Call To American Families: FOCUS ON HEALTH!
There's been some talk about the importance of removing vending machines (with junk food) from schools, labeling fast food items with nutrition information, etc...all in an effort to make a dent in the child obesity epidemic taking place in the U.S.
But, let me tell you...it's going to take a lot more than making vending machines vanish to turn this fast moving train around.
It seems this younger generation is the "virtual" generation because instead of physically playing baseball, many are playing it on the computer or Gameboy. Instead of walking down the street to chat with their school friend, they are typing the words on their phone or computer.
According to Dr. Reginald Washington, a pediatrician on the American Academy of Pediatrics Childhood Obesity Committee, there are many different societal factors conspiring to make American kids fat...from more time sitting in front of computers and TV to larger portion sizes, abundant fast food restaurants, and vending machines in schools. Washington warns that unless we make changes in all of these areas, including children's homes, we probably won't see changes in child obesity rates.
Families can start by focusing on health. Think about how often your family sits down to a healthy home cooked meal? Are fruits and vegetables plentiful and enjoyed in your home? How often do you drive through fast food restaurants in a week? Is your family drinking beverages that contribute important nutrients or just calories? How many hours do the kids spend in front of the television or computer?
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: child obesity, family health, health and wellness
But, let me tell you...it's going to take a lot more than making vending machines vanish to turn this fast moving train around.
It seems this younger generation is the "virtual" generation because instead of physically playing baseball, many are playing it on the computer or Gameboy. Instead of walking down the street to chat with their school friend, they are typing the words on their phone or computer.
According to Dr. Reginald Washington, a pediatrician on the American Academy of Pediatrics Childhood Obesity Committee, there are many different societal factors conspiring to make American kids fat...from more time sitting in front of computers and TV to larger portion sizes, abundant fast food restaurants, and vending machines in schools. Washington warns that unless we make changes in all of these areas, including children's homes, we probably won't see changes in child obesity rates.
Families can start by focusing on health. Think about how often your family sits down to a healthy home cooked meal? Are fruits and vegetables plentiful and enjoyed in your home? How often do you drive through fast food restaurants in a week? Is your family drinking beverages that contribute important nutrients or just calories? How many hours do the kids spend in front of the television or computer?
~~Elaine
Related Topics: Technorati Tags: child obesity, family health, health and wellness
41 Comments:
It all boils down to the parents and their lifestyle choices. They could replace all the vending machines with brown rice and tofu... but what good will it do if the child goes home and eats garbage the rest of the time. The best time to start is when children are very young.
I don't know where to ask my question. Hopefully you can help me. My son is 17yrs old and has occasionally green stools. He doesn't eat green veggies and doesn't drink anything green. What makes his poo green and what should he do about it? Thank you, Concerned Mom
Dear Anonymous,
I'm commenting about your sons green stools. This happened to me, a 21 yr old living with us and my boys. I narrowed it down to the sugar cereal Fruit loops, Fruity Pebbles and cereals that are colorful like that. It must be the food coloring they use. When we quit eating them, we were all back to normal :) Hopefully that helps tho' I'm not sure if he's eating those things, but it was worth a "shot".
I just think it's sad and ironic that parents now have to be told things that used to be basic common sense...i.e., let your kids play, don't get on the computer, model good eating habits, etc. I'm not that old a fogey, but I make sure my 4 boys play everyday, and we don't even have any computer games. They don't even miss them.
i had thanksgiving dinner and eat nothing green and had no cereal but my stool is green. what would cause this?
hello... i just recently pooed right now and my poo was green. i dont recall eating anything green on thanksgiving..i was kinda weirded out this afternoon and thought it will just go away later tonight ..,but its still green..was there something in the turkey?
If someone can answer that question i would be grateful. I also have had green poo recently.
There's nothing unhealthy about green 'poo'. It just means you may have had a lot of sugar or food coloring (in particular, anything purple, despite the greenish color).
The color will change as your diet changes.
