From Your Health Journal…..”An interesting article from Ireland in a publication called the Independent that I wanted to promote. It brings up the interesting question for parents…..Where Are Worried Parents To Turn If Their Child Is Obese? Childhood obesity is on the rise all over the world as children are showing risk factors for heart disease, cancer, type 2 diabetes, weak joints, and asthma. The reduction of physical activity, increase of sedentary lifestyle which includes technology, as well as poor diet have all contributed to this growing concern. But, where should a parent turn to for help? Here are a few suggestions:

1. Your child’s pediatrician
2. The school nurse, principal, or PE teacher
3. A nutritionist
4. A dietician
5. A grandparent
6. A coach
7. A family role model

You get the point. A parents objective in this situation is to have long list of supporters who may be able to help an overweight or obese child. Once this is in place, then parent and child can become educated on lifestyle changes that may help them get on the path to a healthier lifestyle. Please visit the Independent web site (link provided below) to read the complete article.”

From the article…..

Where do you go and who do you turn to if your child is overweight or obese? Apparently, parents have little or no services to turn to. This startling fact was revealed at the launch of the INDI (Irish Nutrition and Dietetic Institute) Nourish Children Week in Dublin.

This lack of services is particularly worrying when, according to figures from the national Growing Up in Ireland survey, one-in-four of the 30,000 primary school children in this country are either overweight or obese.

The school yard is a jungle for all kids. The last thing a child needs is to be singled out for their weight. Overweight children often complain about bullying in school. This, on top of their already fragile self-esteem, is a dangerous combination.

Nourish Children Week is aiming to highlight the lack of HSE childhood obesity services. Dietitian Richelle Flanagan, INDI’s president, said there is a dearth of services despite child obesity now reaching epidemic levels.

“73pc of the country doesn’t have access to a child obesity programme and 88pc of the country doesn’t have access to a group intervention programme when kids are already obese,” he says.

The INDI presented a map of Ireland which showed that just three HSE childhood obesity prevention programmes exist across seven counties, along with two group treatment programmes that cover three counties.

To read the complete article…..Click here