Talking to Us last Thursday at Pampers’ Daddy Play Date Fathers Day celebration she said she was about to drop another five pounds but she rather wouldn’t. She likes herself as she is now.

Picking up the thread of the criticism she attracted during her pregnancy for insufficient eating and setting up an unreasonable example for pregnant women, Frankel tried to put things into a truer perspective.

According to her, she never tried to give up good things like cheesecakes or desserts; the trick is in knowing when to stop. “I didn’t go overboard,” she claims. “I think people go crazy and that’s why they gain so much weight. People just have to be reasonable: Food is not your best friend or your enemy.”

When Us questioned Frankel on her post-baby diet, she described it as normal. Confessing to eating a bagel, a tuna sandwich and chips that morning, she said she doesn’t deny herself cakes or ice-creams because she knows when to stop. Never binge – never go overweight is Frankel’s motto that she thinks will go down well with every mother.

Source of the image: Realitytea.com.

The study reports that over 70,000 teenagers belonging to 34 nations have excess weight or are obese, mostly due to spending too much of their time at TV sets, computers or just chatting with their pals. All these activities make a sedentary lifestyle heavily predominant among our kids.

The study further says that not more than 25 per cent of the boys exercise properly. This percentage is even less with girls, showing that most of the children tend to neglect exercise.

The tendency is the same in all countries, WHO official Regina Guthold points out. “With regards to physical activity levels, we did not find much of a difference between poor and rich countries,” she said, stressing that it is a worldwide problem.

WHO officials warn that as long as children prefer to stay glued to TV sets and computers and shirk exercising, children obesity – that has already gained the characteristics of an epidemic – will be getting worse by the year.

Source of the image: photl.com.

Mrs. Simpson is dreaming of entering the Guinness World Records again (she became the world’s fattest mother in 2007) and she’s trying as hard as she can to get what she want. Donna, who wears XXXXXXXL dresses, tries to move as little as possible and her daily calorie intake amounts to 12,000 calories. Her favorite food is sushi, but, unlike other people, she can eat 70 of them in one go. Cakes and doughnuts are her next favorite foods.

With $750 weekly shopping bill, one of the major expense items for her is food. To cover these expenses, Donna has set up a website where visitors pay to watch her eat junk food.

Instead of condemning Donna’s behavior, her partner Philippe, whom the woman met on a dating site for overweight people, keeps encouraging her, although he’s relatively skinny (Philippe’s weight is about 150lbs).

Donna’s story can be a good example to show psychological causes of overeating in women. Her mother thought that food was a good way to show how she loved her children. She never let anyone (including doctors) to say anything offensive about excessive weight of her children. As a nine-year-old, the girl weighed 180lbs. Donna’s mother died soon after and her father married again. Stepmother had Donna keep a strict diet, but she snatched food from the kitchen. As a teen, Donna started worrying about her weight and began to take slimming pills. Without pleasures she used to enjoy, the former fat girl lapsed into depression. She felt miserable and couldn’t stop thinking about food. She got her weight back and immediately felt much happier.

Donna married a chef, which did no good to her weight. She kept packing on pounds as her husband thought chubby women were sexier. Sadly, her marriage fell to pieces. Donna was 31 when she decided to lose weight and was set to have gastric band surgery. But just weeks before the surgery, Donna’s friend died during a similar surgery. So Donna thought that was a sign and she didn’t need to change. Some time later, she came across a dating site for obese people. Once Donna revealed her real weight she was flooded with…admiring e-mails from men.

She keeps on gaining weight, despite putting her own life at risk. Donna admits that she loves food and people like to watch her eat. It makes people happy and doesn’t harm anyone.

Source of the image: telegraph.co.uk.

The study that appeared in Health Affairs reveals that about 27 per cent of the daily calorie intake children get from snacking.

“Our study shows that some children, including very young children, snack almost continuously throughout the day,” lead researcher Barry M. Popkin points out.
And the youngest ones, with the age range between 2 and 6, are reported to get the largest amount of calories from snacks – 182 calories a day over what they get with their regular meals.

Popkin writes that those findings demonstrate that children in the United States are not only put at risk of gaining unhealthy obesity in the long run – they may acquire a dysfunctional eating pattern fraught with other health threats.

The scientists’ advice is for parents to cut down snacks to prevent the forming of an unnecessary habit, and replace unhealthy sugar-loaded snacks with fruits and vegetables.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/ckforjc.

