5 Kids: move lots, eat well, no pills Latest guidance on child weight loss may mean a social shift in parenting expectations By DUSTIN GODFREY n light of new guidelines for doctors in dealing with childhood obesity, some parents are uneasy about what they feel is a shift in parenting to further dependence on government and doctors. Published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal on Monday, the guidelines suggest family doctors weigh and measure the height of chil- dren each visit. They also recommend against prescribing weight loss pills or surgeries to children in favour of inter- vention programs such as Mind, Exer- cise, Nutrition, Do it! (MEND)-a healthy lifestyle program that was started in the U.K. and is now offered throughout B.C. Langara College chemistry instruc- tor and parent, Kelly Sveinson, won- ders about relying on doctors for is- sues such as healthy eating. “For something as fundamental as ... healthy food for kids, now we rely on doctors,” Sveinson said. “Should the emphasis be on,‘somebody in the sys- tem should tell me how, and if they don’t, it’s the systems fault?” However, given that such an inter- vention program may become needed, Sveinson did indicate some support for them. “The goal of this is to have healthy kids with healthy habits that become healthy adults that have healthy kids, themselves,” he said. In that case, chair of the board of di- rectors for the Childhood Obesity Foundation, Tom Warshawski endors- es the MEND program. The program is offered for free, and works with chil- dren and families to promote healthier lifestyles. “TIt] has been proven effective, and in our evaluation of it here in the prov- ince, we’ve ruled it also proven effica- cy,” Warshawski said. “So it’s a great program, and we hope to scale it up.” He also noted that while weight loss pills were available for doctors to pre- scribe, the new recommendations wouldn’t spark a major shift, because of the pills’ lack of effectiveness. “There’s only been one drug that was well studied, that’s Orlistat,” War- shawski said, noting its only major side effects were diarrhea and bloating. “But it just wasn’t all that effective.” Children's Hospital - Main Entrance Entrance 11 - 47, 102 Women's Hospital a DUSTIN GODFREY photo Mother and child outside B.C. Children’s Hospital. Lauign at fitst sight Recent research shows that laughter may not only be the best medicine, but also the best icebreaker By KELVIN GAWLEY lentine’s Day came and went al- Yor two months ago but today’s holiday, April Fools’ Day—a holi- day centred on laughter rather than romance—may actually be a_ better catalyst for new relationships. A study, recently published in the science journal, Human Nature, sug- gests that laughter is an effective tool in breaking down barriers between newly acquainted people. Participants were shown one of three different vid- eos: a stand-up comedy routine, a na- ture program and an instructional golf video. Afterwards, they were asked to write a message to another participant with information to help them to get to know each other. Results showed that the more they laughed, the more they shared personal details with strangers. Jeffrey Webster, a psychology in- structor at Langara College, said that although he has yet to read it, the study seems to be demonstrative of a self-en- hancing type of humour. “When people are made to feel hap- py, it allows them to speak with more confidence about their competencies they’re willing to share those sorts of traits and abilities with other people,” he said. “In more of a socially bonding way as opposed to a bragging way.” Two second-year fine arts students at Langara, Tiffany Royrock and Aman Aheer, said their friendship began thanks to a humorous moment when they were waiting in line at Tim Hor- bn | tons. Royrock said she made a sexually euphemistic joke about a lemon poppy seed muffin to her friend, which Aheer overheard. He laughed out loud and they began their first conversation as a result. “We've been best friends ever since,” Royrock said. Their relationship “is based on something humorous,” Aheer said, laughing. “[It’s] just a big joke.” Alan Gray of University College Lon- don, who led the study Laughter’s In- fluence on the Intimacy of Self-Disclo- sure, is quoted in a Springer press release as saying the study shows the positive connection between humour and good relationship development. “These results suggest that laughter should be a serious topic for those in- terested in the development of social relationships.” Aman Ahee (left) and Tiffa ny Royrock ar close friend thatmet th rales Gap moment in lin ol’s Tim Hortons.. KELVIN GAWLEY photo 66 When people are made to feel happy, it allows them to speak with more con- fidence about their competen- cies JEFFREY WEBSTER LANGARA PSYCH INSTRUCTOR Breaking McD-fast The American fastfood chain of golden arches has no plans to test an all-day breakfast menu in Canada By TANYA COMMISSO ald’s Canada to follow San Diego’s lead in offering all-day breakfast options shouldn’t be expecting a change anytime soon. Despite plans to pilot all-day break- fast at select San Diego locations this month, McDonald’s Canada has no cur- rent plans to extend the option to Cana- dian restaurants, according to spokes- person John Gibson. “McDonald’s Canada makes menu decisions independent of the U.S. busi- ness,” Gibson wrote in an email state- ment. “However, we will always evalu- ate our offerings to meet the needs and wants of our customers, and look for- ward to the learnings from this U.S. market test.” Customers at McDonald’s Royal Cen- tre location in Vancouver said they support extended breakfast hours. “Tt’s just more flexible for people, es- pecially those people who work shift work,” said Vancouver resident Darka Morin. A traveller from Halifax, N.S. said Halifax residents have an easier time finding all-day breakfast options, citing restaurant chain Smitty’s and Free- man’s Little New York as quick options. Still, McDonald’s across the country have yet to follow suit. “Even if [McDonald’s] extended their hours to noon, that’d be an improve- ment — I know I hardly get up before [10:30 a.m.] most days,” said traveller Robyn Cadwell. In March, The Associated Press re- ported that McDonald’s experienced a global decline in sales, with a 4 per cent drop in the U.S. McDonald’s customer Darius Prince recognized a menu change would have to be considered carefully by the com- pany, as it would inevitably affect sales. “T think it’d do really well [in Cana- da], but it’s tough on their end, because they have to figure out how it’d effect their other menu options,” he said. McDonald’s Canada’s official twitter replied today to several enthusiastic Canadians asking whether all-day breakfast will come into affect follow- ing news of San Diego, stating, “not at this time but its something we could look forward to in the future.” Upisscona hoping for McDon-