Critser (2003) noted that despite growing numbers of overweight Americans, many health care providers still “remain either in ignorance or outright denial about the health danger to the poor and the young” (p. 5).
Yanovski and Yanovski (2002) explained that sibutramine suppresses appetite by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain (p. 594).
Sibutramine suppresses appetite by blocking the reuptake of the neurotransmitters serotonin and norepinephrine in the brain (Yanovski & Yanovski, 2002, p. 594).
According to Sothern and Gordon (2003), “Environmental factors may contribute as much as 80% to the causes of childhood obesity” (p. 104).
Obese children often engage in limited physical activity (Sothern & Gordon, 2003, p. 104).
In 2003, Berkowitz, Wadden, Tershakovec, and Cronquist concluded, “Sibutramine . . . must be carefully monitored in adolescents, as in adults, to control increases in [blood pressure] and pulse rate” (p. 1811).
As Berkowitz et al. (2003) advised, “Until more extensive safety and efficacy data are available, . . . weight-loss medications should be used only on an experimental basis for adolescents” (p. 1811).
McDuffie et al. (2002) tested 20 adolescents, aged 12-16, over a three-month period and found that orlistat, combined with behavioral therapy, produced an average weight loss of 4.4 kg, or 9.7 pounds (p. 646).
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Throughout his career, Elvis had 114 songs on the Billboard Top 40 and 18 number one pop hits (Scrivani-Tidd).
Children struggling to control their weight must also struggle with the pressures of television advertising that, on the one hand, encourages the consumption of junk food and, on the other, celebrates thin celebrities (“Television,” 2002).
Obesity puts children at risk for a number of medical complications, including type 2 diabetes, hypertension, sleep apnea, and orthopedic problems (Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2004, p. 1).
Research by E. Smith (1989) revealed that . . .
Research by Durgin (2003b) has yielded new findings about the role of counseling in treating childhood obesity.
Researchers have indicated that studies of pharmacological treatments for childhood obesity are inconclusive (Berkowitz et al., 2003; McDuffie et al., 2002).
One of Atkinson’s colleagues, who has studied the effect of the media on children’s eating habits, has contended that advertisers for snack foods will need to design ads responsibly for their younger viewers (F. Johnson, personal communication, October 20, 2009).
Atkinson (2001) found that children who spent at least four hours a day watching TV were less likely to engage in adequate physical activity during the week.
The body’s basal metabolic rate, or BMR, is a measure of its at-rest energy requirement (“Exercise,” 2003).
Attempts to establish a definitive link between television programming and children’s eating habits have been problematic (Magnus, n.d.).
Hoppin and Taveras (2004) pointed out that several other medications were classified by the Drug Enforcement Administration as having the “potential for abuse” (Weight-Loss Drugs section, para. 6).
Former surgeon general Dr. David Satcher described “a nation of young people seriously at risk of starting out obese and dooming themselves to the difficult task of overcoming a tough illness” (as cited in Critser, 2003, p. 4).
Peace activists have long cited the biblical prophet’s vision of a world without war: “And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more” (Isaiah 2:4, Revised Standard Version).