I don't agree with what any of you have said, including Dr. Eben. I have had a problem for over a week with constipation/diarrhea and green stool being the most recent. My 5 year old will also occasionally have green stool. I would like more accurate information. I have read here on webmd.com that green stool can be an indication of an abnormal stool test. I think is sounds awfully judgmental of Dr. Eben to say that parents are responsible for what color their child's stool is.
I have had green stools for the past 24 hours and i can't figure out why. I haven't eaten anything with a lot of food coloring so i don't think that is the problem
i have recently have had a green bm...lime green.i was shocked when i discovered that. i have no idea what caused that. i dont eat or drink anything green or colored green. i also dont consume much sugar or eat a lot of junk food. anyone have any ideas as to what caused this?
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stool-color/AN00772
I have recently given up sweets and for the past week my poo has been green. I am very curious about what is causing this.
i have heard that when a stool paases too quickly thorugh your body it is green. That all poo will be green and if it does not stay in the colon for long enough then it will remain green
As bile makes its way through the intestines, it progressively changes color from green to yellow to brown, due to the action of bacteria in the large intestine on the bile salts.
Green stool often indicates that food has passed through the intestines faster than normal (called decreased bowel transit time), before it could be changed from green to brown.
Diarrhea decreases bowel transit time, so any condition that causes diarrhea can result in green stool.
Other causes of green stool include:
Laxative use
Antibiotic use
Medication side effects
Food poisoning
Celiac disease
Ulcerative colitis
Crohn's disease
Malabsorption
Irritable bowel syndrome
Bacterial overgrowth
Infectious diarrhea - especially salmonella and giardia
Traveler's diarrhea
Cancer
Foods and supplements that can cause green stool include:
Chlorophyll
Iron supplements
Algae
All three of my children have been having green stools for a while now & I couldn't figure out what was causing it. After checking this site I became more scared than comforted. My children eat the same foods that my wife & I do, but we don't experience this. Finally my wife came to the realization that are children drink colored juice instead of tea or water like we do. Just remember, it's not just what you eat, but what you drink as well.
green poo seems to be a common topic in my family lately. My kids, wife, myself and even my inlaws are all having the same problem. For me its been 2 weeks and just recently for others. I have no idea whats goning on ... some days it will go back to brown and then change to green the next day.. can some help out here
Once, I ate a cake that had blue dye in it - a simple birthday cake. After eating the cake, I had green poo for a couple of days. I was concerned about it like the rest of you are. Then, my father and sister had it as well but my mother never got it. We realized that we were the only three that had eaten that cake. Once it had passed through our system (and I guess we ate too much of it as it took a while), everything was back to normal. Blue dye can cause it as well.
I have had green stools for the past 2 days. The only thing I can think of that is different in my diet is I ate some red gummy bears and red-raspberry flavored Valentine candy. But why would red candy turn my stools green? I have no other symptoms.
Reply to anonymous about the cake: thank you! That must have been my problem. My son's birthday cake had a ton of blue icing and I ate some, but I don't eat a lot of junk food at all. My son eats healthy too but he never got it, which was a little weird, until I realized we had scraped all the icing off his slice because he doesn't like icing. I read the article and I was a bit confused and thought it might be something else. Thanks for helping me out with that... I guess you have to be really picky which watching what you eat!
Well, my stool was also green. i read all the comments, and I figured out that mine was becuase of laxative use, and i found that website with the stool comparissons very helpful.
All of my life I was told green stools were a flu bug in your stomach. remember the old flu strain of the 70s where we vomited, ran a fever and had diarhea. it was always green stool.I usually just eat hot,hot peppers and the bug in my stomach causing the green stools goes away. it really works.
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This is all too funny! So many different reasons. I have also gotten concerned with my green poo! The only thing that I can think of that I have changed lately is that I have been eating black licorace everyday! It is comforting to know that others out there are experiencing the same problems and it looks like there are so many reasons for this.
