Stars for Kids

Posts Tagged ‘childhood obesity’

Most of us, whether we are medical doctors, chiropractors, other health professionals, or laypeople know by now that one in three US children are obese. But, did you also know that studies have found that nearly one in five children becomes overweight or obese by age 6, and that more than half of obese children become overweight before the age of 2? And, if those statistics don’t shock you, try this: Nearly 6 percent of infants younger than six months are overweight today, up from 3.4 percent between 1980 and 2001. The “chubby baby” that, back in the day, epitomized good health (as opposed to malnutrition) is now a dangerous sign that childhood obesity is happening “from the start.”

First lady Michelle Obama, our country’s children’s health advocate, who released 70 goals as part of the government’s campaign against childhood obesity, said that panel found that women could help reduce childhood obesity by 1) maintaining a healthy weight when they become pregnant and 2) by breast-feeding their babies. “For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks and measureable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family and one community at a time,” Mrs. Obama said.

Obese and overweight children are at higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses, and some public health experts say, if this trend isn’t remedied, children today may live shorter lives than their parents. Mrs. Obama said that the goal is to solve the problem so babies born today will come of age at a healthy weight. Of course, there’s much to be done, but the problem is urgent indeed. And, though over dozen federal agencies, including the Education, Agriculture, Health, Interior and Transportation departments, participated in the Childhood Obesity Task Force, it holds an “advisory only” position.

We can all become children’s health advocates by writing to our government representatives and letting them know that that we want action, in addition to advice, when it comes to the health of our country’s children, such as the proactive step that Congress has taken to begin the process of updating the guidelines for foods served in schools, including what is offered by vending machines.

Technorati Tags: breastfeeding, childhood obesity, Childhood Obesity Task Force, childrens health

There are actually politician out there who are concerned about the health of our children, like Sen. Alex Padilla. He is the Chairman of the California Senate’s Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes. He stated on September 17th that he planned to hold hearings this November on the link between soda consumption and obesity. His announcement last Thursday dovetails with the release of a study by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy that indicated that a shocking 62 percent of children aged 12 to 17 drink at least one sugar-sweetened beverage a day. What was even more shocking was that an estimated 41 percent of children aged 2 to 11 consume that amount! Let us meditate upon the consequences of such statistics for the health of our children, now and in the future.

Children with unhealthy diets generally become adults with a lot of health issues. And, excessively overweight children, in days gone by, more often than not remained overweight and became adults with a variety of weight-related diseases. But, this is no longer the case. Experts say that overweight adolescents are starting to suffer problems that used to plague mainly middle-aged adults — early heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

“I don’t think that most parents truly appreciate the role soda pop has in causing weight gain,” Padilla said. “It is unfortunate that soda is actually cheaper than milk and even bottled water in many instances.”  Padilla said California needs to do more to educate the public about the health effects of drinking too much soda and to consider its options for reducing soda consumption among children.

Though we may feel that politicians let child-related issue fall between the cracks as they argue and debate often nonsensical topics, let’s encourage those legislators who take an active and meaningful role in helping to tip the scales of health on the side of our children.

For more information, go to reuters.com

Technorati Tags: childhood obesity, early heart disease, overweight adolescents, type 2 diabetes