Childhood Obesity - The current Pandemic
by Julia Bell

Childhood obesity has become the greatest youth related health issue this century. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) statistics, the collective rate of childhood obesity among kids aged 2-19 years increased from 5.5 percent in 1980 to 15.6 percent in 2006. An growth of almost 300 percent!

It's worrisome to consider that if current circumstances don't change then the existing rate of obesity related disease (i.e. heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure etc) will only worsen for the next generation.

Those aged over 30 years in all probability had a relatively healthy diet and lifestyle as a kid. Eating meat and three vegetables for dinner, go-carting around the neighborhood, playing in the playground, chasing one another up and down the street, running riot in the back yard etc. Regrettably, for many modern day kids the same is no longer true. The contemporary concept of meat and three vegetables is more likely to be a deep fried spring roll, it's got meat, cabbage, carrots and peas. What's more, kids love it! Sadly, many kids are so conditioned to junk food that they won't eat nutritious food any more.

It is regrettable that technological advancements intended to make life easier have had the opposite result, making life harder, more fast paced. Presumably because we work harder to afford those technologies. This means that many families require two incomes to live on and there is no-one home to prepare nourishing meals. It's all too appealing to arrive home from work, worn out as usual, and chuck on a few fish fingers and oven baked fries for the children's dinner. Moreover, if children eat school cafeteria meals then these meals also offer very debatable nutritional merit.

When you bring together the attraction of processed foods with high fat and sugar content, the security concerns of outside play, the attractiveness of personal computers and gaming consoles that entail little or no physical action, it's not surprising that childhood obesity has become such an issue!

Not only are overweight and obese children in danger of significant health issues, they also face immense societal and psychological consequences, together with low self-esteem. Overweight kids face greater risks of psychological illness including eating disorders in adolescence and adulthood. We all know how brutal kids can be and fat kids repeatedly experience rejection from peers who refuse to play with the 'fat kid'. Combine this with weight related teasing and the harmful self impression that overweight and obese children endure and you have a dangerous mix of negatives contributing to a diminishing self-esteem.

This attack on a child's self esteem leads to many health and psychological issues. Low self esteem effects social growth, willingness to engage in activities, makes them feel incapable of reaching goals and causes immense anxiety. There are also the issues of depression, eating disorders and suicide.

Sadly, we can't just put our child on a strict low fat diet to make them lose weight.

This was explained to me in 1997 when I was put on a low fat diet after being diagnosed with high cholesterol and informed that it was hereditary. I asked the doctor whether I should have my kids tested. At the time they were aged eight and five years old. I was told that I should have them examined when they turned 18 because it was unadvisable to put children on strict low fat diets because kids need extra fat for physical development. This doesn't mean that we can't moderate their fat intake, just that care should be exercised to make sure their dietary requisites are met.

This issue is further muddied by the fact that obesity in kids is more difficult to diagnose than it is in adults.

In adults, the most common way to determine overweight is via BMI (Body Mass Index) calculation. A BMI of under 18 is considered underweight, 18-25 is considered a healthy weight range, 25-30 is considered overweight, 30-40 is obese and 40+ is morbidly obese.

However, while BMI for kids is calculated the same way as it is for adults, the results are interpreted another way as kids are still developing. In kids they use a calculation known as 'BMI for Age' which compares the BMI of an individual to their peers of the same age (and sex) and displays it as a percentile. The lowest 5 percent is underweight, 5-85 percent is a beneficial weight range, 85-95 percent is overweight and 95 percent+ is obese. A four year old boy with a BMI of 18 is considered obese where a four year old girl is only overweight (though borderline obese).

If you consider your child is overweight, it is recommended that you talk to your family physician for counsel.

Helpful Links:

Childhood overweight and obesity About BMI for Children and Teens

Julia Bell is a mother of three and recognizes the trial for parents in present, high paced society to encourage a healthy balance between family nutrition and excercise. Julia and her friend Cheryl Wright (Mother of two and Grandmother of six) also maintain a kids weight loss blog. Julia Bell may be contacted at http://www.free-electronics-source.com