Uncategorized

October is National Bullying Prevention Month

by Laryssa Hook, 4-H Educator, Delaware County

This month we recognize National Bullying Prevention Month, which brings back memories of when my son was in elementary school. I recall seeing the school’s number as an incoming call on my phone, which always made me take a deep breath before answering. My thoughts raced. Did my son do something, or did someone else do something to him? He struggled with his emotional responses when things varied from the black and white rules. One larger kid sometimes picked on him, and he felt a lack of control in these situations. Sometimes my son pushed back. Who was the bully? Was it bullying behavior or just mean behavior?

By definition, bullying is unwanted, aggressive behavior and must have two factors: (1) an imbalance of power and (2) repetition. The imbalance of power can be related to physical strength or to social status. It can be a real imbalance or a perceived imbalance. Repetition is when the bullying happens more than once or if it has the ability to happen again.

National data indicate that about 20% of youth ages 12 to 18 experience bullying. Those young people who are thought of as different from their peers are more at risk of being bullied, such as:

  • youth with a mental health diagnosis
  • youth with disabilities
  • youth who identify as LGBTQ+
  • youth in a racial minority in their community
  • youth who are underweight or overweight

What if you suspect a child is being bullied or is exhibiting bullying behavior to others? The reality is kids can be in both roles, and it can change as these relationships evolve. It is important to talk to children about the topic, even if you don’t think a child is involved in bullying behavior. Tips on how to talk about the subject of bullying and what you can do are available at the stopbullying.gov website. This website also has resources on cyberbullying, federal laws, and what schools and kids can do.

Eventually, my son learned coping techniques for managing his emotions, and he learned how to stand up for himself. His reports of feeling bullied lessened. Was he truly bullied or was he consistently picked on by others.? We never differentiated it but using some of the techniques to stop bullying helped him and that was what mattered to me.

Reference

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (n.d.). Learn how to identify bullying and stand up to it safely. http://stopbullying.gov

 

State of Obesity 2021

by Theresa Ferrari, Extension Specialist, 4-H Youth Development

Today, Trust for America’s Health released The State of Obesity: Better Policies for a Healthier America, its 18th annual report on the nation’s obesity crisis. The report provides an annual snapshot of rates of overweight and obesity for U.S. adults by age, race/ethnicity, and state of residence. They found that 16 states have adult obesity rates at 35% or higher, up from 12 states in 2019. Unfortunately, with a rate of 35.5%, Ohio is one of those 16 states (see map).

Map of U.S. Adult Obesity Rates, from The State of Obesity 2021, Trust for America’s Health

Obesity means that an individual’s body fat and body-fat distribution exceed the level considered healthy and traditionally has been measured by body mass index (BMI). Obesity is defined as a BMI of 30 or higher. The U.S. adult obesity rate has been increasing for decades. As recently as 2012, no state had an adult obesity rate above 35%. It passed 40% for the first time in 2017–2018, now standing at 42.4% overall.

Not surprisingly, the report also noted that social and economic factors linked to obesity were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic people’s eating habits shifted, levels of food insecurity worsened, physical activity declined, and stress and anxiety increased. These conditions added to the decades long pattern of obesity in America.

Although the report looks at adult obesity, rising obesity rates are also a problem among children and adolescents. Nearly 1 in 5 (19.3%) of U.S. children ages 2 to 19 have obesity. This rate has more than tripled since the mid-1970s. Black and Latino youth have substantially higher rates of obesity than do their White peers.

Obesity has consequences. In adults, obesity is associated with a range of diseases, including type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, arthritis, sleep apnea, and many types of cancers, and now higher rates of complications and serious illness from COVID-19.

The prevalence of obesity increases with age, and researchers and practitioners are alarmed by the increased prevalence of chronic diseases among children and adolescents. For example, the incidence of type 2 diabetes in young people has increased significantly.

Establishing good habits early in life is important, because childhood obesity is strongly correlated with risk of adult obesity and poor health. In other words, children who are obese are on a pathway to poor health as adults. The evidence that links lifestyle behaviors (such as food and beverage consumption and physical activity levels) to risks for chronic conditions in adulthood is mounting. By contributing to overweight and obesity, these conditions increase the risk for heart disease, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes later in life.

