Center hopes to help teen moms lose weight

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Center hopes to help teen moms lose weight

By CHERYL WITTENAUER

ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER

ST. LOUIS -- Before she became a teen mom, Emma played

high school sports and wore a size 8. But 27 months after daughter

Kayla's birth, feels stuck in a size 16 body, forced to

wear " older people's clothes " instead of the hot styles for her

generation.

" I feel fat, " the 18-year-old high school junior said. " Like a bear

in hibernation. "

, 5-feet-4 and 180 pounds, would like to lose weight but

said her busy schedule doesn't allow for basketball or for reading

food labels, so her " belly and hips " aren't budging.

She'd use a gym membership, but can't afford it. She'd walk, but her

urban neighborhood is too dangerous. She'd take her daughter

outdoors more often, but Kayla's asthma keeps them inside during St.

Louis' hot, humid summers.

also feels tempted by the high-calorie foods the rest of

her family eats.

" They're all eating in front of me, " she said in frustration. " My

mom will say, 'That's all you're going to eat? Take more.' "

Researchers at St. Louis University School of Public Health hope to

help young women like lose weight gained during

pregnancy. The school's Obesity Prevention Center has a five-year,

$3.5 million grant from the National Cancer Institute to study how

best to do that. Avoiding obesity helps prevent future heart

problems, diabetes and some cancers.

The university and its St. Louis-based partner, Parents as Teachers,

will launch a five-year study to test the effectiveness of various

strategies on 1,900 overweight teen moms in nine states - Missouri,

Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Delaware, Michigan, Mississippi, South

Carolina and Texas.

The strategies combine diet and exercise and emphasize how small

changes in behavior can reap big results, said Debra Haire-Joshu,

principal investigator and obesity center director.

The study - the first of its kind - will focus on overweight single

moms of all racial groups, ages 15 to 18.

Each woman must be enrolled in Parents as Teachers, an international

program that helps educate parents about early childhood

development, health and other issues. The parent educators will make

additional home visits to help moms change bad diet habits and make

healthier choices.

The young women will be advised to drink water and low-fat milk

instead of soft drinks, and to replace junk food with pretzels,

fruit and fresh vegetables. They'll learn to limit portion size,

read food labels, and to walk, take the stairs, and get up off the

couch.

Internet chat rooms and message boards will be set up as a support

network. The curriculum and strategies will be based in part on the

obstacles teen moms identify in national focus groups set to begin

in February, research coordinator Harrod said.

The program will be evaluated after two years, and its most

effective strategies will be promoted nationally through Parents as

Teachers.

" If we don't intervene now, we'll see (health problems) when they're

30, " Haire-Joshu said.

Retaining weight after childbirth is a predictor of developing long-

term obesity, as well as other diseases, she added. Overweight teens

are more than 12 times more likely to develop Type 2 diabetes in

their lifetime, and are also at risk for colorectal and breast

cancer, Haire-Joshu said.

However, it's hard for young mothers to make responsible choices in

an environment that offers mostly unhealthy options. " We can teach

it all we want, but if their experience is fast food and sodas, and

it's easier to get that instead of milk, " she said, it's going to be

tough.

Researchers say teens today enter pregnancy heavier than ever and

frequently gain more than is recommended. Then, they're not able to

lose it.

Miesha Haywood, 17, hasn't lost any of the 220 pounds on her 5-foot-

8 frame since giving birth in June 2004.

" I've grown up with fried foods, " she said. " I don't know how to

bake chicken. "

She was surprised to hear that skipping breakfast and consuming lots

of soft drinks and fast food may be thwarting her weight loss.

Like , Haywood said she struggles to make good food

choices when the less healthy options are all around her.

" I want to do it, " she said, " but I need a push, someone to be on my

team. I'm lazy. "

She said her mother has her own weight problem.

" She's on me about my grades ... but not my weight, " she said.

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On the Net:

Obesity Prevention Center: http://www.slu.edu/centers/opc/

Parents as Teachers: http://www.parentsasteachers.org/site/pp.asp?

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