all Alison Field stories

Weight status of children ages 8 to 15 predicts obesity and high blood pressure in adulthood

50443248 — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 11:28:58 -0400

New research shows that children between 8 and 15 years old who are in the upper half of the normal weight range are more likely than their leaner peers to become obese or overweight as young adults. This research was conducted over nearly a decade at the Harvard Medical School (HMS), Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention, and Children's Hospital Boston and is reported in this month's Obesity Research journal.

Weight status of children ages 8 to 15 predicts obesity and high blood pressure in adulthood

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 06:18:46 -0400

"We have known that kids who are overweight or obese have a higher risk for being overweight or obese as adults. But in this paper, we show that even children in the high normal weight range have an elevated risk of becoming overweight or obese as adults," said lead author Alison Field, assistant professor of pediatrics at HMS and Children's Hospital Boston.

The researchers recorded the weight, height, and blood pressure of East Boston children from 8 to 15 years old. They were again evaluated eight to 12 years later. Results showed that nearly half of the male subjects and nearly a quarter of the female subjects became overweight or obese between their first visit and their follow-up.

The results also revealed that boys with higher childhood BMI's were at greater risk for hypertension in young adulthood.

"These findings underscore that even children who are in the high normal weight range may have adverse outcomes later in life, and our challenge may be even greater than we thought," said Matthew Gillman, senior author on the paper and associate professor of ambulatory care and prevention at Harvard Medical School. He stresses that not only obese children, but also slightly overweight children, demand attention.

Dieting may actually promote weight gain in children

70652986 — Mon, 26 Mar 2007 05:32:13 -0400

The prevalence of overweight and obese children has increased by 100 percent since the 1980s. Americans spend about $33 billion a year on weight loss products and services, however, only about one in five adults follow recommended diet guidelines, possibly explaining why most people fail to maintain long-term weight control. It now appears that casual dieting may be unsuccessful in children, as well. Researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) have found that boys and girls who diet to lose or maintain weight may actually be doing the reverse.