Thursday, October 20, 2011

Childhood Obesity in Mexico

The article is about Mexico - yet this is a worldwide problem

MTH
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Mexico tackles epidemic of childhood obesity

ADRIANA GOMEZ LICON
Associated Press= MEXICO CITY (AP) — Anghella Torres is just 4 years old, but already she weighs 66 pounds (30 kilos) — twice what she should. Because of her excess girth, her little feet constantly hurt from bearing the extra weight.

Anghella knows she is obese and she doesn't like it. And now, even though she doesn't know how to read or count calories, she is on a diet. With the help of her grandmother and caretaker, Elizabeth Sucilla, Anghella is following a modest diet and exercise program established for her by a nurse at a local public hospital earlier this year.
"I have to stop eating candies," she said.

Her new regimen also requires her to cut down on the deep-fried potato wedges she ate every other day in the streets and spoonfuls of heavy cream she downed like yogurt.

Mexico, which claims to have the fattest children in the world, is trying to encourage others to follow Anghella's lead. Public schools have banned junk food and are requiring more hours of physical education while the federal government has launched a media campaign that invites families to enroll their kids in a public weight-loss program.
Yet three-quarters of Mexico City's 2,400 public schools don't have playgrounds or gyms for exercise. And 80 percent of the schools don't have water fountains. Experts stress the importance of drinking more water and fewer sugary drinks to prevent and reverse weight gain...more

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