Save The Children.
Folks, today's kids are in a world of hurt. Athletics and sports participation are supposed to be among the highlights of growing up. I look back and I still wish I played more sports in high school. Alas, it was only the poetry magazine for me, but I digress.
There were a pair of truly frightening health studies published over the last few days. If you have kids or if you know anyone who has kids, please, please let them know about this news. There's no reason not to.
Study #1 regarding our children and eating disorders:
“Teaching teenagers about eating disorders can make them more knowledgeable about the problem, but it may also have some inadvertent effects, a new study suggests.
Yale University researchers found that when they presented female high school students with videos on eating disorders, it met the intended goal of boosting their knowledge about anorexia and bulimia.
However, the team saw that the students didn't necessarily find the results of eating disorders unappealing. Teens who watched a video featuring a woman recovering from an eating disorder became more likely to view girls with eating disorders as "very pretty," and some thought it would be "nice to look like" the woman in the video..."
"It seems intuitively appealing to have recovered patients get up in front of high school or college-aged girls and tell the story of their eating disorder and recovery," lead study author Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz told Reuters Health.
However, she explained, there's also the argument that having an attractive, articulate woman talk about her eating disorder could inadvertently "glamorize" the condition..."
"Overall, the study found, both videos increased the girls' knowledge about anorexia and bulimia, but there were some unforeseen results as well...the girls were more likely to say afterward that "it's not that hard" to recover from an eating disorder. They were also more likely to believe girls with eating disorders have "strong" personalities.
Girls who viewed the video featuring the eating disorder patient were particularly likely to see women with anorexia or bulimia in a positive light."
Study #2 regarding our children and anabolic steroids:
“Participation in sports with real or perceived weight requirements, such as ballet, gymnastics, and wrestling, is strongly associated with unhealthy weight control behaviors and steroid use in teens, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.
Research published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found nearly 6% of males between the ages of 12 and 18 who participated in weight-related sports induced vomiting within the week prior to being surveyed, as compared to only 0.9% of males who did not participate in weight- related sports. The use of diuretics within the previous year was reported by 4.2% of males in a weight-related sport, as opposed to 0.8% who did not participate in a weight-related sport.
Steroid use was reported in 6.8% of females who reported participating in weight-related sports, compared to 2.3% of those that weren't active in a weight-related sport. Vomiting and using laxatives were also more likely in girls who were active in weight-related sports.
Researchers conducted the longitudinal study with more than 2,000 adolescents to examine changes in eating patterns, weight, physical activity, and related factors over five years. Participants completed two surveys, one in 1999 and one in 2004, to determine if there were changes in steroid use.
Overall, 1.7% of boys and 1.4% of girls between the ages of 15 and 23 reported steroid use in 2004. Those that reported use early on were 4 to 10 times more likely to use later in life.
Boys who reported wanting a larger body in 1999, as well as those who said they used healthy weight-control behaviors, were more likely to take steroids when they were older. In contrast, girls who were heavier, less satisfied with their weight, and who had limited knowledge of healthy eating and exercise habits were more likely to take steroids as they grew older...”
There were a pair of truly frightening health studies published over the last few days. If you have kids or if you know anyone who has kids, please, please let them know about this news. There's no reason not to.
Study #1 regarding our children and eating disorders:
“Teaching teenagers about eating disorders can make them more knowledgeable about the problem, but it may also have some inadvertent effects, a new study suggests.
Yale University researchers found that when they presented female high school students with videos on eating disorders, it met the intended goal of boosting their knowledge about anorexia and bulimia.
However, the team saw that the students didn't necessarily find the results of eating disorders unappealing. Teens who watched a video featuring a woman recovering from an eating disorder became more likely to view girls with eating disorders as "very pretty," and some thought it would be "nice to look like" the woman in the video..."
"It seems intuitively appealing to have recovered patients get up in front of high school or college-aged girls and tell the story of their eating disorder and recovery," lead study author Dr. Marlene B. Schwartz told Reuters Health.
However, she explained, there's also the argument that having an attractive, articulate woman talk about her eating disorder could inadvertently "glamorize" the condition..."
"Overall, the study found, both videos increased the girls' knowledge about anorexia and bulimia, but there were some unforeseen results as well...the girls were more likely to say afterward that "it's not that hard" to recover from an eating disorder. They were also more likely to believe girls with eating disorders have "strong" personalities.
Girls who viewed the video featuring the eating disorder patient were particularly likely to see women with anorexia or bulimia in a positive light."
Study #2 regarding our children and anabolic steroids:
“Participation in sports with real or perceived weight requirements, such as ballet, gymnastics, and wrestling, is strongly associated with unhealthy weight control behaviors and steroid use in teens, according to researchers at the University of Minnesota.
Research published in the March 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association found nearly 6% of males between the ages of 12 and 18 who participated in weight-related sports induced vomiting within the week prior to being surveyed, as compared to only 0.9% of males who did not participate in weight- related sports. The use of diuretics within the previous year was reported by 4.2% of males in a weight-related sport, as opposed to 0.8% who did not participate in a weight-related sport.
Steroid use was reported in 6.8% of females who reported participating in weight-related sports, compared to 2.3% of those that weren't active in a weight-related sport. Vomiting and using laxatives were also more likely in girls who were active in weight-related sports.
Researchers conducted the longitudinal study with more than 2,000 adolescents to examine changes in eating patterns, weight, physical activity, and related factors over five years. Participants completed two surveys, one in 1999 and one in 2004, to determine if there were changes in steroid use.
Overall, 1.7% of boys and 1.4% of girls between the ages of 15 and 23 reported steroid use in 2004. Those that reported use early on were 4 to 10 times more likely to use later in life.
Boys who reported wanting a larger body in 1999, as well as those who said they used healthy weight-control behaviors, were more likely to take steroids when they were older. In contrast, girls who were heavier, less satisfied with their weight, and who had limited knowledge of healthy eating and exercise habits were more likely to take steroids as they grew older...”
posted by Chris Colucci at 8:49 PM
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