SPEAKERS- WMC -2022

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Shagun Bindlish, MD FACP & Gina Silva, LCSW 

Childhood obesity is a rapidly rising public health concern globally. As per WHO,(1) overweight
and Obesity among children and adolescents aged 5-19 has increased dramatically from 4% in
1975 to just over 18% in 2016. The rise has occurred similarly among boys and girls: in 2016,
18% of girls and 19% of boys were overweight. Living with Obesity during adolescence leads to
weight stigma and bias, impacting children's mental and emotional well-being. Therefore,
educating and addressing this issue at an early age is imperative. This abstract discusses the
most effective behavioral interventions for treating Obesity in children and adolescents. Healthy
eating and physical activity should be encouraged during childhood and puberty to ensure
adequate growth and development. We can achieve this by reducing excessive fat mass
accumulation, avoiding loss of lean body mass, improving well-being and self-esteem, and
preventing cyclical weight regain.  

 The COVID-19 pandemic has unfolded the chapter of our nation's health and healthcare
systems. Consumer of every age has been impacted by habits that have changed significantly
throughout the pandemic, and we can see the health implications. As a healthcare provider, it is
necessary to focus on how we should be educating children and parents about overall dietary
patterns, intake of specific foods and nutrients, and the connection between personal and
planetary health.  

In our presentation, we will discuss the holistic overview of treating childhood obesity that
involves behavior modifications, family support, and lifestyle changes. The cornerstone of
weight loss programs is positively achieving a negative energy balance. There is evidence that
nutritional interventions are more effective in achieving weight loss when combined with other
action plans, such as increasing physical activity levels by involving in sports or music and
psychological interventions to promote behavioral changes. In a nutshell, Childhood obesity
treatments should involve a combination of lifestyle changes. The strategies we will discuss are
reducing energy intake, reducing sedentary activities, facilitating family involvement, and
changing behaviors associated with physical, emotional, and mental health.  

1)https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/obesity-and-overweight 

Profesor Samuel Quinto,FRSA

Author, Pianist and Educator

Full Professor, University Anhembi Morumbi

The teaching of art will constitute a mandatory curricular component, at the different levels of basic education, in order to promote the cultural development of students” (BRASIL, 1996); however, in 2010, this section received a new wording completed by Law nº 12,287: “The teaching of art, especially in its regional expressions, will constitute a mandatory curricular component in the different levels of basic education, in order to promote the cultural development of students” (BRASIL, 2010).

Riddhi Doshi Patel

Child Psychologist / Parenting Counselor

Rhhyns Academy Pvt Ltd

Siddhi, a 10-year-old who weighed more than the others of her age. She struggled with
making friends in school as everyone avoided her. She couldn’t get into any sports teams or
engage in other activities. There were days when she couldn’t stop eating sweets and other
fatty foods and days when she didn’t take a bite of anything out of guilt, shame and worry.
She was borderline diabetic at such a young age and was going down a mental health turmoil.
We often see such children around us in society but brush it off by calling them names like
‘moti’ (fat), ‘gumball’ or ‘potato’. It is time we realize what all this is really about.

What is Childhood Obesity?
It is a condition in which a child is significantly overweight for his or her age and height.
There may be no symptoms other than a weight that's above average. Although it can be
caused by several reasons, the main ones boil down to issues in lifestyle — too little activity
and too many calories from food and drinks. Genetic and hormonal factors might play a role
as well.  
Childhood obesity can have innumerous implications not only on one aspect of life, but on
life as a whole - for years on end.

More famously known, several Physical Implications that it may cause include:
1.Type 2 Diabetes - Your child may experience weakness, blurred vision, need to
urinate frequently, irritability or constant mood changes and excess thirst. Beware that
although girls are more prone to getting this, boys are susceptible too.
2.High cholesterol - It is caused by an unhealthy diet especially one lined with fatty
foods and oily substances. All the junk food that they have outside might taste good
but affects the child’s body in more ways than one and worse than one can imagine.
There are no such symptoms for high cholesterol hence it is advisable to have your
child’s cholesterol checked if they fall under the overweight category.
3.High blood pressure - Overweight children are prone to hypertension. This may lead
to having other organs of the body function with less efficiency and deteriorate
quickly over time.
4.Joint pain - The stress of too much weight, too early in life, can lead to early onset
 

