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Disability
Information - Obesity |
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General Information |
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THE PROBLEM OF OVERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS
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In 1999, 13% of children aged 6 to 11
years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in the United States
were overweight. This prevalence has nearly tripled for adolescents in
the past 2 decades.
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Risk factors for heart disease, such as
high cholesterol and high blood pressure, occur with increased
frequency in overweight children and adolescents compared to children
with a healthy weight.
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Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an
adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents.
Overweight and obesity are closely linked to type 2 diabetes.
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Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance
of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80% if one
or more parent is overweight or obese. Overweight or obese adults are
at risk for a number of health problems including heart disease, type
2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and some forms of cancer.
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The most immediate consequence of
overweight as perceived by the children themselves is social
discrimination. This is associated with poor self-esteem and
depression.
THE CAUSES OF OVERWEIGHT
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Overweight in children and adolescents is
generally caused by lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating
patterns, or a combination of the two, with genetics and lifestyle
both playing important roles in determining a child's weight.
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Our society has become very sedentary.
Television, computer and video games contribute to children's inactive
lifestyles.
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43% of adolescents watch more than 2
hours of television each day.
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Children, especially girls, become less
active as they move through adolescence.
DETERMINATION OF OVERWEIGHT IN CHILDREN
AND ADOLESCENTS
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Doctors and other health care
professionals are the best people to determine whether your child or
adolescent's weight is healthy, and they can help rule out rare
medical problems as the cause of unhealthy weight.
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A Body Mass Index (BMI) can be calculated
from measurements of height and weight. Health professionals often use
a BMI "growth chart" to help them assess whether a child or adolescent
is overweight.
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A physician will also consider your child
or adolescent's age and growth patterns to determine whether his or
her weight is healthy.
GENERAL SUGGESTIONS
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Let your child know he or she is loved
and appreciated whatever his or her weight. An overweight child
probably knows better than anyone else that he or she has a weight
problem. Overweight children need support, acceptance, and
encouragement from their parents.
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Focus on your child's health and positive
qualities, not your child's weight.
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Try not to make your child feel different
if he or she is overweight but focus on gradually changing your
family's physical activity and eating habits.
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Be a good role model for your child. If
your child sees you enjoying healthy foods and physical activity, he
or she is more likely to do the same now and for the rest of his or
her life.
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Realize that an appropriate goal for many
overweight children is to maintain their current weight while growing
normally in height.
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY SUGGESTIONS
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Be physically active. It is recommended
that Americans accumulate at least 30 minutes (adults) or 60 minutes
(children) of moderate physical activity most days of the week. Even
greater amounts of physical activity may be necessary for the
prevention of weight gain, for weight loss, or for sustaining weight
loss.
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Plan family activities that provide
everyone with exercise and enjoyment.
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Provide a safe environment for your
children and their friends to play actively; encourage swimming,
biking, skating, ball sports, and other fun activities.
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Reduce the amount of time you and your
family spend in sedentary activities, such as watching TV or playing
video games. Limit TV time to less than 2 hours a day.
HEALTHY EATING SUGGESTIONS
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Follow the Dietary Guidelines for healthy
eating (www.health.gov/dietaryguidelines).
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Guide your family's choices rather than
dictate foods.
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Encourage your child to eat when hungry
and to eat slowly.
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Eat meals together as a family as often
as possible.
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Carefully cut down on the amount of fat
and calories in your family's diet.
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Don't place your child on a restrictive
diet.
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Avoid the use of food as a reward.
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Avoid withholding food as punishment.
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Children should be encouraged to drink
water and to limit intake of beverages with added sugars, such as soft
drinks, fruit juice drinks, and sports drinks.
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Plan for healthy snacks.
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Stock the refrigerator with fat-free or
low-fat milk, fresh fruit, and vegetables instead of soft drinks or
snacks that are high in fat, calories, or added sugars and low in
essential nutrients.
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Aim to eat at least 5 servings of fruits
and vegetables each day.
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Discourage eating meals or snacks while
watching TV.
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Eating a healthy breakfast is a good way
to start the day and may be important in achieving and maintaining a
healthy weight.
IF YOUR CHILD IS OVERWEIGHT
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Many overweight children who are still
growing will not need to lose weight, but can reduce their rate of
weight gain so that they can "grow into" their weight.
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Your child's diet should be safe and
nutritious. It should include all of the Recommended Dietary
Allowances (RDAs) for vitamins, minerals, and protein and contain the
foods from the major Food Guide Pyramid groups. Any weight-loss diet
should be low in calories (energy) only, not in essential nutrients.
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Even with extremely overweight children,
weight loss should be gradual.
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Crash diets and diet pills can compromise
growth and are not recommended by many health care professionals.
