DATE: Monday, November 17, 1997             TAG: 9711170081

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY DIANE TENNANT, STAFF WRITER 

                                            LENGTH:  126 lines

STUDY: KIDS IN MILITARY FAMILIES NEED LESS TV AND MORE SHOTS

Military children are missing out on childhood vaccinations but not on time in front of the television. That finding may lead to more parent-education programs as the armed forces become more family-friendly.

Research conducted for the Department of Defense by the Military Family Institute of Marywood University found that children in military families are eating reasonably healthy diets, but 17 percent are overweight and 12 percent are underweight.

And, as in the civilian world, the children of lower-income, less-educated parents are most at risk of having poor diets, watching too much television and missing childhood vaccinations.

``Children of enlisted personnel are, as a group, more at risk. And, even more specifically, children of junior enlisted personnel are most at risk,'' said Dr. Alan Levine, head researcher. ``Children who are eligible for Sure Start or Head Start (federal programs for low-income preschoolers) but were not enrolled - these are the vulnerable kids, by all means.''

The study began in 1996, shortly after an English pediatrician discovered higher-than-expected cholesterol levels in children on a military base.

``The question came up: `Is there something going on here in the military which is potentially injurious to the health of children?' '' Levine explained. ``No one had really collected any base-line data on the health and nutrition of young children, so we proposed this study to help answer the question.''

In the study, funded by the Air Force, researchers at the Scranton, Pa., university sent surveys to 10,691 military parents with children ages 3 to 5. About 4,500 surveys were returned.

``What surfaced is that, on the most part, military kids are doing pretty well,'' Levine said. ``They're pretty much on par, or even a bit better off than comparable civilian populations. The one area that does require, if not some intervention, at least some thought, is that a number of the children were low in the immunization guidelines.''

Military children miss their vaccinations in part because their parents are transferred so often. Also, shot records may be incomplete or left behind.

Twenty-nine percent of junior enlisted personnel in all branches of the service did not have copies of their children's shot records, the study found.

Nearly all the children had received vaccinations against measles, mumps and rubella. But as the children grew older, immunizations declined. Thirty percent lacked vaccinations against polio, 25 percent on diphtheria/tetanus/pertussis, 59 percent on hepatitis B and 43 percent on H. influenza b (Hib).

National goals are to provide 90 percent of American children with one dose of MMR and three doses of DTP, Hib and polio vaccines; 70 percent would receive at least three doses of Hepfell H. B vaccine. ``The general population is not meeting those guidelines, either, but military kids are a little lower,'' Levine said.

Linda Smith, director of the Department of Defense's Office of Family Policy, said the big question is why. ``When things like immunizations are free through the military medical system, we need to take a look at why it's not happening,'' she said.

The Office of Family Policy has convened a group of representatives from military child care centers, family service centers, chaplains and others to look at existing parent-education programs. The group will examine the study with an eye toward possibly increasing parent-education programs in areas such as nutrition and health.

``I think the things in the study that have some implications for us are immunizations and the amount of TV watching,'' Smith said. ``We think those indicate a need to make our parents more aware.''

The study found that 55 percent of military children watch three or more hours of television every day, and 56 percent watch at least that much on weekends. Those numbers are ``appreciably greater'' than the 43 percent of civilian children who watch that much television, the study said.

Watching that much television could mean not only lack of mental exercise, but lack of physical exercise as well. However, 3- to 5-year-olds tend toward active play without encouragement, Levine said.

``They just go out and they run,'' he said.

Children in Army families tended to watch slightly more television than those in other services. But Air Force and Navy fathers tended to exercise the least, setting less of a physically active role model for their children, the study said. One-fourth of mothers reported that they never exercised.

``The modeling behavior of mothers in military families does not bode well for future physical activity and fitness in their children (especially their daughters),'' the report said.

Seventeen percent of children were obese, and 12 percent were below the national weight/height marker for malnutrition. Among Navy families, 19 percent of children were overweight.

More than 20 percent of military parents were overweight, although that is less than a comparable civilian sample.

``The higher-than-expected prevalence of underweight and overweight children should be further investigated by medical personnel at a well-child check-up,'' the study said.

Military children were exactly like their civilian counterparts in food preference, rejecting beans, vegetables, yogurt and fish.

Army families were least likely to report behaviors supporting a healthier diet, such as removing skin from chicken or using extra-lean hamburger and 1 percent or skim milk. Army families also were more likely to serve breakfast meats, which could, if eaten routinely, raise fat and cholesterol levels.

Although the majority of families reported basically healthy eating habits, fast food was eaten more when the service member was absent. Air Force families (37 percent) and families of officers (41 percent) were more likely to do this.

Levine said he hopes the study will be used to support family service programs that are working and to ``tweak'' others.

One such idea would have junior enlisted personnel living overseas receive WIC (Special Supplemental Program for Women, Infants and Children), which would provide vouchers for highly nutritious foods, Levine suggested. Overseas personnel now do not receive WIC benefits.

Stress also figured into the study, with Navy families reporting most often that the military hinders their ability to eat meals together or do family activities together. But 47 percent of Navy families said that being part of a military family bolsters their sense of independence.

Across all services, 18 percent of families said they had not yet adjusted to being part of the military.

``The study is being looked at and reviewed,'' Smith said. ``We are paying attention and we do plan to use the information to help people raise their awareness levels.'' ILLUSTRATION: Color drawing

Findings of Study

For complete copy, see microfilm

Graphic by Janet Shaughnessy/The Virginian-Pilot

Military Children: Missing Out

For complete copy, see microfilm KEYWORDS: STUDY MILITARY FAMILIES HEALTH SURVEY

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE

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