Childhood Obesity: Its Causes, Psychological Effects, and What to Do About the Problem

By: Sierra Shumate

              

             Although childhood obesity has become such a common problem recently, people have become less and less sensitive to its statistics, as there is currently no clear solution. Children and adolescents are now exposed to cues that can cause obesity in every aspect of life. At school, home, and even in the neighborhood, kids are being encouraged to eat too much, and are not being encouraged to exercise.

              Since 1980, childhood obesity has nearly tripled in prevalence across the United States. Statistics like this prove difficult to ignore, as the National Health and Nutrition Estimation Survey (NHANES) shows that 31.7 percent of US children or adolescents were obese in 2008. Rates are even higher among lower-SES families. Obesity has been shown to correlate with many health problems, including high blood pressure, asthma, and breathing problems—to name a few. These problems typically affected adults in the past, and are now affecting almost a third of our nation’s kids—an overwhelming  truth.

               Not only does obesity affect the physical health of these children, but also extends to the brain, and changes in brain structure—which can lead to learning impairments and difficulties with sustained/selective attention. These affects can also cause social and psychological problems, such as depression, problems with self-esteem, and higher risk for bullying.

               So how do we help the problem? Psychologists first want to focus at the place nearest to home-- the family. Interventions that combine dieting, physical activity and behavior have proven most successful. Rather than the typical dieting intervention of focusing on what kids should cut out, Leonard Epstein, at the University of Buffalo, has discovered that kids lose more weight when interventions focus more on what kids should eat. Behavioral treatments focus on increasing intake of fruits and vegetables rather than avoiding the typical “junk” foods.

               According to Wilfley, it is more effective to include parents in the behavior treatment, rather than solely focusing on the child. By encouraging more healthy home environments—removing TV’s from bedrooms, limiting computer and video game time, making physical activity a family fun routine, and teaching parents how to cook healthy and cost efficient-meals, prevention and improvement is possible!

              Families must be ready to make healthy lifestyle a top priority, and must make conscious decisions on what is best for the child. It is not enough to teach the healthy lifestyle—behavioral intervention is required for at least a year before long term  benefits are possible.

Source: Monitor on Psychology, Kirsten Weir 

Depression in Overweight Patients and Vice Versa: Harder to Overcome

by Kristi Caporoso

Depression and obesity are both two very difficult things to cope with on their own. However, dealing with the two of them coexisting makes each one more difficult to overcome. There are many ways that the two exacerbate each other. For example, it's necessary for someone who is overweight to exercise to improve their health. However, patients with depression usually have no energy to exercise or have little hope that it will help. The best way to prevent this is starting off on an exercise regimen at the beginning of therapy. Exercise not only will help with your physical health, but also is believed to have antidepressant effects. One way to succeed in getting into an exercise regimen is making the exercise something you enjoy. Being active as opposed to inactive will increase chances of improvement.
Another common occurrence in those sufferring from depression is sleeplessness or sleep disturbances, which is also shown to increase weight gain. Many of the symptoms of depression such as this one make it harder for those with it to overcome obesity or being overweight. Lack of hope, as mentioned above, can interfere with exercise plans or other plans of dealing with obesity. Also, several antidepressants can lead to weight gain, such as clozapine and olanzapine.
There are some ways to avoid this struggle if you are overweight and suffer from depression. Cognitive behavioral therapies have been shown to be very effective in treating depression and obesity together. Also, choosing an antidepressant that is not associated with weight gain will help. Things you can do at home include keeping a journal of medications, exercise, diet, getting adequate sleep, and of course an exercise and diet program.

