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From the President's Desk
Gender Dysphoria in Children: 'First do no harm' unites professionals and laypersons of divergent worldviews
In an age of seemingly irreconcilable political polarization I have come upon two websites that give me hope.
YouthTranscriticalProfessionals.org
is the first. They describe themselves as 'psychologists, social workers, doctors, medical ethicists, and academics [who] tend to be left-leaning, open-minded, and pro-gay rights but who are also concerned about the current trend to quickly diagnose and affirm young people as transgender, often setting them down a path toward medical transition.' They explain further, "We feel that unnecessary surgeries and/or hormonal treatments which have not been proven safe in the long-term represent significant risks for young people. Policies that encourage - either directly or indirectly - such medical treatment for young people who may not be able to evaluate the risks and benefits are highly suspect, in our opinion."
A second site well worth the read is
4thWaveNow.com,
a feminist blog that features posts by
LGB affirming and/or LGB identified individuals and parents who are critical of the "born transgender meme," as well as individuals who transitioned as adolescents and are now de-transitioning.
While we do not share all ideological premises there is much to be learned from each other. I was heartened to learn that contrary to what the media portrays,
opposition to the trans-child movement truly is a bipartisan pro-child movement.
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Attention Members
Be sure to check out the
Bulletin Board in the Member Hub, the members' section of the website, to see the newest job postings.
You'll need to know your username and password to log onto the members' section. If you don't know your log-on information, please call the office for help. You may also request to be sent an email with information about these various positions. Contact the ACPeds office at
[email protected].
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Start Saving at Our Online Store Now w/ 15% OFF
Enjoy this sale from today until June 13, 2016.
ACPeds has contracted with a manufacturer to create on demand logo merchandise, high in quality without sacrificing affordability. These items are great for personal use as well as for gifts. Shop around on the ACPeds website at
ACPeds.org/health-professionals
/the-college-
store
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May at a Glance
The month of May is recognized as
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Real Estate for Life
Selling a house anytime soon?
FIRST contact Real Estate for Life &
mention ACPeds for a percentage of the sale to be donated to the College, at no cost to you!
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ACPeds goes viral not only in the U.S. but across the world
numerous stories in the news, continual requests for interviews, expressions of support not only
from like-minded professional organizations, but also from liberal gay-affirming and pro-abortion professionals.
In addition, the College has granted requests for the statement to be translated into Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese and French.
The two pillars uniting us are a commitment to First Do No Harm (especially where children are concerned) and a commitment to science (which long ago confirmed the absurdity of the claim that one can be trapped in the wrong body).
The College anticipates publication of a more comprehensive statement by the end of June
.
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Families are like fudge - mostly sweet with a few nuts.
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Which Fruits and Vegetables Have the Most Pesticides?
 Each year, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) analyzes pesticide residue data from the U.S. Department of Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and ranks the produce accordingly into two lists, popularly known as the "Dirty Dozen" and the "Clean Fifteen."
For the first time, strawberries top the 2016 list for containing the highest amount of pesticide residue after washing among 50 popular fruits and vegetables with single samples of strawberries showing 17 different pesticides.
On the contrary, there are a number of fruits and vegetables with little to no pesticide residue like avocados, pineapples, corn, onion, sweet potato and asparagus. These fruits and veggies are OK to by conventional; whereas, fruits such as strawberries, grapes, peaches, blueberries and sweet bell peppers are best to purchase organic. For the full lists, click here for the Dirty Dozen and here for the Clean Fifteen. For more info on the pesticide rankings, click here.
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Child brain growth boosts when parents are nurturing early on
New
research
supports the idea that the parent-child relationship during the preschool period is vital, even more important than when the child gets older, probably due to
greater plasticity in the brain when kids are younger
, meaning that the brain is affected more by experiences very early in life. According to brain scans, maternal
nurturing is linked to a larger hippocampus, associated with healthier emotional functioning when children enter their teen years
.
When parental nurturing didn't begin until later in childhood, such support didn't provide the same benefits in brain growth. It is
vital that kids receive support and nurturing during those early years
and findings suggest it may be possible to help children do better in school, cope better in life and develop emotionally by helping parents learn to provide more support and nurturing early in the lives of their children.
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**Updated Position Statement - Featured Resources of the Month**
Voting members of the College, thank you for weighing in on the revised statement,
Parental Involvement and Consent for Minor's Abortion
Your edits and your votes were appreciated. The revised statement has been posted to the website and can be accessed by clicking here or visiting The College Speaks page on the ACPeds website where additional position statements can be found.
