Childhood obesity has become the greatest youth related wellbeing matter this century. According to CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) facts, the joint percentageof youth obesity among kids aged 2-19 years increased from 5.5% in 1980 to 15.6% in 2006. An boost of almost 300%! It's frightening to think that if things don't change then the present rate of obesity related disease (i.e. heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure etc) will only deteriorate for the next generation. Those aged over 30 years in all probability had a relatively healthful diet and way of life as a kid. Eating meat and three vegetables for dinner, gocarting around the area, playing in the recreational area, playing chasey up and down the street, running riot in the back yard etc. Unfortunately, for many modern day kids the same is no longer true. The contemporary notion 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 children are so conditioned to junk food that they're not interested in wholesome food any more. It is unfortunate that technological advancements designed to make life easier have had the reverse result, making life harder, more fast paced. Presumably because we labor harder to find the money for those technologies. This means that many families need two incomes to endure and there is no-one home to make nutritious meals. It's all too enticing to arrive home from work, worn out as usual, and throw on a few fish fingers and oven baked fries for the childrens dinner. Additionally, if kids consume school canteen meals then these meals also present very dubious nutritional merit. When you combine the attraction of processed foods with high fat and sugar content, the safety concerns of outside play, the popularity of personal computers and gaming consoles that entail little or no physical effort, it's not unexpected that childhood obesity has become such an issue! Not only are overweight and obese kids at risk of substantial health issues, they also face enormous social and psychological costs, including low self-esteem. Fat kids face greater risks of psychological illness including eating disorders in teenage years and adulthood. We all know how harsh kids can be and obese kids frequently suffer rejection from peers who refuse to play with the 'fat kid'. Combine this with weight related teasing and the negative self view that overweight and obese children endure and you have a volatile mix of negatives contributing to a diminishing self-esteem. This assault on a child's self esteem leads to many health and psychological issues. Low self esteem effects social development, motivation to engage in activities, makes them feel incapable of realizing goals and causes great worry. There are also the issues of depression, eating disorders and suicide. Sadly, we can't just put our young person 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 inborn. 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 stringent low fat diets because kids need extra fat for physical development. This doesn't mean that we can't cut their fat intake, just that care should be exercised to make sure their dietary needs are met. This issue is further muddied by the fact that obesity in kids is more complicated 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 in a different way as children are still growing. In children 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% is underweight, 5-85% is a beneficial weight range, 85-95% is overweight and 95%+ 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 think your young person is overweight, it is recommended that you talk to your family doctor for assistance. Helpful Links: Childhood overweight and obesity About BMI for Children and Teens
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The percentage of Youth obesity has tripled since 1980. Doctors recognize that it has risen to crisis proportions. How can we ensure a beneficial life for our children and guard them from the peril of obesity associated diseases later in life?
Julia Bell is a mother of three and recognizes the trial for parents in current, high paced society to promote a wholesome equilibrium between family diet and excercise. Julia and her associate Cheryl Wright (Mother of two and Grandmother of six) also maintain a kids weight loss blog.
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