Posted on 04/13/2008 9:31:39 AM PDT by billorites
DOZENS of children as young as six and seven have become so obese that doctors are being forced to put them on ventilators at night to keep them breathing while they sleep.
The children, whose breathing difficulties are blamed on overeating rather than any medical conditions, have been judged by the National Health Service to be morbidly obese - weighing as much as four times the normal weight for their age.
The excessive weight bearing down on the chest, together with deposits of fat around the throat and neck, mean the children need ventilators to help them to breathe while they sleep.
Doctors have revealed that the problem, previously witnessed only in obese adults or children with medical problems, is spreading to children of primary school age as the latest consequence of the childhood obesity epidemic.
Many of the children will need to sleep attached to a breathing machine every night for the rest of their lives and doctors warn that they are at huge risk of dying because they cannot get enough oxygen.
Those affected include Regan Taylor, 7, from Conisbrough near Doncaster, who weighs 11 stone and is so obese that he has to wear adults clothes. He has had to sleep attached to a breathing machine ever since he was admitted to hospital for resuscitation four years ago.
One consultant warned that some children aged just six or seven may need to be considered for stomach-stapling surgery, usually restricted to adults, to reduce their weight and allow them to breathe properly.
Dr Jerry Wales, a consultant paediatric endocrinologist at Sheffield childrens hospital, said: We have some children who are on nocturnal ventilation while prepubertal, and their life span is going to be limited because of that. This is happening in mid-childhood.
You could make the argument that the only treatment that has any possibility of saving their lives is [stomach] surgery.
Noninvasive nocturnal ventilation is a common treatment in adults and is getting more common in children. There is some fat round the airway narrowing it. The chest is also heavy and more difficult to move [when breathing].
The children are suffering from a form of sleep apnoea caused by their obesity. Paediatric respiratory physicians previously diagnosed sleep apnoea in children with conditions such as enlarged tonsils but say that an increasing percentage of their patients now have the condition because they are morbidly obese.
Dr Rob Primhak, a paediatric respiratory physician at Sheffield childrens hospital, said colleagues in America had told him that obesity was the cause of the sleep apnoea in up to 50 per cent of their patients. Primhak said he was seeing an emergence of the same trend.
Respiratory physicians in London also say that an increasing percentage of their patients have obesity-related breathing difficulties.
I saw the first case five years ago but we are much more aware of it now, Primhak said.
We have had three or four children whom we have had to treat for obesity-induced sleep apnoea.
So far none of the obese patients I have treated for this have got better.
Regan, who is one of Primhaks patients, uses a device called a continuous positive airways pressure (CPAP) machine, which holds the airways open. Some children need more powerful noninvasive ventilators.
Regans mother, Paula Taylor, is considering putting locks on her cupboards to prevent her son eating all the time. She also has to shop for groceries on a daily basis to reduce the quantity of food available at any one time.
Taylor, a support worker for the elderly, says she has tried hard to curtail her sons overeating but believes he has a genetic condition that stops him being able to control his appetite. Tests carried out on Regan have, as yet, failed to identify a known genetic condition, but doctors say that he could suffer from an as yet unknown defect.
I worry about Regans weight. I cut down my hours at work so that I could be at home more to keep an eye on him, Taylor said.
The doctors have said Regan will always need the ventilator until they control his weight. If his weight comes down he will no longer need it. They tried him on slimming tablets but they didnt seem to do anything.
They are now going to put him on tablets to suppress his appetite. As a last resort they will consider surgery.
Patient groups say the increase in children needing ventilators is evidence that the obesity epidemic has got out of control.
Tam Fry, chairman of the Child Growth Foundation, said: We are seeing this now because we have failed to monitor the growth of our children and these children are being allowed to become morbidly obese. This kind of case confirms we have a horrendous obesity problem that we have not yet faced up to.
There are about 1m obese children in Britain, according to the British Medical Association. Estimates indicate that, if current trends continue, at least one fifth of boys and one third of girls will be obese by 2020.
Fresh fruit can cause an insulin response which tells your body to store fat. Any fruit with a high glycemic index is likely to cause an IR.
When people eliminate the constant cycle of IR’s from eating too much high starch and sugar foods (and add a little exercise) they start losing weight.
White bread causes a bigger insulin response than a snickers bar. So technically the snickers bar will put less fat on your body.
Oh, that's right - you don't care. I guess then you won't be eating at my house - where I can also cook quite well.
I would LOVE to have all of the fresh fruit and veggies you mentioned, but a week of the fruit and veggies and low-fat would have me gain 10lbs!
I do have thyroid and metabolism issues, and my doctor supports me 100% in my high protein/medium fat diet. I don't eat the way you do, but you would call me lazy for not eating the way you do. I do purchase fresh fruit and veggies, and every meal has veggies, and protein and fats. But you would call me grotesque.
You might prejudge me, but since I am not cut from the same cloth you are, maybe you should re-evaluate your biases. But you don't care - and I won't either.
(And, FTR, I'm at the gym @ 5:30 in the morning for an hour, and I'm still a "fattie" in your book.)