Athletic Injuries Can Increase Psychiatric Risk

by Kristi Caporoso

Athletics are an integral part of American life. We watch sports on TV, we play sports in school, and we hear about athletes on the news. Doctors encourage us to lead an active and healthy life, and our parents encourage us to get involved in extracurricular activities such as sports teams. However, is there a downside to being an athlete? Research is showing that while being an athlete, either professional or student, can be a good experience, there are dangers that come along with it.
Sports injuries, which unfortunately aren't too uncommon, can severely increase the risk of psychiatric problems among athletes. A college baseball player with a broken wrist is much more likely to develop a form of depression or anxiety than a non-athlete with a broken wrist. There are numerous reasons for this increased risk. To start, it is difficult for an athlete to even admit to having a physical or psychiatric problem, because they are afraid that it will affect their placement on the team. This underreporting leads to an athlete being more likely to hold in his problems until they are at a dangerous level. Athletes are under immense pressure to play through pain and carry on, even though this may not be what's truly best for them.
Being an athlete is also a pervasive characteristic, one that usually consumes a person's identity. For this reason, when athletes get injured and are unable to perform, they are more likely to experience a loss of identity and severe distress. Most people develop skills and social networks across many contexts, but a highly talented athlete in most cases focuses his life on his sport. Therefore, when this is lost, they themselves feel lost. The more dedicated and more successful the athlete, the more likely their risk is for psychiatric problems. Experiencing an injury or narrowly avoiding one can lead to severe distress in an athelete because it has such severe consequences for them. Because of this, many athletes have experienced PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder) after an injury or close call.
For many athletes, their sport is their means of relieving stress. Take their sport away, and you are eliminating their one mean of coping with their issues. This in turn makes it more likely that they will have no way to cope, and stress and depression will be harder to overcome and deal with. Many of the issues that they had but were able to avoid by playing sports are brought to light.
When dealing with athletes, especially those who are injured, it is important to evaluate how important a factor athletics are in their life, and if they have any other networks that they are connected to for both socialization and stress relieval.

source: Samantha O'Connell & Theo Manschreck, Current Psychiatry

Miami Heat's 'Big Three' Struggling Under Excess Pressure

by Kristi Caporoso

It is without a doubt that talent is abundant among the Miami Heat, especially within the Big Three: LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. However, how is talent effected when immense pressure is a major factor? This is an important question for LeBron James, who's recently been left to pick up the slack for Wade and Bosh. After their loss in game 6 of the playoffs, the Heat's future this season is hanging in the balance. Swinging a win and staying in the game may be difficult for the Heat, especially with all the pressure on James. With Wade and Bosh missing the shots they need to hit and leaving James to fight by himself, the team is struggling.

Why is this situation so risky? If LeBron James is the great player he has always been, why can't he play at his best and help carry his team through? While he may still have the talent, the excess pressure is a big risk factor for James' performance, especially since he is fully aware of the situation he is in. This pressure may counter James' talent and impair his playing skills. 

However, he isn't enabling his fellow Big Three members. He's instead acknowledging the situation and acting a postive "cheerleader" for Bosh and Wade. Perhaps Jame's postive attitude will help to counter the immense pressure on him and his team, and improve the circumstances they are in. The question then remains whether or not a postive attitude can be enough to enable a player's talent when he is up against the pressure of carrying his team. Besides the pressure being on LeBron as the best player, it is also on the entire Miami Heat. With game 7 approaching, the team needs to make a transformation to stay in this season's playoffs and maintain their place in the top great teams of the NBA. Time will tell if pressure is too much of a negative impact on talent for these players.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nba--lebron-james-dwyane-wade-chris-bosh-big-three-miami-heat-065701885.html

Do You Know What Your Dreams Mean?

by Kristi Caporoso

There are hundreds of facts and myths out there about dreaming.  What do dreams mean? How long do they last? Can you change how you dream? The actual facts about dreams would surprise most people. For example, dreaming can actually help your learning process. Instead of staying up all night before a big exam, a good nights sleep or a nap right beforehand will be more beneficial. Sleep is the time when your brain organizes information and integrates it in new ways. Therefore sleeping after studying for an exam gives your brain time to consolidate the information and process it further.
Dreams also increase in length as the night goes on. The first dream you have is typically five minutes in length, and the last one can be up to an hour long.  And yes, you can have more than one in one night: sometimes even dozens.
What about pleasant dreams? Ones that you wish you could stay in longer, or go back to sleep and return to? Apparently, this is in fact possible. Specialists say all you have to do is stay very still after waking, and it is possible to then remain in your dream-like state for the following several minutes. Another frequently asked question is whether or not dreams actually mean anything.  The answer is yes and no. Every bizarre dream you have can be interpreted: you just have to look closely. For example, the elephant or balloon in your dream might not mean anything in itself, but may in some abstract way represent something concerning you or prevalent in your life. Since sleep is the time during which you consolidate information, dreaming sometimes tries to do this in a more abstract way. Being frequently afflicted with recurring dreams or nightmares can also be an indicator of things troubling you in your awake state. If you have one of these, pay attention to the underlying similarities or messages in each one and it may clue you in to what your dream is trying to tell you.
Still want to spend more time dreaming? If your dreams in the asleep state aren't enough for you or you are trying to find a new way to relax, there is a process known as wakeful dreaming. Wakeful dreaming is different from daydreaming. To achieve wakeful dreaming, try to find a quiet, peaceful place and remember a dream you recently had. Let the dream unfold and "re-energize." It is then possible to further interpret your dream, or merely relax in the dream state if that's all you wish to do.

