Winston-Salem, U.S.A. – With nearly one-third of American children being overweight or obese, doctors agree that there is an acute need for more effective treatments. In many weight management programs, the dropout rate can be as high as 73%, and even in successful programs, the benefits are usually short term.

Although family-based approaches to pediatric obesity are considered the gold standard of treatment, theories of the family and how it functions have not been incorporated into effective interventions, according to a study published in the May issue of the International Journal of Obesity by researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

“The field of family studies provides an innovative approach to the difficult problem of pediatric obesity, building on the long-established approach of family-based treatment,” said Joseph Skelton, M.D., assistant professor of pediatrics and director of the Brenner FIT (Families in Training) Program at Wake Forest Baptist, and lead author of the study.

Skelton and his research team reviewed medical literature published between 1990 and 2011 to identify the use of prominent family theories in pediatric obesity research. Of the 76 manuscripts found, 13 were selected for the study.

Wake Forest Baptist researchers found limited use of family theories in the study of pediatric obesity, particularly in weight management treatments. Family behavioral theories can provide valuable insight into the complexities of families, and increased use of these theories in both research and practice may help in the development of more effective treatments for childhood obesity, the study found.

“Traditionally doctors looked at the patient as the one in the family to focus on, but now we have to look at the entire family as the patient,” Skelton said.

“One of the problems we found was that there wasn’t even a clear definition of family in the literature. A two-parent household with a stay-at-home mother and working father is no longer the norm. Inability to define the family makes it difficult to apply a straightforward model of family function to child health and weight management.”

In the clinic setting, families are often represented by a child and a parent, typically the mother. However, this often does not accurately reflect family complexity and it doesn’t define which family members should be included in treatment, Skelton said.

A common theme in the field of family studies is that families are a system, made up of interdependent units. Intervening with one unit, such as a mother and a child, will influence other units. These interpersonal relationships influence the health behaviors of the child and the family as a whole, according to the study.

“The challenge is to find ways to incorporate the entire family in the process, while allowing for different schedules and different age kids with different health needs,” Skelton said. “If we don’t find more effective treatments and this epidemic continues, these children will likely go on to become obese adults, resulting in an entire generation with lower life expectancies than their parents’ generation.”

Skelton and his team at Brenner FIT have begun incorporating theories of the family into their research and in their treatment approach, and are finding ways to engage more members of the family in treatment.

Funding for the study was provided by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Duke Endowment and the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Foundation.

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A survey published by the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has studied the relation between mortality and the intake of sodium and potassium using a nationally representative. The study reveals that U.S. adults’ health is at risk.

According to it, a diet high in potassium and low in sodium reduces risk of death by a 50 percent. U.S. adults consume and average of 3,300 milligrams of sodium, more than twice the current recommended limit for most Americans. The results of the study show that a change in Americans’ diet is necessary to lower health risk.

The research was designed along with researchers from Emory University and Harvard University to assess the health and nutritional status of adults in the United States. As a result, findings show that people who reduce their sodium intake and increase their potassium consumption improved blood pressure and reduce risk for developing other serious health problems.

Elena Kuklina, M.D., Ph.D., an investigator on the study and a nutritional epidemiologist with the CDC’s Division for Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention said “the study provides further evidence to support current public health recommendations to reduce sodium levels in processed foods, given that nearly 80 percent of people’s sodium intake comes from packaged and restaurant foods. Increasing potassium intake may have additional health benefits.”

The 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that people choose more potassium-rich foods, advising 4,700 milligrams of potassium per day. The guide also suggests that healthy adults should limit sodium intake to 2,300 mg per day while individuals with high blood pressure should consume no more than 1,500 mg per day. For example table salt is 40 percent sodium; one teaspoon of table salt contains 2,300 mg of sodium.

Potassium, along with calcium and sodium, is an electrolyte important to the human nervous system, muscle function, fluid balance and heart, kidney and adrenal functions. However unlike sodium, potassium is naturally present in many fresh foods such as milk, vegetables and yogurt.  Processed meats, such as bacon, sausage, and ham and canned soups and vegetables are all examples of foods that contain added sodium. Fast food is generally very high in sodium.

Nutritionists recommend choosing smaller-sized servings. Consider splitting fast food meals to reduce the amount of calories and fat by asking for a “doggy bag” or simply leaving the excess on the plate. To help supplement and balance a fast food meal, choose nutritious options such as fresh fruits, vegetables and yogurt available as sides.

The Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension (DASH) diet advises eating more potassium and less sodium. It is recommended by the National Institutes of Health, which reminds people that variety and moderation are the key principles in providing a healthy diet for children as well as adults.

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Novak Djokovic secured the No. 1 ranking in the world Sunday by defeating Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-1 ,1-6, 6-3 in the finals at Wimbledon.

Djokovic controlled the first two sets, seemingly having the match under control the whole way until Nadal tried to spark a fierce comeback in the third. Nadal provied why he and nor Djokovic came into this match with the number one ranking, but Djokovic ultimately proved why he took it.

The 24 year old Serbian pro got his first tournament win on grass and is now beginning what may be a long reign as tops in the world.

Djokovic improved to 48-1 with the win, including five wins against Nadal, and the only loss being to Roger Federer.

With Federer’s time in the spotlight dwindling, the tennis world will soon come down to many more battles between Djokovic and Nadal. No longer does one of them dominate a certain surface of play, making tournaments much tougher to predict. Grand Slams will start to become a real possibility for both of them, the only thing standing in their way being each other.

American born players have all but dropped out of relevance in the men’s game. Names like Fish and Roddick are not quite matching the stardom that fans were used to from guys like Agassi, Sampras and McEnroe.

Following a similar path of professional golf in the post-Tiger era, American fans are crying for a few face in tennis, and until that happens the sport will unfortunately suffer in popularity.

Of course this is no matter to the champions as only one of the four yearly majors is played in the United States.

Nadal is indeed a great player, but with the short windows that dominant tennis players have, expect it to be Djokovic’s time at the top for a while, it’s his turn.

Image Courtesy of  http://www.flickr.com/photos/extradeportes/

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Just the thought of using enough creativity for creating new things out of old ones is great! Not only is an eco-friendly solution, but the results and designs are great! If you like the urban furniture style, then these are great news for you!

The geniuses that came up with this art are Jason and Adam Podlaski. They are the creator of their first creations the “DeckStool”, but now they’ve just design and build The Deck Bench. This is their new creation that was inspired by their first design the “DeckStool”. They used the bases form their previous invention but this time they redesign it and decided to create a new piece that had better characteristics, and was more comfortable.

Therefore, what they basically use, are parts of skateboard decks.  They have created really cool designs, but really taking in consideration that the art is eco-friendly by using up cycled skateboards.

It all began one day, when Jason saw his brother Adam handing to him a pile of his old, used and broken skateboard decks, and ask him to create a piece of furniture. Jason tells that when he looked at the decks immediately he noticed that there were basically 2 sizes of decks, longer ones and smaller ones. He began to play with them, and the longer decks appeared for him like legs for a chair, and the shorter ones he Picture them as useful for a seat. Therefore, alter putting the pieces together and playing until forming something the first stool was design.

In U.S.A the recycling is very important, and the eco-friendly products are well valued. The broken skateboards are a byproduct in the American culture. And they are destined for the landfill. Therefore this idea of using the decks and creating furniture our or them its great because the decks are being recycled and they do not generate waste.

Nowadays, the brothers count with a factory in Pennsylvania where the designs are built and finished. All the designs are great, and can decorate rooms giving them an original touch. So if you are looking for new furniture, here is a great idea!

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