Ok well I have joined the green pooh searchers of why this is happening to us. I went from dark almost blackish green to much brighter green in about three days. But I have been eating tons of salads all my life so why the change now? Recent travel stress? Or maybe it's the bag of fruit gummies that apparently have food coloring in them? Or, maybe just a bit of irritated bowels? Guess I will just wait it out to see if anything else turns green. :)
I was doing some research today to find out why my poo is green and read down through the comments and then it dawned on me that I had been eating black licorice the day before. those who have teenagers might want to ask them if they went on a black licorice binge. Too funny.
I have had alot of experience with green vowel movements, myself and my children included.
When you consume anything purple, this will make your movement green... Like the reverse color of a film negative.
Grape juice, grape koolaid, power aid, blue corn chips (which are purple) etc.
This is nothing to worry about.
Interesting read! I think the best way to start promoting healthy eating in children is removing sweets and sodas from schools! Five to ten (depending on if the children are eating both breakfast and lunch) are eaten at school every week. Children will hopefully pick up healthier eating habits this way for the rest of their lives, also! You can find some additional interesting reading over at the Dietary Supplement Information Bureau page on childhood obesity.
I have had green stools for the past two days but I have not been eating anything out-of-the-ordinary or strongly dyed foods. We're not talking that brown-green, it looks almost like algae! The only thing that has happened in the same time period would be me breaking my toe, but I doubt any relation. Other than that, I was prescribed a newer medication, but that was about three weeks ago.
For me it's from Fruit Loops. Just like another person said. Some of you guys freaking out is pretty funny. Green Poo, OMG, its going to kill my children!!
So many personal experiences here, I doubt there is a common thread. I recently went on a fishing trip offshore, the coast of NC - took home about 30 lbs. of Mahi Mahi. Now, every time I eat the fish for dinner, the next day I have green stool, of varying shades; dark green is the latest. After reading about the various possible dietary causes of this, I wonder if the fish doesn't have excess iron, or if that is even possible.
Good luck in your search....
i have had green stool for 2 days -green as grass stains. i have been drinking alot of cheap grape soda latley i bet thats it your not always dying when something happens you know -god bless
I had a bronchoscopy on Thursday. Instructed not to eat after 12 midnight the night before procedure. By 6 pm after the procedure, I had a baked potato (nothing green). I have had a semi loose GREEN bowel up to today, Saturday. I have had nothing green.
i also have been drinking grape soda and it turn my stool green.
LOL there are a lot of reasons but I just realized, like other licorice eaters, that I have had a rather large amount of licorice only it wasn't black it WAAAAAAS blue. So duh double whammy right there. Hellllllllllo GREEN POO! But it was like Forest Green.. really dark and I found it totally bizarre.. I was almost afraid to eat a salad lol. Thanks All.
After reading everyone's helpful comments I have determined that my family's recent trip to a local amusement park complete with a blueberry-coconut snow cone and the red, white and BLUE cotton candy were the root cause of my green stool. Which, by the way, had me a little freaked. Thanks to all.
On the subject of green poo, I have had it quite consistently for some time. After reading the comments of other on this site, I am thinking it is the blueberries that I have been eating for my breakfast everyday. Could this be true?
yeah, i drank a huge 40oz "Black Monster" energy drink slurpee from 7-11 yesterday, that dye was amazingly intense and kept my mouth colored for hours. I wiped and going poo and i noticed leprechaun green marks on my toilet paper and thought i must of set my toilet paper down in something green, then i looked down in the toilet and the whole bowl of water was a bright lime almost neon green and the stools were a deep beautiful green as well. I definately think it was the slurpee.
I have noticed my poo turning green the last couple of weeks. I read this thread and thought it about it for a while and realized that , a couple weeks ago, i developed a fascination with the blue Power-Aid. I drink a bottle of it almost everyday, and wonder if that might be whats causing it..
the past couple of days ive been having green stool.I am concerned because i have had 12 bleeding ulcers last summer to which I threw up blood and was hospitalized.Is their any specific reason for mt stool being that color. also Ive been having pain in my lower back sides.Can you please explain this?
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