Those are the findings of the study “Weight status as a predictor of being bullied in third through sixth grades,” which is available online now and will be published in the June issue of the journal Pediatrics. Julie C. Lumeng, M.D., assistant professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Communicable Diseases at the University of Michigan’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, is lead author of the study.

Childhood obesity and bullying are both pervasive public health problems. Obesity among children in the United States has risen to epidemic proportions with 17 percent of 6 to 11 year olds estimated to be obese between 2003 and 2006. In addition, parents of obese children rate bullying as their top health concern and past studies have shown that obese children who are bullied experience more depression anxiety and loneliness.

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between childhood obesity and being bullied in third, fifth, and sixth grades. While studies on bullying and obesity in children have been conducted before, none had controlled for factors such as socioeconomic status, race, social skills and academic achievement.

Further, this study is unique in that it specifically looks at the age range when bullying peaks – ages 6 to 9.

Researchers studied 821 children who were participating in the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. These children were recruited at birth in 10 study sites around the country.

Researchers evaluated the relationship between the child’s weight status and the odds of being bullied as reported by the child, mother, and teacher. The study accounted for grade level in school, gender, race, family income-to-needs ratio, racial and socioeconomic composition of the school, and child social skills and academic achievement as reported by mothers and teachers.

Researchers found that obese children had higher odds of being bullied no matter their gender, race, family socioeconomic status, school demographic profile, social skills or academic achievement.

Authors conclude that being obese, by itself, increases the likelihood of being a victim of bullying. Interventions to address bullying in schools are badly needed, Lumeng adds.

“Physicians who care for obese children should consider the role that being bullied is playing in the child’s well-being,” Lumeng says. “Because perceptions of children are connected to broader societal perceptions about body type, it is important to fashion messages aimed at reducing the premium placed on thinness and the negative stereotypes that are associated with being obese or overweight.”

While the study did not look into interventions to address bullying in this population, the hope is that these results could prove useful in doing so, Lumeng says.

Additional authors: Patrick Forrest, B.S., of the University of Michigan; Danielle P. Appugliese, M.P.H., of the Boston University School of Public Health; Niko Kaciroti, Ph.D., of the University of Michigan; Robert Corwyn, Ph.D., of the University of Arkansas in Little Rock; and Robert Bradley, Ph.D., of the Arizona State University.

Funding source paragraph: This work was supported in part by the American Heart Association Mid-west Affiliate Grant-in-Aid 0750206Z to Dr. Lumeng.

Patents/conflict disclosures: None

Journal reference: DOI: 10.1542/peds.2009-0774

Source
University of Michigan Health System

Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) combines gentle tapping on pressure points while focussing on particular emotions and thoughts.

Psychologist Dr Peta Stapleton, an academic title holder in Griffith University’s School of Medicine, said that EFT was painless and easy to learn.

Her research also showed the impact on food cravings was almost immediate and long lasting. Food cravings significantly reduced after just four, two-hour sessions and were maintained at a six-month follow-up.

“Participants in the trial were surprised by how quickly the technique works – that it doesn’t take a lot of time to eliminate food cravings they may have had for many years,” Dr Stapleton said.

She said common cravings were for sweet carbohydrates such as cakes and chocolate or salty foods such as chips and savoury biscuits.

“Food cravings play a big role in people’s food consumption and ultimately their body weight. If we can beat the cravings without the need for willpower or conscious control of behaviour, then weight loss is also possible.”

While the study did not show any significant impact on body weight or body mass index (BMI) after six months, the results of a 12-month follow-up are still being analysed.

Dr Stapleton, who specialises in the management of eating disorders, said some participants had actually forgotten they had a previous problem with food cravings until they were reminded at the six-month follow-up.

She said because the technique helps over-ride emotional eating at a sub-conscious level, it was more likely to be effective in the long-term.

Psychological acupuncture, also known as the emotional freedom technique (EFT), has also been used to manage clinical issues such as post traumatic stress disorder, phobias and addictions.

The results of the study will be presented at the International Congress of Applied Psychology in Melbourne in July.

Source:
Research Australia

University of Illinois at Chicago researchers have found that a modified version of a plan called “alternate-day fasting” may be easier to abide and has the added bonus of improving cardio health. The findings appear in the November 1 issue of The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

“This diet has been around about 20 years, but its effect on weight loss hadn’t really been studied,” said Krista Varady, assistant professor of kinesiology and nutrition, who led the UIC research team.

The 10-week trial studied 16 clinically obese people — 12 women and four men — between the ages of 35 and 65 who all weighed more than 210 pounds, had kept their weight stable for the previous three months, and had body mass indexes of between 30 and 39.9. None was diabetic, had a history of cardiovascular disease, was taking weight-loss or lipid- or glucose-lowering medications, or smoked.

The study was divided into three phases:

The first two weeks, participants ate and exercised normally.

Between weeks three and six, participants ate normal meals one day then would fast the next. On fast days, participants ate the equivalent of a three-course lunch prepared by UIC’s Human Nutritional Research Center. The meal provided between 20 and 25 percent of daily energy needs.

For the final four weeks, participants were counseled by dietitians on menu options, but essentially chose on their own what to eat, based on what they had learned about meal sizes and food choices.

“We wanted to see if they could actually do it by themselves — because what’s the point of studying this diet if you have to feed people meals prepared at metabolic kitchens all the time?” said Varady.

Weight loss ranged from 10 to 30 pounds; the researchers expected an average loss of only five pounds. Blood pressure and heart rate were also lowered, along with total cholesterol and circulating fat levels.

Varady hopes now to study the effects of staying on the diet for at least six months, looking for evidence of self-motivation and to see if the diet helps in maintaining proper weight.

“Why are some able to do it but others not? It takes about two weeks to adjust to the diet, after which people don’t feel hungry on the fast day,” she said.

“We need to find out how long they can stay on this diet — and if they go off it, do they automatically regain the weight?”

Co-authors on the study are doctoral students Surabhi Bhutani and Monica Klempel, and Emily Church, clinical coordinator in physical therapy at UIC. The study was supported by UIC departmental funding.

Source
University of Illinois at Chicago