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Weight lost during a diet is frequently
regained unless children are motivated to change their eating habits
and activity levels for a lifetime.
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Weight control must be considered a
lifelong effort.
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Any weight management program for
children should be supervised by a physician.
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Education & Classroom
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Information coming soon. Do
you have anything you'd like to contribute to this section?
If so, email it to
jackie@bridges4kids.org.
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Information coming soon. Do
you have anything you'd like to contribute to this section?
If so, email it to
jackie@bridges4kids.org.
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National Resources &
Websites |
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State Programs:
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/state_programs/index.htm
The
Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight
and Obesity, 2002.
The U.S. Surgeon General calls upon the nation to work together in
finding solutions to the problem of obesity and overweight. To read
the report, visit the Surgeon General's Web site.
Surgeon General's Call to Action Fact
Sheets:
Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment
of Overweight and Obesity in Adults
The guidelines present an approach for assessing overweight and
obesity and established principles of safe and effective weight loss.
(This resource is hosted by the National Institutes of Health.)
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Articles Related to this
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'Phantom Tumors': Painful Epidemic in Children
Linked to Obesity - It's a
Friday night, and Lauren Ashley just wants to hang out with friends.
But instead, the 15-year-old high school freshman is at home buried
in homework. At age 5, she was diagnosed with a rare condition that
causes massive headaches that strike without warning. Since then,
the Gahanna, Ohio, teen has missed so much school that she is forced
to spend most weekends and every summer bent over her desk to keep
up with classmates.
A Push for Phys Ed
- A new study makes a strong case that physical education may be the
single best strategy for curbing the nation's growing child obesity problem--at
least among girls. In the first study to evaluate the effect of P.E. programs on
kindergartners and first-graders, researchers found that increasing P.E. time by
one hour per week could lead to a significant decline in body mass index, a
measure of body fat, among girls.
Study:
Mother's Obesity Doubles
Child's Obesity Risk - Children born to obese women are more
than twice as likely to be overweight by age 4, according to a new
study that indicates prevention efforts should begin at -- or even
before -- birth.
Parents Don't See Obesity in Kids:
Heavy Children Seen as
'About Right' - A study released Friday by the American
Diabetes Association found that most parents don't recognize obesity
in their children. The study was one of two released at the
association's 64th annual meeting in Orlando. Although that study
looked at British children, at least one Michigan pediatrician said
the same is true in the United States.
U.S.
Rise in Blood Pressure Among Children Cited - The increase in
the number of American children who have become overweight or obese in
the past decade has been accompanied by a disturbing rise in their
blood pressure levels, researchers report.
Bullying
Surrounds Fat Teens, Study Finds - Overweight
adolescents are more likely than normal-weight children to be
victims and perpetrators of bullying, a study found,
bolstering evidence that being fat endangers emotional as well
as physical health.
IRS Rules Obesity a
Disease: Weight Loss Can be Tax-Deductible - Although
April’s income tax deadline can cause frustration, panic and
expense for many people, recent IRS tax law changes offer some
relief for a growing segment of the population – the now
two-thirds of Americans who are overweight or obese. The
Internal Revenue Service’s new rules lessen the tax burden on
individuals who itemize their deductions and have large medical
expenses, which now include treatment for obesity. With income
tax forms due this month, are your nutrition services tax
deductible?
Beyond Baby Fat:
The Serious Problem of Childhood Obesity -
Many overweight kids are bringing social and emotional
problems -- as well as potential health problems -- to school with
them. While research is clear that the problem can't be cured without
parent and community support, there's plenty schools can do.
Behavior
Problems Feed Childhood Obesity - Study finds overweight kids
twice as likely to misbehave.
Prevention Can
Start Young, Studies Suggest; but How? - As parents and doctors
struggle with an epidemic of childhood obesity in America, Anne
Youngquist worries about a subtler menace that may not threaten her
three children for decades: heart disease.
The Pain of Obese
Children - I don't want to die young! Poor eating habits and
lack of physical activity contribute to a national epidemic of
childhood obesity, exposing a rising number of kids to serious health
risks.
IL Obesity
surgery for kids emerges as drastic remedy
Read the San Francisco Chronicle's
article "Summit
to rouse schools about child obesity"
- Emphasis will be on teaching good
habits.
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Diet soda? Fat chance. - A new
study's shocking bottom line: If you habitually choose low-calorie
over regular soft drinks, your risk of obesity balloons!
How’d I Get So Fat? - I am
like the "before" picture in every one of those weight-loss ads. Tiny
head, big body. For 10 years I have been battling the bulge and now,
as I approach 50, I am officially obese. And as I try to zip up my
pants, as I take my meds for high cholesterol, as I puff up my
basement stairs with creaking knees, I keep asking myself, "How did
this happen?"
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