Source: http://www.webmd.com/balance/features/9-things-about-dreams?page=3

Is Marijuana Withdrawal Real?

A Very New Concept for Most Marijuana Users

by Kristi Caporoso



Among the new additions to the DSM-V, released on May 18th of this year, is withdrawal from marijuana. While marijuana has been growing in popularity among the young population in recent years, a common belief has also been held that marijuana has no addictive properties. A large proportion of the young adult population believes that smoking marijuana is safe and "non-addictive" because of this "fact." However, marijuana withdrawal has been shown to be very real in the adult population. "A 2012 study of 384 adult, non-treatment-seeking lifetime cannibas smokers found that 40.9% of subjects met the DSM-V criterion of >3 symptoms from a list of 7."

While marijuana withdrawal may not be as severe as withdrawal from other drugs, it is clear from this study that it does in fact exist, contrary to what most marijuana smokers believe. However, it may be difficult for these symptoms to be prevelant if the person who stops smoking marijuana immediately substitutes their habit with another mind-altering drug. One former smoker found that this happened when she stopped smoking and immediately replaced marijuana with alcohol. This made it difficult for her to realize that stopping use after being a chronic marijuana smoker did in fact cause withdrawal. However, she challenges those who smoke to stop cold turkey without replacing marijuana with another drug. It is then highly likely that the symptoms of withdrawal will arise. These symptoms include depressed mood, feelings of restlessnesss, and insomnia or other sleeping problems. Physical symptoms can include headache, increased sweating, chills or shakiness. As with most DSM-V diagnoses, each symptom needs to be severe enough to cause significant discomfort or impairment.

It's possible that with the spreading of the awareness of this new diagnosis, the young adult population will think twice and reconsider before becoming chronic marijuana smokers. With this addition to the DSM-V, marijuana may no longer be seen as a "non-addictive" drug.

source: http://blogs.psychcentral.com/depression/2013/05/dsm-5-adds-marijuana-withdrawal-i-thought-pot-was-non-addictive/, Christine Stapleton

Ensuring a Child Raised in Poverty's Future Well-Being

by Kristi Caporoso

It is sometimes miraculous how resilient children of poverty can be. Some show great achievement in school and in their social life, despite their difficult upbringing and stresses early on in life.  However, it's being discovered that although a child may appear to be doing well, the stress of their early life may have had unknown physiological damage. This could lead to an increased likelihood of developing a chronic illness during the aging process.
Early life stress has a significant effect on a child's body.  While they may be resilient emotionally and socially,  which is very important, their bodies are going through attack from increased stress without them or anyone else even realizing it.  A study was conducted with kids who were raised in poverty, reviewing their social skills and emotional well being at ages 11-13.  While they were good for the resilient kids of the study, by age 19 they had a high allostatic load. "Allostatic load is a measure of stress hormones, blood pressure and body mass index."  This study showed that although kids who lived in poverty and suffered early life stresses were emotionally and socially sound,  by the time they got older their physical well-being had been affected. Why does this occur?  When the body is under stress, hormones are secreted such as cortisol that help the body cope with stress in the short term, but have negative effects in the long term if too many of them are released. These hormones can wear down the immune system, leading to an increased likelihood of developing a chronic disease as the kids get older.
Stress effects us all, and wears down all of our bodies. While there may not be much we can do to prevent early life stress for children, especially those living in poverty, it is important not to overlook the stress they encounter just because they have "beaten the odds" and show outward resiliency. Studies says that kids who fall under this category should be kept an eye on, and get yearly check-ups to ensure good health and catch any developing conditions before they worsen.

Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2013/05/31/stress-of-poverty-may-influence-health-among-resilient-kids/55447.html