arthritis. Extra weight places more pressure on the cartilage, which provides a cushion
in the joints as bones move against each other. More weight leads to more cartilage
wear and damage as the body works to absorb the stress of movement. The child may
have exponentially increasing pain over the growing years.
5.Breathing problems - Extra fat on your child’s  neck, chest, or across your abdomen
can make it difficult to breathe deeply and may produce hormones that affect his/her
body's breathing patterns. Your child may also have a problem with the way his/her
brain controls breathing.
6.Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease - It is caused when too much fat builds up in the liver
mainly because of poor eating habits and lack of physical activity. Research suggests  
fatty liver disease seems to develop in more boys than girls and can develop in
children as young as 10 and even younger. It may lead to inflammation and cell
damage as well as other digestive system problems.
7.Coronary heart disease - Adding onto the lines of cholesterol and fats in almost every
vein in and around the heart, heart disease comes as a given and end result if the
damage is not reversed before time.
It is essential we realize what giving an extra treat to our child as an award might result in.

Appearance is one thing most of us judge the others by at first sight. Social psychology
suggests that to feel like a ‘part’ of a group, or to feel important, noticed and validated we
tend to be around people who would make us look good and in all terms, avoid the ones who
wouldn’t. Children suffering from childhood obesity are more often than not looked down
upon or left to stand/sit alone in classrooms, play areas, societies or festivals even. To
summarize and explain it better, here’s a list of some Social Implications that they face almost
on a daily basis:
1.Bullying, being cornered or being avoided - We as adults often fail to realize when we
are making someone feel like they are not a part of our groups or don’t belong
somewhere they actually might. Imagine young children who don’t even understand
these concepts yet face this almost regularly. The same names which family members
and relatives called them with big smiles and while pulling cheeks are now the names
they are being called, rather catcalled by their friends or classmates. ‘Ay motu!’ or
‘Ay golu molu’ are just some examples. It might seem like a joke to most at the start

but the child hearing all this takes upon the tags he/she hears and so often,
subconsciously associates self with the given tags - ‘fat’, ‘circle’, ‘football’, ‘some
animal name’ and so on. This makes the child more prone to rather keeping quiet and
choosing corners to sit or stand alone in, in all social situations. You might find your
child, say at a wedding reception, standing aloof or chugging down his feelings with
soda, ice cream or cake. He/she may be known more by the fat tag given to him/her
than his/her own name - which ideally is his/her identity and the most important and
unique one.
2.Less/no close relationships outside of family - This is another given. When the child
starts to be aloof or apart, only finding comfort in food as an irony, he/she fails to
form any kind of human connection outside of the people at home. He/she may sit
alone in the school bus/van, sit alone in classes and may defer from participating at all
in group play or activities.
3.Low confidence - He/she would not speak up. Research has found how when one is
happy about how they look/dress, they feel more confident. This is not just true for
adults but also children when the child has been made realize or pointed out for his
appearance more than that’s required. The child may not indulge in any talk, even
casual or in the case of encountering one, the child may run away or find ways to
subtly head out of the conversation.  
4.Body shaming - Another cause of the child’s aloofness in social situations might be
how the first thing that most would notice or bring up about him/her is his/her body.
Comments like ‘You’ve gained more weight I see’ or ‘You seem to enjoy a lot of
chocolates and candies’ might be perceived as harmless or okay with elders in our
society but it is not. It is almost equivalent to shaming the child to the core where
he/she may never look at self in a better light and start hating his/her body completely.
5.Social withdrawal - As an end result, the child would avoid all social events and
might throw tantrums if forced to go to one with parents or family. The child may sit
and spend most of his/her time alone and possibly feel anxious or panic if ever faced
with a crowd of even two-three people outside of the members living under the same
roof.

All of this might target the child’s self-image and mental health which is equally damaging.

1.Low self-esteem and confidence - The child may defer from looking at self as a no-
one and become a pushover for everyone around.
2.Anxiety - Building up from facing other people who might not necessarily fall into the
same appearance category or being around someone who has bullied them in the past.
3.Depression - As a result of social withdrawal, anxiety and low self-esteem, childhood
depression may be detrimental for the child’s mental health, pushing him/her into an
emotional turmoil at a very young age.
4.Self-loathing - The child may hate himself/herself for eating too much or looking like
they do and hence engage in even more dangerous acts of unhealthy coping strategies
like ‘eating their feelings’ or having bouts of crying/anger. Self-hate may become an
everyday concept for them.
5.Suicidality in extreme cases - The child may consider harming self - cutting, starving
or other.
6.Loneliness - The child may not be able to come up and talk about their side, ever or
ask for help even from close family members.

