Starfish Therapies

A pediatric therapy company operating in San Francisco and the greater Bay Area. We provide physical, occupational, speech and aquatic therapy services in the most beneficial and convenient setting for you and your child, including our clinic, currently located in Burlingame, your home, school or daycare.

  • About Us
    • Our Team
    • FAQ
  • Our Services
    • Motor Smart Kids
    • Continuing Education
    • FREE Resources
  • Shop
  • Blog
  • Contact Us
  • Corona Virus (Covid-19) Response / Move to Telehealth

Childhood Obeisity

April 26, 2010 by Stacy Menz

Obesity is a continuously growing epidemic in our society and this article has an interesting perspective.  What’s even more interesting is that childhood obesity is rapidly growing.  Kids are supposed to be the active ones who burn calories faster than they can ingest them.  With First Lady Michelle Obama choosing obesity as her platform I can only hope that we will start to see a change in the youth of our country.

I was recently studying for an exam and childhood obesity came up multiple times for both typically developing kids and kids with special needs.  Everyone recognizes that its a problem but yet it continues to get worse and in the last 25 years it has become an epidemic.  Kids who are obese are at risk for orthopedic, neurological, pulmonary, gastroenterological, and endocrine conditions, not to mention that obesity has been associated with lower self esteem and poor academic performance.  Peaceful playgrounds is a great blog site that talks about the importance of physical activity and the links to academic performance and other factors, as well as some innovative ideas that are fairly easy to implement.  They also look at what other schools are doing that seems to be working, such as recess before lunch, or yoga.  Another story in the news is putting physical activity first thing in the school day.

How has it become such a problem?  Well, to start, obesity is caused by ingesting more energy than is being expended, over a long period of time.  This excess energy (or calories) causes an accumulation of body fat.  If you want to lose weight you need to decrease calories consumed or increase calories burned, or both.  This doesn’t have to be hard.  If you reduce your calories by 100 a day (less than one soda can) the result is approximately 10 pounds in one year.  That is if everything else stays the same.

Other ways, in addition to changing the calories consumed is to increase activity.  Try making a chart of the time your child is sedentary in front of a tv or computer screen.  If you can reduce that time in front of a screen, especially after school, it can encourage active behaviors which increase calorie burning.  Not to mention increased play time which works on socialization, problem solving, gross motor skills and sensory integration. Make it a household project to be healthy!

Other issues that are affecting kids activity are school budget cuts.  As a result recess, physical education and after school sports are being cut from the school day.  Some schools are trying to implement more activity into the classroom setting and finding good results.

For kids who are already challenged by physical disabilities they run a higher risk of obesity due to more challenges with physical activity, as well as decreased access to community and recreation programs.  In addition, with increased weight, their muscles need to be that much stronger in order for them to move themselves, or to stabilize themselves so they have good balance.  They are already working hard to move, lets not make it harder on them by adding extra weight for them to carry around.

I challenge everyone, not just kids to find ways to add extra activity or movement to your day!  ‘Lets move’ against obesity.

Related

Filed Under: Developmental Milestones Tagged With: education, exercise, gross motor development, kids, Motor Smart Kids, obesity, physical education, physical therapy, playgrounds, recess, sensory exploration, Starfish Therapies, strengthening

Search

Subscribe To Our Emails

Subscribe and receive access to our FREE products, incredible list of pdfs, websites, readings, and many other useful recommendations!

Primary Programs

  • Motor Smart Kids
    • Free Play
    • Kids Action Hour
    • Yoga for Kids of All Abilities
    • Functional Movement Screen
    • Video Running Analysis
    • Youth Sports Injury Prevention
    • Concussion Screening and Management
  • Continuing Education
    • PNF 1: Introduction to PNF
    • PNF 2: Accessing the Trunk
    • Strength Training in Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder
  • Resources
    • Telehealth
    • Informational Handouts
    • Useful Websites
    • Recommended Readings
    • Helpful Products
    • Blogs to Follow
    • Favorite Therapy Products at amazon.com

What Clients Are Saying

“Our experience with Stacy and the team at Starfish Therapies has been fantastic. The group is incredibly passionate, very professional, and know how to make therapy fun for a child! Our daughter looks forward to her session — whether it’s in-person or via the convenient tele-health option. The intake process is comprehensive and involves collaborative goal-setting with quantifiable measures and milestones. In addition, we get a list of activities we can work on at home, which has become part of our daily routine! We’ve seen big gains in our daughter’s movements, balance and confidence. Thank you, Starfish Therapies!”

Recent Blog Posts

  • Occupational Therapy Round-Up
  • Should I Be Concerned?
  • Dr. Seuss Books and Activities
  • More Ideas for Catching
  • Book Inspired Activities

Disclaimers

  • Full Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy
  • HIPAA Patient Notice
  • Accessibility Statement

Search

Patient Resources

  • New Patient Intake Forms
  • Starfish Resources
  • Our Services

Clinical Resources

  • Career Opportunties
  • Continuing Education

Contact

  (650) 638-9142
  (650) 638-9141
  admin@starfishtherapies.com

Join Our Online Community

Locations

  BURLINGAME / MAIN CLINIC
  1541 Old Bayshore Highway
  Burlingame, CA 94010


  SAN FRANCISCO
  (located in KidSpace)
  3401 Mission St.
  San Francisco, CA 94110


  PALO ALTO
  (located in Agile Physical Therapy)
  3825 El Camino Real
  Palo Alto, CA 94306


HALF MOON BAY
  (located at Sensitive Solutions)
  30 Avenue Portola, Suite 200 C & D
  Half Moon Bay, CA 94018

© Copyright 2022 Starfish Therapies · All Rights Reserved · Powered by babaLucas

 

Loading Comments...