According to national surveys, the number of children who are overweight in America has increased dramatically, especially since 1980. Some statistics say that over 25% of children and adolescents are at risk or already are overweight. While some people like to believe it is a genetic problem, that would not explain the dramatic rise over the past 20 years because our genetics just haven’t changed that much. Yes, genetics are a risk factor, but not nearly as strong a risk factor as poor nutrition and poor eating habits.
For most American kids, they are on the go and busy from the minute they wake up until they “crash” at bedtime. Despite afterschool soccer, running around in the playground and PE classes, friends, and homework, there is very little “down time” for kids, and unfortunately that down time is often spent in front of the TV.
So why are American kids getting progressively more and more overweight?
Well the answer is complicated by many factors: Obviously nutrition plays a major role. But studies have also shown that the more time kids watch TV ( and eat because every other ad is for a snack food) the heavier they are- and that is because they really are not getting the exercise they need along with the nutrition they deserve.
Remember, no amount of healthy eating can keep a child from gaining too much weight without also having daily exercise. Exercise can improve concentration, reduce anxiety and depression, build strength, increase their immunity and improve their sleep- that’s just right now! Down the road it can reduce the risk of diabetes, heart disease, bone decay and even some types of cancer. So, read on about nutrition but remember to incorporate daily exercise!
Obesity, or being overweight is simply that your body takes in more caloric energy than it uses. American children eat too much of the wrong thing and are not using it all up.
Being overweight is usually defined by your child’s doctor in terms of his growth curve- is his height matching his weight on the percentile curves. But as of the last ten years, a more sensitive way to assess weight is called the BMI or body mass index which is a measure of the body-mass index- essentially how much mass is on your child’s bones. Obviously this is an imperfect system because there are more variables to BMI in children, whose actual percentages of fat mass may vary by race, stage of development, height and sexual maturity. Talk to your child’s pediatrician about his BMI not just his weight.
There are five factors most commonly attributed to risk of obesity in kids.
- 1. Time in front of the TV or computer or DVD
There is, as I mentioned, a direct correlation between television viewing and obesity, and the more time your child watches TV the worse it gets.
- 2.Exposure to snack and junk food in advertisements and social functions
Although children’s television, especially for preschoolers, has become much more developmentally savvy, the ads that sponsor these shoes are still selling junk food and plastic toys. There is a food advert every 3-5 minutes on cartoon channels, and the grocery stores place these food often at eye level of the child with favorite cartoon characters like Dora to make them recognizable
- 3. Juice boxes and other high calorie drinks- as a pediatrician I hear how often kids are given Gatorade or other juices for dinner- these drinks are NOT nutritious and your child only needs a sports drink if he is dehydrated after intense sports ( toddler ballet does not qualify). There is never a reason for juice especially without dilution. Water water water.
- 4. Very important- . Lack of family meal times- parents are less likely than ever to sit with their child and have a meal- so the child is unsupervised and often eating on the run between activities. Parents are very busy these days, and the food marketers make it easy to just toss a kid a junky snack or happy meal rather than sit and enjoy mealtime together.
That said, isn’t our culture too obsessed with weight? Don’t we all hear all the time about eating disorders of another nature ( anorexia and bulimia)?. Yes, our culture is obsessed with weight, but we have a country that has a serious obesity problem compared with other countries. Why? At least part of the reason is that there is so so much food available, snack foods for sale on every corner. And in part because junk food is so much less expensive than organic and fresh food, in part because food stamps buys you coke and chips instead of organic, in part because school meals (which are a growing source of food for many many children) are poorly balanced and in part because, compared to Europe and Asia, our “serving size” is massive. When was the last time you saw an “ all you can eat” advert in Europe?
The burden of being overweight is not only medical but psychological. From a medical point of view, it is linked to the alarming rise in Type 2 diabetes in children, as well as metabolic syndrome. These problems are life-long. Heart disease/atherosclerosis, long thought to be a problem of the middle aged and elderly, is now understood to have its orgins much much earlier in life- as early as 9 or 10. Other risks include colon cancer and gallbladder disease, and breast cancer.
What to do if your child is overweight?
First and formost, engage your pediatrician to help- the parents should NOT be the police on this alone. Check with her doctor to be sure it is not a medically treatable condition such as thyroid underfunction, and that it is not the sign of an emotional eating disorder. Review with the doctor the average daily meals, your child’s exercise habits, and your family’s overall nutrition. Remember that the only way this will work is if the whole family participates.
Some important suggestions if your child is overweight:
- 1. Confirm with the doctor that he/she truly is overweight, and not that you are unnecessarily concerned for other reasons such as appearance and your own issues with food.
- 2. DO NOT make your child “ diet”. We never talk to kids about losing weight, just about GROWING INTO the weight they already are. Of course this is more difficult if they have already gone thru puberty. But for most children weight should be “maintained” as they grow up in height- not calorie restriction to actually lose significant weight. This requires great patience on the part of BOTH parents, but in the end will be the safest way for your child to learn to manage food and weight.
- 3. Be willing to make changes for the whole family, even if only one child is overweight. Do not single that child out or make him feel ashamed. These children are already potentially teased at school, see images in the media of the models and supermen- they need to feel safe at home.
- 4. Do NOT make it a topic of open family discussion- especially at the dinner table or around the food itself. Let the pediatrician help guide the conversations and then do not discuss it at home, especially in front of normal weight siblings. Do not allow grandparents to voice their opinions at the table either!
- 5. Cut back on sedentary time like TV and computer and get more active as a family- bike instead of drive, walk instead of drive, go to the park rather than the movies when you have family outings. Encourage a family sport to do all together on weekends.
- 6. Make high quality foods available without making him feel deprived. Bring healthy snacks when you pick your child up from school ( like the EAT RIGHT boxes available in gluten free and for ages 3 and under and 3 and over). Stock the fridge with easy to grab snacks like cut up fruit, carrot sticks, quinoa bars.
- 7. Reduce serving sizes and do “portion control” without making a big statement about it- and check with your child’s school to see how many servings they provide to each child that asks- it is often very hard to change the menu at schools but you can at least point out that the servings are too big- and that much of the food is going to the waste-or the waist!!