Sleep apnea in children is closely linked with the size of the tonsils and is generally treated by removal of the tonsils and adenoids (an operation called adenotonsillectomy). In adults the disorder is usually aggravated by obesity. The influence of obesity in children has been studied but recently.

A study published in Thorax investigates into the cases of OSA in children.

Naturally, large tonsils remain the main indication of the OSA risk and are found in 53 per cent of cases. But the majority of the children participating in the research showed their condition worsened by excessive weight.

The researchers wish to impress on parents and physicians that children who have large tonsils and waistlines be checked for the symptoms of OSA for timely prevention of possible complications. They also accentuate the importance of weight control in the management of bad cases of sleep apnea.

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/clash.

There’s a new study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition that fills us up on this omission.

The study reports that there is direct correlation between the time when parents begin to introduce complementary food into the child’s diet and the child’s body mass indexes (BMI) when he or she grows up.
The chief factor that is certain to lower BMIs in adulthood is, of course, long breastfeeding. But the time spoon-feeding begins also proved to be of importance. The earlier the child gets complementary food the greater his or her risk of gaining weight later in life. Therefore it is better to postpone spoon-feeding until the baby is past the sixth month.

“The later you introduce complementary feeding to an infant, within the range of 2 to 6 months, the smaller is the risk that the infant will be overweight as adult,” is the conclusion of lead researcher Kim Fleischer Michaelson of the University of Copenhagen.
The World Health Organization (WHO) and American Academy of Pediatrics are unanimous in recommending breastfeeding for the first six months and postponing complementary food for as long as possible. Late spoon-feeding can reduce the risk of becoming obese by 5 to 10 percent.

Michaelson holds that spoon-feeding should better be delayed until the fifth month in any case.

Source of the image: flickr.com/photos/joeshlabotnik/.

The newborns will have to stay under medical observation for three months.  As far as their chances for survival are concerned, it will take at least a month to give a final answer, the doctor said.

Six twins – four girls and two boys – weighs from 600 to 800 grams. Oliva, who had cesarean delivery, gave them birth when she was 26 weeks pregnant. The babies are currently staying in an incubator on assisted breathing apparatus.

Their mother is now in intensive care, but her condition does not raise medical concerns. It was the first pregnancy for Oliva, which she’s been waiting for five years.

The father of six twins, a construction worker Pino Mele who lost his job recently has asked for financial support. He said that grandmothers and grandfather would definitely help, but the state could also throw a lifeline to the family.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/syposinc.

Research team from the USA studied a group of women from low income households. One half were black, the other were mixed-blood. The women from that group had a few risk factors that affect pregnancy such as alcohol drinking and smoking. The researchers, however, found that a mother’s anxiety during pregnancy had an impact on childbirth and a baby’s health regardless of such influences as substance abuse, education or race.

Anxiety had a more dangerous impact during the third trimester. Women suffering attacks of anxiety during their third trimester gave birth to babies with lower weight compared to women who were mentally healthy. During the first and the second trimesters, anxiety reduced the weight of newly born babies significantly given the attacks were especially severe. Low level of anxiety in women during their first and second trimesters had only minor impact on the weight of newly born babies.

Researchers encourage all women suffering anxiety at any stage of pregnancy seek professional consultation. The study authors conclude that preventing heath problems in babies and grown-ups requires focusing on a mother’s health during pregnancy.

Anxiety is a psychological or psychic condition characterized by some cognitive, somatic, emotional and behavioral components. All these components trigger discomfort feelings such as fear, disquiet and confusion.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/glachucik.

Back in 1980, British Birth Cohort Study involving 6 500 10-year-olds was initiated in England. Child psychologists studied self-esteem of boys and girls, their emotional characteristics and measured their body mass index (BMI).

Twenty-odd years later, the experts set out to analyze BMI and emotional state of at then already grown-up participants. Psychologists compared self-esteem of children and their emotional issues with their weight as grown-ups. They found that children with lower self-esteem, higher anxiety and other emotional issues were more likely to gain excessive weight in adulthood, with women being at a higher risk.

Scientists believe that early psychological support may help improve this problem. It requires the cooperation from parents, however. The reasons for low self-esteem and anxiety in children always lie in the family. It could be strained relationship between spouses, or parental attitude towards children – excessively strict upbringing, repeated humiliation, lack of attention or, on the contrary, a total absence of authority and control.

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/lusi.

What Does The Size of Pregnant Belly Depend On?

