ADVANCE FOR RELEASE October 19, 1998
Media Contact: Tom Ryan ([email protected]), Doris Acosta or M. Johnna Thomas
800/877-1600, ext. 4894, 4822 or 4769
October 19-22, 1998
Kansas City Convention Center, Kansas City, Mo.
Press Room, Room 2210A
816-871-3442
(Please do not publish these numbers.)
CHILDREN'S NUTRITION AND HEALTH: RESEARCH SHOWS KIDS CAN'T DO IT ALONE
KANSAS CITY -- A village, a family, both -- whatever it takes to raise a child, the future well-being of children is tied directly to patterns established in their early years with the crucial support of parents, teachers, the media and other "villagers."
That's never been more true than now, as studies show, for instance, that obesity among children is on the rise and physical exercise is on the decline. The critical role of caregivers and the mass media in helping children improve and maintain their nutrition and health is a thread running through several sessions and presentations at The American Dietetic Association's 81st Annual Meeting and Exhibition in Kansas City, Mo., Oct. 19-22.
Topics include research on weight loss and risk of osteoporosis in adolescent girls; effects of parenting styles and TV viewing habits on development of obesity in children; impact of adolescents' risk-taking behavior on their nutrition and health; and use of the Internet and mass media to communicate nutrition messages to children and parents.
At a 9:30 a.m. session Wednesday, Oct. 21, Strength in Partnerships: Nutrition Research and Women's Health, Kathleen Rourke, a registered dietitian and associate dean of the College of Allied Health Sciences at the University of Cincinnati, will report results of her "team-based" study of treating adolescent obesity. The program includes extensive involvement of parents and a buddy system that pairs the girls with nutrition and dietetics students for education and support.
Unstructured weight loss -- including fad diets that can lack essential vitamins and minerals -- can be a serious health problem for adolescent girls, Rourke says. Losing weight may inhibit their bodies' formation of bone mass and may increase their risk of developing osteoporosis during a critical time in their lives when much of their bone mass is being accrued, she says.
"For successful weight loss among young girls, parents' assistance and a team approach are vital," Rourke says. "You must make sure you're educating and counseling them, over time, to optimize healthy eating habits and have success at keeping the weight off. Young girls don't see themselves vulnerable to osteoporosis, but if they haven't had effective bone optimization by their teen years, they can run into deficiencies all their lives."
At 2 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 21, speakers will discuss The Impact of Risk-Taking Behavior on Health and Nutrition during Adolescence. Dr. Robert Blum, director of general pediatrics and adolescent health at the University of Minnesota, will report findings of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the largest and most comprehensive study of its kind ever undertaken. Early results show that teens with a "connectedness" to their parents are the least likely to engage in risky behavior.
"We have new findings on the effects of race, income, family structure and gender on adolescent risk behaviors," Blum says. "Individual, family and school factors increase and diminish the risks for smoking, drinking, marijuana use, emotional distress and suicide attempts, early intercourse and pregnancy."
Ongoing research by Susan Lutz, a registered dietitian and researcher in nutrition and food science at the University of Missouri-Columbia, and her colleagues indicates that "modifiable factors in the family environment," such as television watching and parenting styles, can contribute to development and treatment of obesity in children. Lutz will discuss her work at a session at 11 a.m. Monday, Following Industry's Lead: Applying Mass Media, Social Marketing Techniques and Consumer Profiles to Enhance Nutrition Education -- Our Data Say It Works.
Other speakers will cover the use of television commercials and the techniques of commercial marketers to promote "social messages," such as simple nutritrion messages to encourage healthful eating by children.
Speakers at a 4 p.m. session Monday, Oct. 19, will offer tips on Reaching Kids and Parents in Schools through the Internet and Mass Media. "Children can obtain information in ways previously only dreamed by parents and educators," says registered dietitian Doris Derelian, president of Health Professions Training and former ADA president. "But will they use these new delivery systems to learn the messages we want them to, or will they change their behaviors as a result of this newly created access?"
Derelian says research shows young children are more likely to understand and act on some types of information -- especially "static" information, such as facts and dates -- that they receive from a teacher in school than from a computer. "It tends to level out with older children, but the imprinting of the classroom experience is still very powerful."
Registered dietitian Jean Ragalie, vice president for nutrition and health communications at the National Dairy Council, will speak at the same session on ways that corporations and non-profit organizations use mass media communications to reach children and their parents, and will discuss the types of nutrition information being conveyed in TV shows and commercials.
The 70,000 member American Dietetic Association is the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. More than 10,000 of the nation's top nutrition researchers, registered dietitians and other industry leaders are attending the Annual Meeting and Exhibition. Based in Chicago, the ADA serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well being.
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