Although important, efforts to change individual behaviors  are not enough to make a difference when a problem is this widespread. As suggested by its title, the report offers many policy level recommendations, including funding for obesity prevention programs, availability of healthy school meals, regulation of advertising of unhealthy food and beverages to children, and expanded access to walking and biking trails. In addition to adopting healthy lifestyle behaviors (such as improving diet, increasing physical activity, and decreasing sedentary time), individuals can also take action and advocate for policy changes that support health in their communities.

References

American Heart Association. (2020). Heart disease and stroke statistics—2020 update. Circulation, 141, e139–e596. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIR.0000000000000757

Bauer, U. E., Briss, P. A., Goodman, R. A., & Bowman, B. A. (2014). Prevention of chronic disease in the 21st century: Elimination of the leading preventable causes of premature death and disability in the USA. The Lancet, 384(9937), 45–52. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(14)60648-6

Burmeister, M. A., Delgado, E., Fincher, T. K., & Virga, K.G. (2021, August 12). Growing pains: The type-2 diabetes epidemic in youth. U.S. Pharmacist. https://www.uspharmacist.com/article/growing-pains-the-type-2-diabetes-epidemic-in-youth

Jenssen, B. P., Kelly, M. K., Powell, M., Bouchelle, Z., Mayne, S. L., & Fiks, A. G. (2021). COVID-19 and changes in child obesity. Pediatrics, 147(5), 1–3. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2021-050123

Kwok, S., Adam, S., Ho, J. H., Iqbal, Z., Turkington, P., Razvi, S., Le Roux, C. W., Soran, H., & Syed, A. A. (2020). Obesity: A critical risk factor in the COVID-19 pandemic. Clinical Obesity, 10(6), Article e12403. https://doi.org/10.1111/cob.12403

Mayer-Davis, E. J., Lawrence, J. M., Dabelea, D., Divers, J., Isom, S., Dolan, L., Imperatore, G., Linder, B., Marcovina, S., Pettitt, D. J., Pihoker, C., & Sayday, S. (2017). Incidence trends of Type 1 and type 2 diabetes among youths, 2002–2012. The New England Journal of Medicine, 376, 1419–1429. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa1610187

Pool, L. R., Krefman, A. E., Labarthe, D. R., Greenland, P. Juonala, M., Kahonen, M., Lehtimaki, T., Day, R. S. Bazzano, L. A., Van Horn, L., Liu, L., Frenandez-Alonso, C., Webber, L. S., Pahkala, J. Laitinen, T. T., Raitakari. O. T., Lloyd-Jones, D. M., & Allen, N. B. (2021). The timing and sequence of cardiovascular health decline. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2021.04.010

Smith, D., K., McMullan, S. M., & Martin, M. J. (2021). Getting hypertension under control in the youngest patients. The Journal of Family Practice, 70(5), 220–228. https://doi.org/10.12788/jfp.0201

Trust for America’s Health. (2021). The state of obesity: Better policies for a healthier America. https://www.tfah.org/report-details/state-of-obesity-2021/

Daily Dose- Happy Mother’s Day

Picture of My Mom and I

My Mom and I

According to the History Channel, The American incarnation of Mother’s Day was created by Anna Jarvis in 1908 and became an official U.S. holiday in 1914. We celebrate Mother’s Day on the second Sunday of May every year. The founder Anna created the holiday as a way for people to thank their own Mother and spend time with that special woman in their life. CNN’s article on Mother’s Day gives some of the specifics of the origin including the insight that Jarvis’ Mother was a community health advocate! Below is an excerpt.

“In 1908, Jarvis campaigned for a national observance of the holiday in honor of her mother, who was a community health advocate. Her mom had organized several Mother’s Day Work Clubs that addressed child rearing and public health issues, and Jarvis wanted to commemorate her and the work of all mothers.”

As we experience Mother’s Day this year it is important to look at the core of what Mother’s Day means and find ways to spend time with our Mother (even if that means digitally this year). Sometimes we take for granted the time we spend with family. Think about what it truly means to spend time with someone. What does it look like? How does it make you feel?

For me, spending time with my Mother is often creative. We work on calendars, journals, crafts, and some of my favorite early memories with my mother were doing crafts and activities at home. I have acquired her hobby of cutting out pictures in magazines, greeting cards, and reusing them in my calendar and journal entries.  It usually includes us sitting on the couch, talking over upcoming events, and relaxing. It helps me feel connected to her, more relaxed, and provides a wonderful creative outlet while completing what we are working on. Use today’s journal to spend some time with your Mom and learn more about her!

Today’s journal is a fun one to do with your Mom! Answer the questions about her and then see how well you do! It is harder than it may seem.