Belly height, or your fundal height, normally corresponds to a certain stage of pregnancy. For example, on the 32nd week, the fundal height should be about 12-13 inches. On the other hand, the “bigness” of belly depends on individual characteristics of every woman. Sometimes, it depends on how a woman is built. Small women with narrow pelvis have bigger belly than those with voluptuous hips. But what’s more crucial for the size of belly is gaining pregnancy pounds.

How Many Pregnancy Pounds Can You Gain?

Every woman has her own norm. It depends on the body mass index. If you are expecting twins, that adds to your norm about 4-9 pounds. Most women gain 40% of pregnancy pounds within the first half of pregnancy and 60% within the second one. If a woman had normal weight before getting pregnant, she would add 3-4 pounds within the first trimester, gaining one pound per week during the second one and 1-2 pounds during the ninth month. The weight should be increasing evenly and steadily. This ensures the normal fetal growth.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Less than 20

If your BMI before pregnancy was less than 20 (low body weight), then your weight gain during nine months will put you into more than average weight category. Normal weight gain for women with BMI less than 20 is about 28-35 pounds.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Between 20 and 27

If your BMI was between 20 and 27 (normal weight), then the normal weight gains during the pregnancy will be 22-30 pounds.

BMI before Pregnancy Is Less than 27

If your BMI before pregnancy is 27, this indicates excessive weight (27-29 is overweight, more than 29 is obesity). But you shouldn’t try to lose weight during pregnancy. Trying to lose weight during pregnancy may affect the fetal growth in a bad way. So even if you had excessive weight before getting pregnant, you’ll have to add about 15-20 pounds more.

Why Is Excessive Weight Risky?

Excessive pregnancy pounds may lead to health problems both in a woman and her fetus. Uncontrolled weight gain is a symptom for late toxicosis that can cause miscarriage. If this is the case, women would have pains in lower back and lower belly. In severe cases, there can be pre-term birth or premature placental abruption.

Besides, excessive weight makes it hard for muscles to function. It also leads to swellings of legs, belly and arms. The woman will feel pains in back and lower leg muscles as well as will suffer from bad blood circulation in legs and varicose veins. The pregnant woman tends to feel increasingly tired more often and gets irritable. Late toxicosis puts the fetus at the risk of chronic oxygen hunger and even fetal death. Obese women have greater risk of these complications.

Swellings During Pregnancy and Their Prevention

Some women store excessive water in their bodies, for example, due to kidney disorders. So if a pregnant woman gains weight much too quickly, she has to check how much liquid she drinks and excretes during the day. A healthy woman excretes more liquid than she consumes. Liquid build-up in the body leads to weight gain. Apart from outer swellings, this leads to the swelling of internal organs. Placenta swelling is the most dangerous as it interrupts the normal fetal growth.

As a rule, all pregnant women are advised to cut down on salt, spicy, fatty and fried foods. The reason is that this kind of food promotes liquid storage in the body and leads to swellings. On the other hand, you shouldn’t drastically cut down on drinking liquid. Drink not less than 1.2 -1.5 liters per day.

Diabetes and Pregnancy

Women with diabetes are more likely to have bigger fetus and, therefore, gain more weight. If the woman was born big herself, she has to check her sugar levels in blood and urine as diabetes may be latent. Sometimes, diabetes expresses itself right during pregnancy. It can happen because your hormonal profile is changing. Those pregnant women will fall into the risk group, even if increased sugar levels showed off only in one out of several tests.

When Is Excessive Weight Gain More Dangerous?

Excessive weight gain is more dangerous during the second half of pregnancy, specifically from the 20th week. This may lead to late toxicosis. The earlier these complications occur, the more difficult the birth will be. This is why women are encouraged to watch their weight, measure the blood pressure and pass urine tests. Late toxicosis is usually associated with increased blood pressure and protein in urine. If all three symptoms are detected at once – swellings, increased blood pressure and protein in urine – the woman is urgently taken to the hospital.

Expectant mom – and her relatives – should care for her emotional well-being to avoid eating a lot because of stress or, on the contrary, the situation when the pregnant woman can’t eat because she is too nervous.

Average Pregnancy Pounds Distribution

• Fetus – 7-7.5 lbs
• Placenta – 1 lb
• Amniotic fluid – 1-1.5 lbs
• Increased womb –2 lbs
• Mammary glands – 1 lb
• Blood volume – 3 lbs
• Intracellular fluid – 3 lbs
• Fat tissue – 7 lbs

Total: about 26 lbs

Source of the image: sxc.hu/profile/bjearwicke.