What can WE do?
1.Have healthy snacks available at all times for the child. It is a psychological fact that
what we see more often, becomes what we crave. The knowledge that healthy food is
available gives the child no excuse to not eat healthy.
2.Be there to support - Listen to your child. Sit with him/her and talk about emotions
and feelings and use the phrases ‘I understand’ and ‘I’m there with you’ for the child
to open up about events that might be happening when you’re not around that are
causing the child to feel so low.
3.Choose nonfood rewards i.e. don’t offer/bribe them into doing something for candy or
chocolate. What you can rather do is, introduce healthier snacking items as to put the
child in the habit of, for instance, an apple or some nuts, when he/she is hungry.
4.Involve them in outdoor or active indoor sports - cycling, swimming, yoga,
gymnastics or so. Go with them or enroll them in classes. You can always play a quick
game of cricket or football with your child on weekends.
5.Encourage good sleeping habits and eating at the same time everyday.
6.Set a good example in the family by eating healthy and exercising regularly. What the
 child sees is what he/she does. Be a role model for your child and educate them on
how a healthy lifestyle goes a long way and that taking care of one’s physical health
ensures better mental health and vice versa. 

ProfesorCahralampos Makris

Wind Band and Choral Conductor

Composer - Arranger

Conductor - Director of Studies

Palli Philharmonic School of Musi,Cephalonia, Greece

Nowadays hardly anyone disputes on the necessity of music education in the school
curriculum as well as the developing children and adolescents. A series of academic
research both on the field of music and pedagogical science as well as the field of
paediatric science and psychology that deals with the development of children and
adolescents all agree that music enhances not only aural skills but also develops
almost all abilities related to the learning process and the smooth integration of
students in group activities and more complex forms of thinking. The ability to
concentrate on sound, the development of micro-control and the combination of
breath and movement are just a few of the skills developed by a student who attends
a full music curriculum alongside school schedule.
Many countries around the world nowadays imitate the American school
band curriculums by recruiting youth bands and other ensembles thus encouraging
even early elementary grade students to immerse themselves in music education
through playing a wind instrument and performing in school bands. Although
modern curriculums are specifically qualified to respond to every age level and both
the needs of group practice and individual development, musical training in the wind
bands was common lieu in the Ionian Islands by the mid nineteenth century. The
foundation of the first Music Societies in Kefalonia and in Corfu who provided free
music education and their students and according to the standards of the French
conservatories recruited civil bands, orchestras, and choirs to promote highly artistic
music to all social groups and classes.
Unfortunately, nowadays in many Greek cities only students at Music High
Schools have free access to wind musical instruments and participate a full musical
curriculum that includes performing in student ensembles and youth bands.
Therefore, all students start music education at private music schools such as
Conservatories and Philharmonic Schools and Societies. Music Societies of the Ionian
Islands still protect a long tradition of free access to primary music education,
encouraging young students to perform in youth and civil bands.
This paper aims to share my experience as conductor and educator in wind
bands for more than twenty years, regarding wind band’s potential to initiate young
students in music. Examining musical skills of  students who started learning music
in bands, scholars may discover an augmented sense of teamwork as well as a
sharing consciousness as teamwork may provide sufficient results regardless each
one’s ability. As band’s potential is stronger than individual ability, students can reach
to a sense of deep understanding of the music as during rehearsals band members
can reach to a holistic approach of the repertoire while conductor rehearse individual
sections of the band.      

Nowadays’ social circumstances and lifestyle, the digital transformation of
music education as well as the equal presence of minorities are shaping a new
educational framework. As there is no restriction in recruiting, wind band may
become a field of multicultural music experience and respect. Students and
musicians pay respect to the music regardless its nationality and cultural background.
And this ends up as an interesting multicultural phenomenon during a December
concert a band may perform Christmas carols as well as Hanukah songs and other
extra religious repertoire that fits the general feeling of equal understanding and
friendship.
Finally, band students may participate in many cultural and music events that
encourage a healthy lifestyle. Performing in marching bands may include
musicianship and body shape and wellness. There is no doubt that respiration and
moving control are enhanced while performing a wind instrument as well as nutrition
habits that helps a healthy body and mind to achieve excellence in wind band
performing.