eating disorders part 2

Even as the though the number of obese children is reaching record levels and bringing adult diseases like Type 2 diabetes to the teenager, there is a new obsession with dieting has spread to younger and younger people like teenagers. With excess dieting and exercise it may lead to the risk of eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. According to the National Eating Disorders Association about 42 percent of girls ranging from as young as third grade want to be thinner. About 81 percent of 10 year olds girls are afraid of being gat and about 51 percent of 9 and 10 year old girls are content with themselves when they are dieting.

This can lead to an unhealthy obsessing and it can lead on into the teen and adults years if not addressed. In many ways, this “fixation on weight at ever earlier ages comes at an inopportune time physiologically”. Dr. Marcie Schneider, the director of adolescent medicine at Greenwich Hospital, and Erica Leon, a registered dietitian, both said that “early adolescence as a time when a little bit of pudginess is necessary for proper growth, and youngsters wrestle constantly with their body image”. Erica Leon also said that there are a lot of kids on the fad diets like the South Beach and Atkins diets and that overweight children, who try these diets are at risk for developing eating disorders.

Dr. Katherine A. Halmi, who runs the eating disorder program at the Westchester Division of New York-Presbyterian Hospital in White Plains, said she had also “noticed an increase in younger patients. At the hospital there are 20 inpatient beds treating about 350 people a year. She said that in the last ten years “we've seen a gradual increase in children under 12...I just admitted an 11-year-old last night to our unit... youngest patient with anorexia was only 9 years old”. She explains how peer pressure has a lot to do with it and says that the problems are reaching younger girls. Dr. Halmi says that some come “from families who are very health-food oriented, and many have thin mothers who exercise a lot and are very preoccupied with what they're eating, or older sisters who are concerned about their appearance”.

She also thinks that “Magazines aimed at teenagers contribute a lot... The biggest factor with teens and preteens is their own peers”. Here is a quick film about eating disorders.
The video is from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRseSpdGC2s

Dr. Judy Scheel, the director of the Center for Eating Disorder Recovery in Mount Kisco explains the difference between Anorexia and Bulimia. She says that, Anorexia is a mental illness in which the person eats hardly enough to live. These people have a distorted thinking makes them think they are fat. Bulimia, a mental illness in which someone “binges on large amounts of food, then purges it through vomiting or the abuse of laxatives, is on the rise, and is surfacing in younger and younger patients, mostly girls”. Dr. Scheel says that about “90 percent of people with eating disorders are female, and often the male victims are on teams like wrestling and crew, where they must keep their weight low for competitive reasons”. Eating disorders are mainly suffered by the female population. Dr. Scheel believes that where “girls claim the eating disorder enables them to be thin, boys typically state their goal is to achieve or maintain a muscular but thin physique”. She states that the average onset for bulimia used to be “17, but to see teenagers age 14 and 15 with bulimia is common these days”. This is important for people to see the warning signs and get their children help early. I think it has a lot do with parenting and how the parents treat the child. I have friend who’s mother always and still tells her she doesn’t need to eat this is not a good role model for her to lose weight healthily when her own mother tells her not to eat.

Dr. Scheel explains how looking at the dynamics of the patient's family is important also. She says that ''Life is fast paced, and we have not taken a lot of time to really listen to our children, to have relationships with them...It's so much easier to deal with just the behavior, instead of the emotions.'' She says that the parents may “need different strategies to address such issues... I have seen every time is a miss in the relationship, in the attachment, with parents who are consumed with how a child does, not who she is, to, at the other extreme, gross infringement and abuse,'' similar to my friend I discussed earlier. She also describes the loving family who doesn’t ever ask how you are feeling etc. This is important for family members to not abuse their children about their weigh and also to listen to them when they are feeling down. Image is from

Obesity

Obesity in the teen age years is often harmful to a growing young adult’s health and well being. Sue Scheff suggest that “the obesity rate for teens has tripled over the past 25 years and with this increase an average weight, type 2 diabetes, once unknown in young people, is now diagnosed in 45 percent of all new cases involving children or teens. Medical experts fear that high blood pressure and heart disease could become increasingly prevalent among young adults, making this generation of teens the first to have potentially poorer health and shorter life spans than their parents”. This is a alarming statement which is becoming a very real fact in today’s society. Image is from flickr.com/photos/62142788@N00/2222635369/.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRSGUZrOU_w
For teenage girls it can be unhealthier when they gain excessive weight during this time. In an article from USA Today teen girls “often become much less physically active during their teen years, but researchers say that is just when they should move into high gear if they want to control their weight”. It is important to eat healthy and exercise to maintain a healthy weight, but there are always excuses like fast food and no time which keep people from not exercising. Alison Field an associate professor of pediatrics at Harvard says that “many girls teen to cut back on activity during puberty because they may not want to sweat or have their hair messed, and that is the worst possible time to stop being active”.

