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Childhood Obesity- An Epidemic
Childhood Obesity- An Epidemic
By Roxanna Martinez, MD
In certain cultures, a growing child with extra pounds meant having a child who is extra healthy and food was synonymous with love. Unfortunately, in our modern world, these beliefs have sometimes impacted our children in a negative way. The incidence of childhood obesity is rapidly rising throughout the world. The obesity epidemic is especially evident in industrialized nations, such as the United States, where many people live sedentary lives and eat more convenience foods, which are typically high in calories and low in nutritional value. In just two decades, the prevalence of overweight children doubled for U.S. children ages 6 to 11 — and tripled for American teenagers. The annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about one-third of U.S. children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight. In total, about 25 million U.S. children and adolescents are overweight or nearly overweight.
Why is obesity an issue?
Childhood obesity is particularly troubling because the extra pounds often start kids on the path to health problems that were once confined to adults, such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. These diseases can be associated with severe morbidity issues, such as amputations, kidney disease, blindness, heart disease, fatty liver, sleep disorders, joint/hip arthritis, and possibly stroke. Because of these issues it has been suspected that our children will have a shorter life span than their preceding parents or even their grandparents.
How do you know if your child’s weight gain is normal and when it’s leading to childhood obesity?
Your doctor can determine your child’s risk for being overweight or obese by evaluating your eating habits and activity level. When your child is seen at their doctor’s office, their height and weight is measured and plotted on a standard growth chart for either boys or girls. Subsequently, the height and weight measurements are used to calculate their Body Mass Index (BMI).
What is a BMI?
BMI is a reliable indicator of body fatness for most children and teens. BMI does not measure body fat directly, but research has shown that BMI correlates to direct measures of body fat, such as underwater weighing and dual energy x-ray absorptiometry (DXA). BMI can be considered an alternative for direct measures of body fat. Additionally, BMI is an inexpensive and easy-to-perform method of screening for weight categories that may lead to health problems. For children and teens, BMI is age- and sex-specific and is often referred to as BMI-for-age. For children, ages 2 to 19 years of age, BMI >85% is considered being at risk for obesity and BMI >95% is considered obese. What can I do to keep my child from being overweight?
Weight problems can be very hard to fix, so it’s important to prevent the problem from happening in the first place. Here are some tips to help you keep your child at a healthy weight:
- Do try to choose breastfeeding versus formula feeding when establishing your baby’s form of nutrition. Breastfeeding is associated with a reduced risk of being overweight in children.
- Don’t make your child eat when he or she isn’t hungry--it’s OK if not every drink or every meal gets finished, but Do encourage starting their day right by eating a healthy breakfast.
- Limit portion sizes that are age appropriate not adult appropriate.
- Don’t use food to comfort or to reward.
- Don’t offer dessert as a reward for finishing a meal. Doing this teaches your child to value sweets more than other foods.
- Offer your child a healthy diet. No more than 30% of all the calories your child eats should be fat calories. Ask your doctor or a dietitian to teach you about the right kinds of food to feed your child. Your child needs to get lots of fiber from fruits, vegetables and grains.
- Don’t eat at fast-food restaurants more than once a week.
- Limit how much TV your child watches. Recommended maximum screen time is no more than 2 hours per day.
- Definitely keep the TV out of the kids’ bedroom. Instead try to get your child to do something active, like riding a bicycle or playing ball at least 60 minutes each day.
- Spend time being active with your child--go on family walks and play outdoor games together whenever you can.
- Eat meals together with your child, make mealtimes a family event.
- Teach your child good eating and exercise habits now to help him or her have a healthy life.
Finally, if you think your child is experiencing any of these issues talk to your child’s doctor. Some patients may require further testing to look for complications associated with being overweight.
Roxanna A. Martinez, MD
Dr Roxanna Martinez is a board certified Pediatrician. She is the Medical Director at St. Rose Hospital’s Silva Pediatric Clinic and is an Attending Physician at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland.
We welcome your questions!
Physicians on staff at St. Rose Hospital are interested in responding to your questions about health care and related topics such as health education and prevention.
Please send any questions to: TheDoctor@strosehospital.org