it a pediatric health care priority.
Jane Rutherford is a Research coordinator with the Healthy Active Living and Obesity (HALO) research group at the CHEO Research Institute. HALO is committed to developing innovative strategies to treat and prevent childhood obesity.
Rutherford has been busy working on a variety of clinical studies to further understand how to best address the physiological and psychosocial factors associated with childhood obesity as there are clear limitations and deficiencies in the current available services. Additionally, the work of HALO will help better define the important risk factors for the development of childhood obesity.
“While we know a lot about pediatrics and the health of kids and adults, we don’t really know that much about the health of obese children and what trajectory they will follow,” explains Rutherford. “When devising a treatment plan, it’s unrealistic to compare obese children to healthy kids.”
Rutherford, along with CHEO physicians, is hopeful that funding from the BIG STEPS campaign will provide for a full time obesity management program – a program not yet available at CHEO, but very much in demand. Families in our community seeking help for their overweight children are hitting a brick wall. Children referred to CHEO’s Endocrinology clinic typically face an 18 month waiting list. “Families don’t know where to go,” explains Rutherford. “They want to help their kids, but parents just don’t have the proper tools to tackle this issue.”
Until funding is procured for an obesity management program, HALO continues to use precious research funding to tackle this growing epidemic.
The Gamebike study is an example of a successful HALO research project. In this study, a recumbent exercise bicycle was connected to a PlayStation console. The main purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and the health benefits of using the PlayStation as an incentive to exercise, instead of a standard stationary cycling program, where youth only had access to the music of their choice. The 10-week study demonstrated that stationary cycling while playing video games is just as effective as stationary cycling to music at improving fitness, body composition and cholesterol profiles in obese teens. These results indicate that capitalizing on youth’s attraction to video games could eventually help increase physical activity and fitness levels in youth however, further investigation and research is needed.
While medical professionals have grasped the severity and effects of childhood obesity, health care funding and societal perceptions are lagging behind.
“Societal perception is that overweight people are just lazy and that they have failed at self control. Studies have shown that negative reinforcement does not work. It’s important that we really understand why children become obese,” explains Rutherford.
Childhood obesity did not happen overnight. “The environment that we live in now is not always suited to good health,” says Rutherford. “Because we are so busy, we try to do things as quickly as possible and in the end we are expending less energy to do things. We choose to spend less time on healthy habits, which creates an imbalance in our body’s energy in, energy out demands.”
HALO believes we all have a role to play in derailing childhood obesity. “We need to get everyone on board,” says Rutherford.
It is becoming clear that investing in childhood obesity is a necessity if we are to save future generations of children. While it’s important that we focus on preventative measures, we are in a situation where many children are simply past that. “All of our patients are at the treatment stage,” explains Rutherford. “We are past saying here’s a booklet – you need to exercise and eat better. The many reasons why they aren’t doing that need to be addressed.” With consistent funding, HALO will continue to provide essential research in, and long term management solutions for, childhood obesity.
HALO is pleased to announce that it has been selected as a charity of choice by two very well known Ottawa charities. The annual HOPE Volleyball Summerfest and the Ottawa Dragon boat festival will raise funds for HALO initiatives during their popular summer fundraiser. HOPE volleyball will take place in Ottawa on July 11th. Learn more about HOPE at www.hopehelps.com. The Ottawa Dragon boat festival will be held from June 18th to 20th. Visit their website at www.dragonboat.net to learn more or register your team.