Teen sleep linked to food choices???

From ScienceDaily:

A study in the Sept. 1 issue of the journal Sleep shows that teens who slept less than eight hours per weeknight ate higher proportions of fatty foods and snacks than adolescents who slept eight hours or more. The results suggest that short sleep duration may increase obesity risk by causing small changes in eating patterns that cumulatively alter energy balance, especially in girls.

My hope is that we won't just get stuck on the obesity issue here -- the extra weight is a symptom of unhealthy behaviors -- it is not an unhealthy behavior itself.

School is back in session and the sleep that some of our kids were getting in the summer while were went to work is a thing of the past.  But how are we going to educate our kids on the life-long importance of sleep as a recovery time for our bodies (not just a breaktime of lost productivity)?

What are we doing to our children???

I am sure most of you have heard that Type 2 Diabetes (what used to be called Adult Onset Diabetes) is on the rise in children.  (Type 2 is the one where the cells in the pancreas that produce insulin just wear out because they have had to deal with so much sugar).  So...with all of the sugar in the American diet, children are wearing out their pancreas at younger and younger ages.  That is bad enough...

However, a new study suggests children (kids ages 7-11 ... so really! we are talking about young kids) with poor blood sugar regulation have 4-5% less bone mass.  This is the age kids should be building bones!  How are they going to be able to avoid having hip and wrist fractures at 50, let alone 70, if they have weaker bones at 11.

This makes me want to cry and gets me MAD all at once!!!  We are choosing to let our children drink sodas (that contribute to the diabetes)!  We are not encouraging them to drink milk (to provide the calcium and vitamin D necessary to build strong bones)!!  We are not MAKING them go outside and run around (to stimulate bone formation AND to make their bodies more sensitive to insulin in the first place)!!  We are not doing these things for ourselves (not modeling the behavior) and we are not creating an environment where they have to participate in the decisions that will allow them to grow up healthy and strong!!

What is wrong with us?  Are you mad about this?  Are you doing something about it in your own home?  Are you setting a good example for the kids who wouldn't otherwise have one???

Are more kids getting kidney stones?

If you have every seen anyone experiencing kidney stones (or experienced them yourself), you have some idea of just how painful they can be!  I didn't know kids could experience them -- let alone that the number of children dealing with kidney stones may be on the increase.

Why? 

Some professionals think it it likely due to the same diet and low-fluid concerns that put adults at risk.  Why is that?  Read on:

"...Obesity is a risk factor for kidney stones, and the rising rate of childhood obesity in the U.S. could be at work. Since 1980, the percentage of obese kids between ages 6 and 11 has nearly tripled to 19.6 percent in 2008 according to the Centers for Disease for Disease Control and Prevention.



Diet is another potential culprit, Routh noted. Low fluid intake, and high intakes of sodium as well as animal fat and proteins, can contribute to kidney stones, he explained.


Children who have a family history of kidney stones or have ever had stones in the past are at greater risk of developing them than other kids are. Routh suggested that parents of these children, in particular, try to make sure their kids stay well-hydrated, especially during summer months.


Hydration, he said, is the best way to prevent stone formation in children at elevated risk."

Click here to read the article in full.