Study Finds Kids Gain Weight Over Summer
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Feb 28, 8:35 PM (ET)
By
RICK CALLAHAN
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - The nation's schools, under
fire for unhealthy school lunches, well-stocked vending machines and phys ed
cuts, may actually do a better job than parents in keeping children fit and
trim. A study found that 5- and 6-year-olds gained more weight over the summer
than during the school year, casting doubt on the assumption that kids are more
active during summer vacation.
The
findings don't reveal what's behind the out-of-school weight gain, but the
researchers speculate it's because the summer months lack the structure of the
school year with all its activities and daily comings and goings.
Doug
Downey, an
He said
the study seems to point to the need for parents to be more involved, as well
as raising the idea of a longer school year and more after-school programs to
keep children active.
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And schools
should continue their efforts to promote good health, he said.
"Trying
to improve the quality of school lunches, getting the soda machines out of
schools - those are still good approaches. But clearly the source of children's
obesity problems lie outside of the school,"
For the
study,
The
university sociologists discovered that the youngsters' BMIs
increased on average more than twice as much during summer break compared with
the school year. That increase was even greater among black and Hispanic students
and kids who were overweight at the start of kindergarten.
Once
kids were back in school, however, the monthly growth rate of their BMIs fell, and the growth rate gap between the overall
population and the minority and overweight groups shrank, the researchers
found.
The
study will appear in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health.
Betsy
A. Keller, a professor of exercise and sport sciences at
Keller
said it clearly points to a summer gain in fat
mass, although she said data from later school years is needed to see if that
trend continues.
Overall,
she said the findings point to the need for parents to become actively involved
in encouraging their kids to develop healthy habits even as the push continues
for schools to focus more on those same goals.
"The
big question in my mind is what are the parents doing with these kids during
the summer? Unless they're paying attention to their child's level of activity
and diet, with each passing summer they're just adding to the risk of them
becoming overweight," she said.
"These
are 5- and 6-year-olds, after all. So they're not going to the grocery store -
it's their parents who are making these choices."
The
study's co-author, Brian Powell, a professor of sociology at Indiana
University, said earlier studies have indicated that 5- and 6-year-olds with
above average BMI
and BMI gains are at increased risk for adult obesity.
Some 17
percent of
In
recent years, criticism has been directed at schools for playing a role in that
trend, leading nearly 20 states to enact some form of school nutrition
legislation or to emphasize exercise goals.
Nancy Chockley, president of the National Institute for Health
Care Management Foundation, said the new research adds to the argument that
parents must shoulder more of the responsibility for keeping their children in
shape.
Chockley said parents need to make time for regular family bike
rides, walks, hikes or other types of exercise during the summer and beyond to
help their kids develop good habits.
"I
don't think this takes the heat off the schools. I think it spreads the heat
around," said Chockley, whose
Washington-D.C.-based nonprofit group researches health care issues.
"We
ask a lot from the schools, but the fact is that's the easiest environment to
reach the most children. Reaching the parents is much harder."