Childhood Obesity on the Rise

 

The number of young children at risk of being overweight is on the rise. Overweight children have an increased risk of becoming overweight adults and the short- and long-term health problems associated have tremendous consequences. Obese children are at greater risk for all of the following conditions: sleep problems (including sleep apnea, which can interfere with learning), a "bowing" of the lower legs, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, adult heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, earlier puberty, depression, social isolation, eating disorders, and more.

 

Statistics Show

The government's National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys shows the proportion of overweight children tripled in the United States since 1971, going from about five percent to 15 percent. Another 15 percent of our children are considered "at risk for overweight," based on a calculation of their body mass index. BMI is considered a valid measure of adiposity, or body fat, in children older than two years. A child's BMI varies over the growing years; at certain times children are naturally leaner, at others, heavier. BMI curves have been created to take these changes into account. A child who has a BMI greater than 85 percent of his same-aged peers is considered "at risk for overweight." And a BMI of greater than 95 percent qualifies as overweight. (For adults, a BMI of over 30 defines obesity.)

 

So, why is this happening? Is it genetic? Behavioral or environmental? Or is the cause some complicated combination of all three?

 

Genetics

Genes probably do play some role in childhood obesity. A parent's obesity doubles the risk that his/her child under the age of 10 will be obese as an adult, regardless of whether that child is overweight at the time. Although birth weight doesn't correlate with adult weight, obese three-year-olds already have a greater risk of adult obesity.

 

Eating Habits

Our eating habits and lifestyles have affected this trend. Children are less active than they were 30 years ago. They are more likely to be driven to school rather than walk. Physical education classes have suffered under school budget cuts and been eliminated completely in some schools. Children as old as five are being wheeled around the mall in strollers when they should be walking.

 

Television, video games, and computers now occupy much more of children's waking hours than they should, which means less time to run around. Children are allowed to eat in front of the TV, which makes it easy to eat hundreds of extra calories (adults need to set the correct example for the kids). Most children's TV programs are crammed with high-intensity commercials, promoting the consumption of high-fat snacks and sugar-laden cereals. For the 12- to 17-year age group, every extra hour per day of TV viewing means an added two-percent risk of obesity.

 

American eating habits have changed in the past 30 years as well. The number of meals eaten outside the home has increased dramatically as has the consumption of fast food. Restaurant portions are, in general, bigger and more caloric than those at home. Children who eat at home with their families eat more fresh fruit and vegetables. Fifty years ago, a child drank one glass of soda for every three glasses of milk. The ratio is now three glasses of soda for every one of milk. And, very telling to me, the most widely consumed vegetable is the potato, after it has been processed, cooked in fat or oil, and turned into French fries.

 

How to Stop the Trend and What Can We Do Now!

The subset of children who are extremely overweight is best cared for in a weight management program where nutritionists, psychologists, and medical doctors team up to promote safe weight loss. For most other children, the guiding principle is weight maintenance. If a child can keep his weight the same, gaining height lets him "grow into his weight." Of course, as any adult who has struggled to shed pounds can attest, the best scenario is never to gain the extra weight in the first place.

 

Changing kids' lifestyles will require that their families need to be willing to make changes too. Small, gradual steps that make sense to the family are more effective than sudden, large changes, and children should be praised liberally for the successes they achieve. The mindset should be one of working towards a lasting, healthier lifestyle rather than a quick fix.

 

Important points for helping your children maintain a healthy weight:

 

- Infants should be fed when hungry, but food should not be a substitute for affection, attention, or soothing body-to-body contact.

 

- Keep portions for toddlers realistic. A good rule of thumb is to serve one tablespoon per year of life per food group per serving (for example: a three-year-old should be served three tablespoons of peas).

 

- Parents should decide when to serve food and what to serve, but children should be allowed to decide how much to eat.

 

- Children shouldn't be forced to clean a plate or bribed with dessert (but, if hungry a few hours later, leftovers can make a good snack).

 

- Do not indulge the picky eater; again, the adult should decide what to serve. Offer children choices, but only from healthy options.

 

- Junk food should come into the pantry in very small quantities, if at all. The adult who goes grocery shopping should keep the selections healthy.

 

- Soda has no place in a child's regular diet, but should be considered an infrequent treat. Families should make as big an effort as possible to eat together at regular times. If a small child can walk the distance, he should.

 

- Build frequent, short bursts of activity into a young child's day. This is what they will do naturally anyway.

 

- Exercise as a family, with bikes, walks, swims. Even raking leaves can turn into a good workout. Limit TV and computer time. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends no TV for children under two and two hours of screen time a day for older children.

 

- TV doesn't belong in a child's bedroom.

 

- Limit eating to the table or the kitchen.

 

- Young children need to eat five to six times per day, but a snack should be a healthy food.

 

- Parents need to be good role models for eating.

 

Whole communities need to become active in making some important social changes. Schools need to be encouraged to keep their lunch menus healthy. Physical education should be seen as an essential part of the school curriculum. Food manufacturers will continue to promote junk food only as long as it makes them a profit—buy less of it. For the good of all our children, change has to be made at the community level as well as inside our own families.

 

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