Skipping breakfast - it can add inches to your waist, according to a study in the July Journal of the American Dietetic Association. This study information came from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the NHANES data we’ve mentioned before, collected on 10,000 kids from 1999 to 2006, ages 9 to 18 years. The twist to this data, though, isn’t only whether they ate breakfast or not, but what percentage of the daily calorie count was in that breakfast. The cold cereal breakfast eaters ate fewer but more nutritious calories than the hot breakfast’s eaters, and all breakfast eaters were much better than the no breakfast eaters. A third of kids skipped breakfast in the older teen group, from 14 to 18 years, while 20% of the younger group, ages 9 to 13, skipped breakfast. Many of the older girls thought that skipping breakfast would help with weight lose, but the opposite was true, because they were more likely to snack. Most interesting was, that of the breakfast skippers, 22% were obese, compared to only 15% of those eating cold cereal, and 20% with eating the other cereals. The researches looked at the diet for a 24 hour period, and found that kids who ate the cold, ready-to-eat cereals, had more favorable nutrient intake all day. Even if the cereals were high in sugar, they still faired better with the other nutrients and fiber. And, of course those who chose the cereals with less sugar, and more fiber and nutrients did very well. So, the take home message is that breakfast is very important, and that cold cereal is very good, not only for nutrition, but for the whole calorie balance through the day. Give that kid a hug, as you get him up just a littler earlier to have a cereal breakfast. I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
Topic #2
Could teens have headaches related to regular smoking and/or drinking? According to a study reported in the journal, Headache, that is a possibility. They obtained self reports of over 1200 students in the 10th and 11th grades, using the International Classification of Headache Disorders Second Edition to tell if the headaches were related to migraine headaches or tension-type headaches, or a combination. Tension-type headaches are a constant pressure, as if being squeezed, and they occur on both sides of the head. They can last from minutes to days, though the average is about 4-6 hours, and most people can do daily activities with the headache. At least 50% are related to stress, loss of sleep, uncomfortably stressful position or bad posture, irregular meal time, eyestrain, and caffeine withdrawal. Migraine headaches, are more complicated, with several versions. Typically, they last from 4-72 hours, and have either nausea and/or vomiting or light and/or sound sensitivity. In addition, migraines can present with pulsating feeling on one side of the head, and are more severe than is often described with tension headaches, to the point that they definitely interfere with all activities. So back to the study which came from Munich, Germany. Eighty three percent had headaches at least once in the past 6 months, with the majority reporting tension-type headaches. The headaches were significantly higher in the kids who regularly drank alcohol, in those who had at least 1 cup of coffee a day, and in those who weren’t physically active. Others have reported more migraine headaches with eating processed meats that have nitrates, hard cheeses, and wine. So if your child has headaches, look at the substance use, and the lifestyle issues, and see your doctor if questions. Give that kid a hug. I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
Topic #3
Competition – good or bad, or can it be both, depending on the attitude, and as a parent, what goals do you have for your child? Well, competition is a part of life, and in many ways is an important motivator for helping us improve. In fact when we don’t feel competitive, we often don’t try as hard and thus don’t learn or accomplish as much, and so it often translates to lower self-esteem. But, if competition is taken to extremes, where the focus is only on winning, which quickly can become a dominating stance, then other attitudes come into play. In fact, a recent study was done on motivation of competition. The questionnaires completed by over 100 high school seniors in Dallas looked at the motivation either to win, or to excel. The idea of excelling was to do well and surpass personal goals, but these kids did not approach competition as winning was the absolute. Now, keep in mind we are talking about high school kids whose job, if you will, is school and learning basic lessons of life. These aren’t professional athletes. The study was looking at the emotional concerns related to the attitude of competition. They found that in girls who had an "all or nothing" attitude, in other words, "competing to win" philosophy, there was more depression, loneliness and they had fewer close friendships. The boys weren’t as affected in the emotional areas. Both boys and girls who had the competitive spirit to improve themselves did better in the emotional realm, and seemed to take the best that competition can offer, in terms of life lessons, such as winning, losing, and working with others. So competition can be a great thing, but pay attention to the attitude your child has and is developing, to allow for the best total over-all growth and development. Give that kid a hug, I’m Dr. Greta McFarland.