Take a look at “Natural Hormonal Enhancement” by Rob Faigin. You are on the right track and this book will provide a complete scientific explanation of why it’s the right way to eat. It dispels many myths about Fat and explains why a low carb/high fat (good fat) diet is the right way to eat.
avacados have a lot of fat
Yeah, but like peanut butter, it’s the *good* kind of fat. :-)
peanut butter is a great source of protein
Let’s look at your “high carb” counts for fresh fruit:
Apple: one small 55 calories
Banana: one small 72 calories
Apricot: one, raw 17 calories
Blueberries: 50 39 calories
Canteloupe: 1/8 small 19 calories
Cherry: 1 sweet raw 4 calories
Grape: 1 American 2 calories
Honeydew 1/8 small 45 calories
Kiwi: 1 46 calories
Orange: 1 navel 69 calories
Peach: 1 small 31 calories
Pear: 1 bosq 81 calories
Pineapple: raw 1 slice 27 calories
And now for broccoli, with cheese: Green Giant Just for One serving has 60 calories.
You can find this and a lot of other information at:
Carbs in fresh fruit are not very high, and with the fiber and other nutrients essential to health, even diabetics are usually able to eat several servings per day. Canned fruit in syrup does NOT constitute a healthy way to eat. The values I gave are all for FRESH, raw fruit.
“Something else is at work here.”
Try researching the side effects of high fructose corn syrup, aspertame, etc. which most food is pumped FULL of—you’ll be surprised to find it’s addictive and causes MORE hunger and appetite cravings!
Again, you might want to check into the side effects of high fructose corn syrup, aspertame, etc. which is being pumped into nearly every kind of food possible, even the so-called “healthy and organic” kinds—one of the major side effects is
appetite increase and cravings, and raising of triglycerides.
I suspect there is much more in the background of our groceries than we can even imagine.
High protein medium fat is a good diet. How do you get your vitamins, ie C, Bs, and the fat soluble D, A, K, E?
Actually, I was responding to another poster who stated I have a bias. I want to make it clear that I do, and I’m not embarrassed about that. What you are doing is sound, and I commend you.
I have had thyroid issues in the past, had radiation to ablate hyperthyroidism. I have to eat properly to avoid either gaining or losing. That means fresh fruit and veggies, home cooking to avoid excess salt and MSG, lots of home-cooked protein, and a moderate amount of carbs.
You are confusing “carbs” with calories. Raw broccoli is almost reaches negative calorie territory thanks to it’s fibrous structure. Slap on some high fat salad dressing and it becomes a superior snack to fruit (very high in vitamin C and E). Fat is a superior source of energy compared to fructose (in fruit) for the body.
Don’t get me wrong, some fruit is good, but the idea that you must eat it daily is completely wrong.
No, I am not confusing carbs with calories.
Fats have approx 9 calories per gram
Carbohydrates have approx 4 calories per gram
Protein has approx 4 calories per gram
That is why fats are so satisfying. And fats are not what is bad; refined carbs are bad. Fresh fruit has a low carb count compared to canned fruit in syrup, for instance.
We agree on the role of fat and the fact refined carbs are bad. However, all calories are not equal however and that’s why counting calories is unnecessary. The amount of calories actually absorbed by the body vary widely depending on the fibrousness of the food. So 5 calories of a carb does not equal 5 calories of a protein after consumption. Simply cooking carrots dramatically increases their caloric absorption and increases IR compared to a raw carrot.
A low carb (complex carbs and no simple/refined carbs) diet high in good fats and protein with an occasional “carb load” of starchy/fructose carbs is the best approach to dieting. It really boils down to separating fats from sugars and complex carbs, that combination is why most Americans are overweight.
We do not disagree.
However, my criticism of “fatties” started with the morbidly obese couple in WalMart who had two baskets FULL of no fresh fruits or veggies, no meats that needed to be cooked to be eaten, nothing but refined carbs. That was upthread.
Why we got on fruits, I’ll never know, except that someone criticized me for recommending fresh fruits because they are “high carb” when in reality, they are NOT. Yes, they have fructose, but they also have water soluble vitamins and lots of fiber. They don’t have very many calories for their bulk, which means the fructose carb load is LOW. I know about the IR studies, let’s just say I’m not completely convinced.
Anyway, it was the very obese couple with their obese daughter that caught my attention. Not to mention the kid that choked on grapes.
The tragedy in these cases is the kids will likely be put on a low calorie / low fat diet. They will suffer continuous hunger pains and will utterly fail to remain on the diet. Normally these low fat diets cause the dieter to lose precious muscle mass and as a result lower the metabolism.
There is a great deal of ignorance about what makes us fat and how much exercise is truly necessary to live a fit lifestyle. I personally only work out 3 times a week for 40 minutes. Occasionally I’ll do some cardio in-between my strength training days but my routine is not difficult to keep to.
LOL! Try not to feel too much guilt. : )
I agree with you.
Carbohydrates at 4 calories per gram leads to weight gain and diabetes more so than the consumption of fat at 9 calories per gram? Maybe it's simply the overconsumption of calories that leads to obesity and, eventually, diabetes?
You didn’t provide any carbohydrate numbers, only calories...
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