The dangers of childhood obesity

I just finished watching this week’s episode of The Biggest Loser. I often feel like a big loser watching all these people sweat their buns off while I chow down on some yummy treat.

As I look around my own community, I’ve noticed how much bigger children are today than they were when I was a child. It’s really quite sad. In Target a few days ago, a young girl of about 10 was wearing something that simply didn’t fit. It was riding up exposing her belly much higher than should have been permitted by her mother. Boys too, are facing issues with their weight that at a young age really shouldn’t be a concern. It’s sad and can only get worse as society continues to make poor health choices.

In the years to come, we will not only be burdened by the current administration’s over-the-top spending, but by the impact of childhood obesity on our health care system. The financial costs of obesity are enormous. Since the late 1970s, the costs related to obese children at hospitals have tripled, rising from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999. We spend over $100 billion each year on healthcare, nationally, related to overweight and obesity.

Looking at some of the statistics on the increase in childhood obesity over the last 20 years, is shocking. We are clearly facing a serious public health concern.

There’s some question as to whether boys or girls are more likely to be obese. Some information suggests adolescent boys are more like to be overweight than girls, but that they don’t describe themselves as overweight or try to lose weight. Meanwhile, a team of Swedish researchers who studied BMI figures for more than a thousand children over two decades discovered that obesity levels had risen significantly among younger children, but that levels were much more constant among teenagers included in the research. They also found that young girls were much more likely to be overweight or obese than boys. Who knows what’s true. Among boys, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in Hispanics. Among girls, the highest prevalence is observed in African Americans. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)

The facts are alarming, and the effects of childhood obesity are long lasting on both the emotional and physical health.

•    In 2000, it was estimated that about a third of all children born in the United States are at risk for developing type 2 diabetes in their lifetimes, it is estimated to be about 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)

•    People who are overweight and/or obese are at major risk for contacting severe chronic diseases such as diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular disease, osteoporosis, and hypertension.

•    Children with severe weight problems can contact gall bladder disease, liver disease, sleep apnea, and run the risk of high cholesterol.

•    The emotional and psychological repercussions that come with being overweight and obese. There are the obvious reasons for obesity such as lack of physical activity as more kids are staying inside and playing games or the availability of bad food choices, but what about anxiety and stress? Do parents place too much pressure on children, who in turn use food to make themselves feel better? Does the stress of a boy expecting to be strong contribute to the stress and leave boys to escape to food? According to an article in Science Daily, “the number of children and teens prescribed medicine to treat high blood pressure or diabetes appears to have increased between 2004 and 2007. The prevalence of children and teens who were prescribed medications for hypertension (high blood pressure), dyslipidemia (abnormal cholesterol) or diabetes (including insulin) increased 15.2 percent, from 3.3 per 1,000 youths in November 2004 to 3.8 per 1,000 youths in June 2007. The increased incidence of cardiovascular risk factors typically are associated with adult populations.” More stats: •    In 1982, just 1 percent of all 4-year-olds were deemed obese. By 2002, 2 percent of the boys that age were obese, but 6 percent of the girls were. The discrepancy was similar for 10-year-olds.

•    According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years.

•    In case reports limited to the 1990s, Type 2 diabetes accounted for 8 to 45 percent of all new pediatric cases of diabetes, in contrast with fewer than 4 percent before the 1990s. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)

•    In a population-based sample, approximately 60 percent of obese children aged 5 to 10 years had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, such as elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or blood pressure, and 25 percent had two or more risk factors.  ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)

The key to combating obesity is controlling the amount of calories that are consumed and balancing with the amount of calories that are expended. When it comes right down to it, we are dealing with a simple formula. Eating moderately and balancing with exercise.

Additional resources:

BMI Chart for boys

Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts

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