New Prescription for Childhood Obesity: Fight Childhood Obesity with Antioxidants & Phytonutrients (Paperback)

by Billy C. Johnson (Author)
Key Phrases: mashed cauliflower, commercial salsa, lemonade fluid, Vegetable Soup, Clearly Fiber, Roasted Veggies (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
About one in three American children is either overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is a crisis robbing youth of health and energy, and even causing children to die prematurely. Obesity among children, which is likely to carry over to adulthood, is also linked to a greater risk of high cholesterol, diabetes, early heart disease, and high blood pressure.

New Prescription for Childhood Obesity provides an innovative approach to fighting childhood obesity. The traditional method for weight loss and fat reduction has been to eat less and exercise more, but this does not work over the long haul. To lose weight and keep it off requires addressing the root cause of the problem: insulin resistance and the low-grade silent inflammation that is triggered by many factors, including foods and environmental causes such as pesticides, industrial pollutants, and toxins.

Now parents have an opportunity to change their child’s eating and physical activity habits even before a weight problem develops. Complete with recipes to get you on the right track, this essential guide provides specific and simple strategies, techniques, and skills that will enable children to eat the right amount of food appropriate for their level of physical activity without dieting.

About the Author
Billy C. Johnson, M.D., Ph.D., a graduate of the University of Florida in Gainesville, did his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the Maimonedes Medical Center in Brooklyn, New York, and practiced in Virginia and Connecticut. Dr. Johnson is president and CEO of Ultimate Health Plus in Cranston, Rhode Island.

Product Details

• Paperback: 227 pages
• Publisher: iUniverse, Inc. (January 15, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0595453430
• ISBN-13: 978-0595453436
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,006,711 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An Excellent Guide With A Clear and Easy To Follow Format, March 26, 2008

By	Norman Goldman "Editor of Bookpleasures.com" (Montreal) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

When I am people watching in my neighbourhood shopping mall, it never ceases to amaze me as to the number of overweight children that catch my attention.

As Dr. Billy Johnson points out in his exceptional guide, New Prescription for Childhood Obesity, America is now facing a real crisis when it comes to childhood obesity. Did you know that there are over 9 million children in the USA alone with childhood obesity? And worldwide it is has reached epidemic proportions with over 155 million affected.

Dr. Johnson is a medical graduate from the University of Florida and he did his residency in obstetrics and gynaecology at the Maimonedes Medical Center in New York. He holds a Ph.D in Molecular Biology/Microbiology and has practiced medicine in Virginia and Connecticut. In addition, he has written many articles for medical and scientific journals. He takes the problem of childhood obesity very seriously.

In the introduction to New Prescription for Childhood Obesity, Dr. Johnson fervently maintains, which incidentally forms the basis of his book, that the root cause of obesity and chronic diseases related to obesity for both children and adults is the low-grade silent inflammation associated with extra abdominal fat, along with low levels of antioxidans and phytonutrients. So grave is this that Dr. Johnson affirms that as the waistlines of our youth increase as they grow older, so does the prevalence of chronic degenerative diseases that once would only be seen in adults such as type 2 diabetes that now affect over a half a million children in the United States.
To conclude that it is quite frightening to envisage that there will be more and more children being treated with potent drugs for cholesterol and arterial plaques is an understatement. Just think about the ramifications when a child becomes an adult and the quality of life he or she will be required to endure.

In New Prescription for Childhood Obesity, Dr. Johnson examines all of the dangers of childhood obesity, its causes and what parents can do about it. His approach is quite different than the traditional method, which advocates that to reduce weight and fat it is necessary to eat less and exercise more, which according to Dr. Johnson does not work very well over the long term. It is his contention that it is essential to address the root cause which he breaks down into oxidative stress, insulin resistance and the low-grade chronic inflammation that are triggered by many factors such as unhealthy foods as well as environmental causes as exposure to pesticides, industrial pollutants, and toxins.

It should be mentioned, as Dr. Johnson points out in his introduction, that the book is intended for parents who want to help their children (5-12 years old) to develop healthy eating habits in order to improve the quality of their weight, body fat and health, and particularly targeting young children who might be at risk.


The book divides itself into fourteen chapters, five appendixes, selected references and an index. The first section of the book deals with the science and essential philosophy of healthy eating wherein Dr. Johnson counsels his readers that in order to fight obesity in children, it is necessary to pay particular attention to antioxidants and phytonutrients that are found in non-starchy vegetables and fruits.

Dr. Johnson's program, which is explored in depth throughout the book, focuses on balanced nutrition that can be tailored to the level of physical activity on a meal-to-meal basis with stress reduction as an additional component.