Researchers and scientists at Harvard Medical School in Boston Massachusetts studied data on 3,914 females ages 14 to 22 and if their weight gain was do to maturing or if their weight gain was unhealthy. The study started in 2000 and 2001 and again from 2003 to 2005. Their research suggested that “Some of the younger women were gaining weight because they were still growing and maturing... But most of the older women had reached full maturity, and their weight gain was more likely to be unhealthy”. In the first study in “2001, about 54% of the young women wanted to lose weight, and 24% were trying to maintain their weight” and only half the group said they exercise once a week and 14% said they exercised five or more times a week. The type of physical activity ranged from sports to dancing.

According to the study the teens who gained an average of 7 pound from 2001 to 2005 were the ones who didn’t exercise or eat healthy. The teens who exercised at least once a week and usually ate limited portion sizes gained on average 5 pounds. The group who exercised more than 5 days a week and limited their portion sizes gained about 3 pounds. Alison Field the professor at Harvard suggests that "the key is to find an activity you like, adding that the habits young women form at this time of their lives may be with them for a lifetime”. Another problem is the portion size at fast food and restaurants they are often double the amount you are supposed to have for the day it is important to watch what you eat and exercise regularly in order to maintain a healthier you.

Peer Pressure to be like them

Teenagers often face constant peer pressure to be or do certain things to fit in. in an article from the Washington Post the article suggests that peer pressure can carry a great weight in girls eating and exercise habits and often a pressure to be or look a certain way. The teenage years, is the time when their “awareness is increased regarding figure, weight, image and good looks”. This is also a period when a lot of teenagers facing peer pressure, try fad diets to lose weight or don’t eat food at all. The teenage years are the time of rapid growth and development. There is a need for proper balanced diets and adequate nutritional intake is very important during these years of development. During puberty and teenager years, there is a demand for calories by the body due to increase physical activity and metabolic rate in this group. In a report from the United States Department of AgricultureCenter for Nutrition Policy and Promotion in April 2005 they recommend the average calorie intake for a non obese or overweight girl ranging in age from 13 to 18 needs 2000 and 2400 calories daily.
The article suggests that there are 5 percent of teens who suffer from eating disorders like anorexia and bulimia. Anorexia is when you don’t eat and bulimia is when you eat then purge. The article explains that “teen girls have concerns about their own weight, about how they appear to others and their perceptions that their peers want them to be thin are significantly related to weight control behavior” says psychologist Eleanor Mackey, a doctor at Children’s National Medical Center who was the head of the study. The media related world plays a big part in these children’s perceptions of how they are supposed to look and their friends want them to be the same way because most teens are in cliques. Other studies have found that the cliques which who the teen can identify with can affect if they choose to smoke, drink or take drugs. Teen’s friends can often influence them to be or act like them.
Even though there are pressure to be thin there is also a large number which doubled than the amount of people who are suffering from an eating disorder. There is an estimate of almost a third of young people are overweight, and almost 16 percent are obese according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Being obese places children at in increased risk for a number of health problems including type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease.

Images are from flickr.com/photos/merwing/1570691529/ and

flickr.com/photos/bluenoise/119900915/

One laptop per child

One laptop per child is a nonprofit organization whose goal is to provide the world’s poorest children with a low cost, rugged, low powered and connected laptop. The computer shown here is from flickr.com/photos/airforceone/1451674311. Their Mission Statement of One Laptop per Child or the (OLPC) is to “empower the children of poor and developing countries to learn by providing a connected laptop to every school-age child” (Nicholas, Negroponte). The organization was founded by Nicholas Negroponte, a professor from MIT in 2002. He saw how the lives of children and their families in a Cambodian village were transformed from acquiring laptops which led to the creation of the XO laptop. It is based on five principles: the Kids keep the laptops, they focus on early education ages 6 to 12, no one gets left out, connection to the internet, free to grow and adapt.

