Stars 4 Kidz

Posts Tagged ‘overweight adolescents’

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