I don’t know about your house, but at mine, all I hear on Saturday morning is, “WAKE UP! It’s almost noon!”.

Most tweens and teens have the amazing ability to sleep well into the afternoon. And while all that snoozing might eat up time spent being more productive if awake (chores! homework!), it turns out that getting plenty of sleep can help adolescents maintain a healthy weight, finds a study presented at the Pediatric Academic Societies annual meeting in Vancouver, British Columbia.

You might’ve heard similar stats regarding sleep and weight gain before, but the research done at the Center for Child Health Behavior and Development at Seattle Children’s Research Institute is unique. In this study, participants wore accelerometers for seven days while keeping a log of everything they ate. (Unlike pedameters, which count the number of steps taken, accelerometers measure movement on three different planes.) The study of 723 adolescents (average age 15) measured participants’ weight, body mass index (BMI), and percentage of body fat. The less teens slept, the higher their BMI (the correlaton was strongest for middle school-aged boys).

The conclusion? Let them sleep! Your teen and his body will thank you when he wakes up.

Angela, KIWI intern

Advocates for the fight against childhood obesity often point a finger at television, saying kids who spend a lot of time in front of the tube are at risk for being overweight. But new research shows that commercials—rather than TV  time itself—are actually what’s to blame. A new study conducted at the University of California Los Angeles tracked the viewing habits of more than 2,000 children (with the help of caregivers) and found that the more ads (whether in the form of commercials or product placement in movies) a child was exposed to, the greater her risk for obesity.

Just how many ads do kids see every day? Here are some startling stats from the Kaiser Family Foundation:

• Kids ages 2-7 on average see 12 televised food ads per day, or about 4,400 per year

• Kids ages 8-12 on average see 21 televised food ads per day, or about 7,600 per year

• Teenagers on average see 17 food ads per day, or about 6,000 per year.

Yikes! But what to do? Instead of banning the tube completely, try recording your kid’s favorite shows. When she does settle down to watch (after homework and chores, of course!) you can fast-forward through all those pesky commercials.

-Nicole McGovern, editorial intern

With kids going back to school and ideas of what to pack for lunch comes a heightened awareness over what constitutes “healthy.” With childhood obesity as one of the nation’s leading health threats, this is clearly a million dollar question.

Did you know that childhood obesity is the number one concern amongst US parents, ahead of drug abuse and smoking? Today, almost 25 million children are overweight or obese and thus are at risk for early-onset cardiovascular disease and type-2 diabetes. If obesity rates among children continue to climb at such a rate, this generation will be the first to have a shorter life span than their parents!

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a partnership between the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation, has designated September “Go Healthy Month.” The Alliance is taking preventive measures against childhood obesity to ensure that future generations won’t struggle with illnesses associated with poor food choices and lack of physical activity.

I encourage you to check out www.igohugo.org to find out how both you and your child can engage in this challenge, which encourages better food choices as well as finding ways to participate in at least 60 minutes of physical activity each day. Exercising together will not only help you look and feel better, but will allow for time to catch up on your child’s school day.

What are you waiting for? Turn off the TV and enjoy the warm afternoons!

–Dr. Keri Marshall MS, ND is a licensed Naturopathic Doctor who specializes in holistic pediatrics and women’s medicine