Honolulu Chiropractor

Striving to keep up with an active five-year-old can feel tiring from time to time. If you have an active child of this age, or if you’ve ever been around one for any length of time, you may have found yourself wishing that the kid would just “veg out” for a little while. However, recent research is validating the long-term health benefits of this whirlwind of activity. In fact, according to a new University of Iowa study, rather than attempting to slow these little ones down, five-year-olds ought be aided in being as active as possible. Why? “Because it pays off as they grow older,” said Kathleen Janz, lead author of the study and professor of health and sport studies in the UI College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Even if kids don’t stay as active later in childhood, being active at age five assists them in avoiding excess fat as they age. “We call this effect ‘banking’ because the kids benefit later on, similar to having a savings account at a bank. The protective effect is independent of what happens in between,” Janz went on to say.

The UI team tested the body fat and activity level of 333 kids at ages five, eight and eleven using a special scanner that accurately measures bone, fat and muscle tissue, and an accelerometer that measures movement every minute. The kids wore accelerometers to record their activity level for up to five days, providing much more solid data than relying on kids or parents to track minutes of exercise.

The study, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, indicates that kids who are active at age five end up with less fat at age eight and eleven, even when controlling for their accumulated level of activity.  The average five-year-old in the study got thirty minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise per day. For every ten minutes on top of that, kids had one-third of a pound less fat tissue at ages eight and eleven.

Although further research is required to learn what happens to the active kids’ bodies that keeps them in better shape down the road, Janz said that it may be possible that the active 5-year-olds didn’t develop as many fat cells, improved their insulin response, or that something happened metabolically that provided some protection even as they became less active.

Weight moderation, however, isn’t the only benefit of early exercise. As a chiropractor I have observed over the years that active kids have far less ordinary childhood health issues, like catching colds and the flu. chiropractic treatment is, of course, extraordinarily beneficial in helping kids to stay healthier. But, in addition, the stimulation to the brain that happens during activities, especially those that require “cross pattern” motor movements of the larger muscles, i.e., right hand/left leg and left hand/right leg, such as crawling, running, climbing, and skipping, also boosts the autoimmune system and keeps kids healthier.

A large number children these days are overweight and unhealthy. Though part of the problem is an inappropriate diet, lack of exercise is also a major contributing factor. If you have a five-year-old who chooses to watch television or play video games rather than to participate in more active play, help your child to get up and get moving into healthier activities. Moderate to vigorous activity will not only benefit your child now, but will assist in building a healthier future. You can bank on it!

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Have you heard that chiropractors treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)? Well, that’s not completely correct. Chiropractors don’t “treat” ADHD. But, chiropractic care can certainly help children, and adults too, who suffer from it. The reason that chiropractic treatment is effectual is that ADHD is a neurological disorder. Chiropractic manipulations not only help to reduce nervous system disruptions in general, but an adjustment can be specifically directed to stimulate under-active areas of the brain and calm over-active areas as well. Due to the fact that a chiropractic approach to ADHD is natural and drug-free, many parents choose chiropractic care over the common medical approach of giving children Class 2 psychotropic drugs that have dramatically negative side effects including personality changes and permanent alterations in the brain. Nearly all of parents who’ve opted for chiropractic treatment for their children have observed stunning behavioral changes as a result.

Because of the differences between the ways in which boys and girls employ the two hemispheres of their brain, ADHD appears to afflict more boys than girls and, additionally, is often more obvious and easily discernible in the behavior of boys as opposed to of girls. Prominent symptoms include a hard time concentrating and sitting still, lack of ability to control impulsive thoughts and behaviors, easily distracted by noises and activities, constant movement of fingers, hands, arms, feet, or legs.

A large number of children who manifest ADHD symptoms are hypersensitive to certain foods, such as dairy or gluten products, and sugars and artificial sweeteners. In addition, they generally have a hypersensitive reaction to additives in foods, herbicides and pesticides used to grow non-organic fruits and vegetables, and laundry products such as detergents, fabric softeners, and other chemicals. Often, the elimination of these environmental agencies can go a long way in easing ADHD symptoms.

Your Honolulu Chiropractor will give your child a complete chiropractic examination, checking for spinal anomalies and analyzing certain responses to specific neurological tests.

Natural, safe chiropractic treatment can help your child to get his or her life back in balance. Before taking drastic pharmaceutical measures, if your child displays the symptoms of ADHD, call your chiropractor to make an appointment for a complete evaluation. Call today for the health of your child!

Technorati Tags: ADHD, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, chiropractic, chiropractor, drug-free, natural