eSingleParent

Childhood Obesity Crisis

The number of children who believe they have a weight problem exceeds government estimates about the number of overweight youths, a groundbreaking study has revealed.

The recently released Kid-Trition study conducted by Just Kid Inc., found 27 percent of kids describe themselves as being either slightly or very overweight, compared to the 18 percent of actual obese kids cited by the Centers for Disease Control.

"Everywhere kids go, they hear messages about childhood obesity," according to Dr. Michelle Poris, a child psychologist on staff at Just Kid Inc. "While these messages may improve the lifestyle of some overweight and obese kids, we have major concerns about the impact of the over-abundance of these messages on otherwise healthy children."

Just Kid Inc.'s Kid-Trition, is the first and only quantitative study, to look at childhood obesity from a kids' point of view.

"Loads of adult experts have weighed in on this issue, but nobody has thought to speak with kids, the ones directly affected, to get their perspectives," said Just Kid Inc., President, George Carey.

"With all the media attention focused on obesity, we may be causing a group of currently healthy kids who are especially sensitive to social acceptance and self-image to internalize the message of "obesity" even if they are not overweight, thus triggering cognitive distortions of their own body image and susceptibility to serious eating disorders later in life" according to Poris.

In fact, according to Kid-Trition, kids feel more pressure from their parents to eat healthy (85%) than to exercise (64%).

Stressing increased activity instead of pushing healthier foods, seems to result in more nutritious eating and elevated energy levels which thereby increases kid's self esteem and sociability versus the other way around. Nutritious eating doesn't necessarily lead to increased activity. For example:

  * Active kids pay more attention to health and nutrition than inactive.
    They eat fresher foods, eat from different food groups, drink more
    water, get plenty of vitamins and minerals avoid junk food and have food
    or drinks that are good for them.

That having been said, there are ways in which moms can better provide nutritious foods that kids love, the most compelling being a collision of health benefits and taste. There does not seem to be a lack of awareness about healthy foods available to kids today:

  * Kids overall are able to identify good for you foods (fruit, milk,
    cheese) as being healthier than others (fruit snacks, cereal bars,
    sports drinks, diet soda, candy)

However, the real issue is that there is a lack of healthy foods or beverages that most kids will eat or choose over their current favorite. Good for you food and beverages must first and foremost taste great and then be paired with foods and beverages that deliver additional benefits.

Based on additional findings from Kid-Trition, Just Kid Inc. was able to generate dozens of kid-validated good for you strategic growth platforms that can be used to provide fact-based guidance on both new product and good for you brand positioning and research for our clients.

Kid-Trition is the first proprietary quantitative study that reports on opinions, beliefs, needs and desires about nutrition and health among kids. Kid-Trition was fielded to a nationally representative sample of 1536, 8-12 year old tweens.

Just Kid Inc. is one of the country's leading kid marketing groups specializing in product innovation, kid brand positioning/strategy and all forms of kid market research.

Source: http://www.justkidinc.com/

How Sweet Is It?

Warm weather is historically a time for refreshing, thirst-quenching drinks, but the calories from the sugar content in the average summer beverage can add up. Regular soft drinks and fruit drinks account for more than 42 percent of the major sources of added sugars.(1)

With childhood obesity reaching epidemic proportions, calorie-dense beverages are a good place for children to reduce unneeded calories. The Federal Trade Commission and the Department of Health and Human Services recently released guidelines for marketing food products to children(2) and former President Bill Clinton's Alliance for a Healthier Generation, in conjunction with the American Beverage Association and major beverage distributors, have vowed to replace sugar-filled drinks with lower sugar content or more nutritious beverage options in age-appropriate serving sizes in all schools with bottler contracts by the 2009-2010 school year.(3)

Tackling this issue on a broad scale is important, but habits are formed at home. A recent survey indicates 87 percent of mothers asked are making a strong effort or some effort to limit their children's intake of sugar.(4)

"With summer fast approaching, traditionally a time when thirst quenchers are sought, it's important for parents and other caregivers to offer healthy beverage choices," said Hope Warshaw, MMSc, R.D., registered dietitian and author of What to Eat When You're Eating Out (2006). "They should offer either beverages containing calories with nutrition, such as fat free milk or 100% fruit juice; or options without calories, such as water or beverages made with SPLENDA(R) No Calorie Sweetener. This is one of many small, daily steps parents can take to help their children eat healthier today and learn healthy habits for their lifetime."

Other tips Hope Warshaw offers to help families think before they drink sugary beverages include:

* Read the Nutrition Facts labels and ingredients to determine if a drink contains unnecessary calories from sugars. A common ingredient that means sugar is high fructose corn syrup.

* Be aware of the calories and added sugars in regular sodas, fruit and sports drinks. Choose the diet or reduced calorie/low-sugar versions of these beverages instead.

* Sweeten up powdered drinks or drinks you make at home like lemonade, fruit punch or iced tea with SPLENDA(R) No Calorie Sweetener.

Just in time for the warmer weather, SPLENDA(R) Sweetener Products has tapped celebrity mixologist and cookbook author Bruce Weinstein to add a new twist to summer beverage classics like lemonade and tea. These "livened up" versions of summertime favorites contain nearly no calories because they are all sweetened with SPLENDA(R) No Calorie Sweetener. Concoctions the entire family can enjoy include Watermelon Lemonade, Mango Yogurt Smoothie, Chamomile Pomegranate Tea and Grapefruit Raspberry Sparkler and the full recipes are available at http://www.splenda.com/.