If you are wondering what are antioxidants, Dr. Johnson informs us that they are: "phytonutrients or chemical compounds that neutralize free radicals and prevent them from causing damage to healthy cells and molecules like DNA, lipids (fats), proteins and cell membranes. Insufficient antioxidants in your children's meals are the sole reason they store excessive abdominal fat that makes more inflammation in their bodies-leading to obesity and chronic diseases." As for phytonutrients, we are informed that these are the health promoting bioactive compounds or nutrients found in plants including vegetables, fruits, beans, and soy.

From this brief introduction pertaining to the vocabulary that Dr. Johnson uses throughout his book, readers are presented with a road map as to how to combat child obesity. It is quite amazing how much information Dr. Johnson covers in fewer than two hundred pages where we learn about the strategies for reducing obesity and inflammation, what is silent inflammation, medical consequences of obesity, food essentials, becoming knowledgeable and proactive pertaining to the foods we eat, recognizing food diversity, vitamins, minerals and essential fats, how to draw up a healthy shopping list, planning meals with your child, breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner. The appendixes are very interesting and informative as they deal with sample daily meal plans, how children can have some fun eating, shares responsibility, and several recipes.

An interesting sub-section of the book is the reference made to MonaVie Acai Berry Juice. According to Dr. Johnson one way to address the deficiency of antioxidants and phytonutrients in children's diets is to supplement their diets with a unique formula that was recently discovered by scientists and available under the brand name MonaVie.
The key ingredient in MonaVie is the Acai Berry that grows at the top of tall palm trees in the Amazon Rainforest of Brazil. Dr. Johnson tells us that the Acai fruit has the highest antioxidant activity of any fruit or vegetable currently known on a gram-to-gram basis.

Dr. Johnson has a vast amount of experience dealing with the problem of child obesity and his experience shows, in deed, with his impressively researched and comprehensive study. It is difficult for me to think of a single issue that isn't broached in New Prescription for Childhood Obesity. He is particularly to be commended for his clear easy to follow format and without doubt readers will undoubtedly benefit from a vastly improved sense of the subject and the tools necessary to combat child obesity.

Norm Goldman, Publisher & Editor Bookpleasures

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Just What The Doctor Ordered, March 25, 2008

By	Apex Reviews (Durham, NC USA) - See all my reviews

Media outlets such as CNN and MSNBC often feature reports on the growing epidemic of childhood obesity in America, and the reporters typically blame the usual culprits: soda, candy, chips, fast food, etc. What they fail to mention, though, is precisely what about such foods leads to the abnormal weight gains that children usually experience.

In New Prescription For Childhood Obesity, Billy Johnson picks up where the media often stops short, shedding light on the much-needed link between the dietary habits of children and their eventual health/weight concerns. The real cause of the problem: low-grade silent inflammation. While that term may not be a familiar one to the average layman, it is an absolutely essential concept that must be both embraced and applied if society has any hope of stemming the swelling tide of childhood obesity.

In essence, low-grade silent inflammation is the normal immune response that our bodies launch in order to combat the presence of free radicals, molecules that attack our DNA, mutating it in such a way that it can lead to non-functional protein, enzymes, and hormones. If the DNA goes unrepaired, the damage done to it can lead to the development of such diseases as diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.

Our system's natural defense against free radicals? Antioxidants and phytonutrients, chemical compounds that neutralize free radicals, preventing them from causing damage to our DNA; thus, if our bodies maintain low levels of antioxidants and phytonutrients, free radicals run rampant throughout our system, leading to a prolonged immune response, or, low-grade silent inflammation. Antioxidants and phytonutrients are naturally found in fruits, vegetables, and other healthy foods, and, thus, Johnson's key point is that a diet lacking in these foods greatly increases the likelihood of obesity and other health concerns in children.

Johnson then proceeds, in meticulous fashion, to proscribe effective solutions to approaching the problem of low-grade silent inflammation, including recommendations for our diets, caloric intake, physical activities, and even maintaining healthy teeth & gums. He even includes Appendices featuring sample daily meal plans, healthy recipes, and detailed resources for further helpful information. It can truly be said that no individual who has the fortune of reading this book will have any excuse to live unhealthily ever again.

In his Introduction, Johnson cites that some experts are predicting that this will be the first generation in America to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Such an alarming prognostication is cause enough for everyone to take a serious look at the health disparities among our children, and New Prescription For Childhood Obesity is the perfect starting point for just that. A highly recommended, informative, and enlightening read.

5.0 out of 5 stars New Prescription for Childhood Obesity, July 13, 2008

By	Mary B. Washingtion "Mary Washington" (Memphis, TN) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

The book New Prescription for Childhood Obesity by Dr. Billy Johnson was very informative. I was able to see the connection between what we eat and our health. It explains a lot about the health of our nation especially our children. I see so many overweight children and adults and that this epidemic makes me realize that we are slowly eating away our health.