masvida

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom While The Disney Company has always been linked to children’s entertainment, they’re now taking a bold new step to promote children’s health. All food products advertised on their ABC-TV child-focused TV programs, radio stations, and web sites must adhere to new nutritional guidelines. And their theme parks will also modify their food offerings, with changes including a 25% reduction in sodium. Considering that Disney parks serve nearly 12 million meals to children every year, this is a big step. While these changes won’t occur until 2015 due to existing contracts, it’s a move in the right direction.  Disney has already been an active leader in this area, when, in 2006, they largely reduced the association of the Disney name and popular characters with foods high in fat, sugar, and salt. You might recall that the “Toy Story” gang of Buzz Lightyear and company were removed from McDonald’s Happy Meals and that Mickey Mouse disappeared from boxes of Pop-Tarts....

By Dr. Madelyn Fernstrom Last week’s Weight of the Nation meeting in Washington, DC, put a lot of emphasis on fighting childhood obesity – what I like to call “family obesity.” You may not know that UPMC program, the Pittsburgh Healthy Kids Project, was highlighted as a practical, affordable solution to addressing this urgent problem. We have developed this program – a partnership of the UPMC Health Plan, Children’s Community Pediatrics, and Children’s Hospital – in response to what parents of children struggling with their weight have told us is important to them: (1) involving their pediatrician; (2) insurance coverage; and (3) convenience. This once-a-month program, offered in the physician’s office and focused on healthy habits for the whole family, has been a rousing success. Since children (unlike adults) continue to gain height, the goal is weight stability, which ultimately results in a slimmer, healthier child. Our five basics of family weight loss, based on recent science, ar...