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Social development and social media related to child, teen nutrition
According to a recent
study
, proper nutrition during childhood can positively affect a child's social behaviors and development. Findings suggest that
good nutrition early on not only enhances cognitive function but also promotes good social behaviors
like friendliness, active social play and exploration which are essential to brain development and intelligence. This same study also showed that children with positive social behaviors had higher IQs 8 years later.
Whereas good nutrition positively affects social development, teen social media use can negatively affect nutrition, especially concerning body image and eating habits. New
research
shows that logging on to social media sites frequently throughout the week or spending hours trolling various social feeds during the day is linked to a greater risk of young adults developing eating and body image concerns. It could be that young adults who use more social media are exposed to more images and messages that encourage development of disordered eating, like ads featuring super models and photos of skinnier friends.
Also,
people who already have eating and body image concerns are turning to social media to connect with groups of people who also have these concerns
thereby inhibiting recovery because of the desire to continue being a part of the shared identity such social media groups foster. A third factor is that young people are siting and nibbling while using social media, just as they do when viewing television. Gender, specific age, race and income did not influence the association indicating that preventative messages should target a broad population.
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Special Interest News, Articles and Studies
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"What can you do to promote world peace? Go home and love your family."
- Mother Teresa, 1979 Nobel Peace Prize Recipient
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BMI for kids: helpful info and tips for parents and families
Body mass index, or BMI, is a way of describing height and weight in one number that can help tell if someone's weight is healthy.
BMI estimates how much body fat a person has based on height and weight for adults, but for kids, age and gender factor into the equation because kids' body fat percentages change as they grow. The CDC recommends BMI screenings for all kids ages 2 and older so pediatricians and parents can know how a child's BMI compares to other children of the same age and gender.
To calculate the BMI percentile -- which is also called "BMI for age" -- a health care provider or an online tool like
WebMD's FIT Kids BMI Calculator
takes a kid's BMI (along with age and gender) and looks it up on a pediatric growth curve. This gives the child's BMI percentile.
A child's BMI is important, but it is only a piece of the picture. If a BMI percentile indicates that a child is not within the healthy range, she needs a complete weight and lifestyle evaluation with a pediatrician. In some cases, a child's BMI might be misleading. For example, athletic kids, in particular, may fall into the overweight category when they are actually muscular.
If a family member is overweight or obese, it's never too late to get more active and eat healthier as a family. Every family member needs five servings of vegetables and fruits and even if kids don't eat them, keep serving them anyway. When children see a food over and over, they are more likely to try it eventually. Try serving a fruit or vegetable with every snack and meal and push yourself and your family to get 1 hour of physical activity daily. Start small and keep adding if necessary. It's possible to reverse the effects of poor nutrition. It's never too late to provide good nutrients and it's never too early start. For more info on BMI for kids, click here.
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To healthcare facilities, 'Refuse participation in Physician Assisted Suicide'
Legalized assisted suicide goes into effect in California on June 9, so time is of the essence. We need better and more accessible palliative care, high-quality mental health services, and stronger social safety nets that help people who are in crisis. Every dying patient should receive care that facilitates the highest level of comfort and dignity. This is how suffering is most compassionately addressed. Physician assisted suicide is not the solution. If you agree, click here to say NO to assisted suicide.
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Thank you to Dr. Patty June for edits to the newsletter.
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*
Patient Handout Reminder
*
The Member Hub, the members' section of the website, includes patient handouts shared by other ACPeds practitioners, some of which may be helpful to your own patients and practice. Contact the office to get the username and password for access to the
Member Hub.
In addition, ACPeds offers a variety of patient handouts available for download free of charge in the
Health Professionals section of the ACPeds website. If
you have a display unit for handouts in your office, these statements are also available in a Title on Top (version). Contact the office to have a Title on Top version sent to you. Both are available on the "
Handouts
" page.
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The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons Welcomes Submissions
The Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons is the official peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS). Dr. Jane Orient, Executive Director of the AAPS, is pleased to consider original papers, commentaries and book reviews by members of the College. For manuscript requirements and author instructions, visit
http://jpands.org/.
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Stay Connected
If you like what you see in the newsletter, please visit our social media pages. ACPeds likes to encourage its members to get to know one another and to stay connected. Like ACPeds on Facebook and follow on Twitter to interact with members and to stay up to date with the College's latest news. Every week the College publishes a new blog on its website and a link to the blog is posted on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
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