Their mission is to provide a means for “learning, self-expression, and exploration to the nearly two billion children of the developing world with little or no access to education” (Nicholas, Negroponte). Many countries have not enough resources to put towards education and are even less than about $20 per year per child that they use for education resources. In the United States an average amount used for education per child per year is about $7500. In order to accomplish this goal they need people who believe in what they’re doing and want to strive to make education a priority and not a privilege. They need believers in equal education for the have not’s like we talked about in class.

The followers of this foundation believe that by giving children their person own connected XO laptop and they are giving them a essential resource and a window to the outside world. The One laptop per child XO laptop uses software that is designed for collaborative, joyful, self-empowered learning. The OLPC foundation also states that when the children have access to this type of tool of essential knowledge in today’s world, they become to get engaged in their own education... This helps children access to information and a way to connect with each other and they learn, share, create, and collaborate. It also helps them for their future with the knowledge of technology, and education. This helps to achieve a brighter future for the underprivileged. I do think this a good idea because it gives other underprivileged people a chance of knowledge and education which is often important with advancement and basic skills needed in today’s world.

Drinking and Driving

images from flikr.com/creativecommons

Drinking and driving is responsible for more than 5000 deaths a year and teenagers, and they have the highest rate of accidents in all age groups who drive. When it comes to car accidents or collisions they are responsible for more than “40% of all deaths among young people each year”(PR Newswire, 2007). The reasons behind this many accidents can be explained by teenagers inexperience with driving, drinking and being distracted by something. As a new driver you are new to the environment and don’t always make the right decisions before you get behind the wheel. It is important to remember the consequences of drinking and driving.

What are we doing to help prevent teens from drinking and driving and how can we educate teenagers about its risks? Well the federal government has started “taken steps in the past decade to bring attention to the issue, and there are consequences for young drivers charged with drinking and driving. In many states, a teenager will lose their license for a period of a year or longer if they are convicted of driving while intoxicated “(alcoholalert)”. I know in NY if your caught drinking and driving underage you will lose your license until a certain age. This is a good way to deter teens from drinking and driving because they will risk their freedom of driving. Also another thing the government made into a national law was that in all of the 50 states .08 is the drinking limited to drive.

It is said that a person’s driving behavior is determined by who is in the car with you. Sometimes especially teenager will drive recklessly or fast to try to impress someone which is not actually cool and it makes you look stupid. Car accidents are the leading cause of death in teenagers in the United States and it is important for teenagers to use better judgment when they get behind the wheel.

Alcohol use among Adolescents and Young Adults

images are from
flikr.com/creativecommons

This week I am going to address the underage drinking and its effects it has on teenagers in the United States. Alcohol use among teenagers and young adults is a prominent health problem in the U.S. According to an article from Alcohol Research and Health, the national surveys of “adolescents, college students, and other young adults in the US reveal high rates of alcohol use among these age groups as well as high rates of dangerous drinking practices such as binge drinking and daily drinking” (Michael Windle, 2003). The effects of drinking everyday and drinking excessively lead to alcoholism. This is not a good way to start your adult life with and addiction to alcohol before even being legally able to consume it.

Surveys conducted suggest that approximately 28 percent of seniors in high school and 40% of college students admitted to binge drinking during a two week time frame. Binge drinking is consuming “five or more drinks in a row” in a short period of time. This type of binge drinking is very dangerous, especially for underage and young adults because of the inexperience they have with alcohol which could lead to alcohol poisoning. Also it has a major contribution to death from a car crash or suicide in this age group. Alcohol can lead to disturbances in personal life including family, school and work.

Alcohol use among adolescents can also lead to risky behaviors, including, sex, smoking, violence, drinking and driving, and suicide. In a study done by Windle, he used over 4000 participants from the ages of 13 to 18 and “2000 people reported strong relationships between binge drinking and smoking…adolescents who reported binge drinking in the 30 days before the survey were 17 times more likely to have smoking during that time than adolescent who did not report binge drinking” (Michael Windle, 2003). Drinking and smoking are hazardous to your health especially when done all the time. I started smoking at the age of 16 and it’s a nasty habit and hard to quit it’s important for teenagers and adolescents to never start.