|
The
Fattening of Our Children
(HealthScout)
-- Those oversized clothes your kids are sporting may be more
than just a fashion statement. American children and teen-agers
have gotten fatter, the government said today, continuing a trend
begun in the 1980s.
About 13 percent
of kids 6 to 11 are overweight, an increase of 2 percent since
1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said
today. The number of overweight teens, ages 12 to 19, increased
from 11 to 14 percent in the same time period.
"We were concerned
that the increase in obesity among kids and adolescent that we
saw in the 1980s was continuing," says Jeff Lancashire, a spokesman
for the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics in Hyattsville,
Md. "This is the first examination of that data since we concluded
the last study in 1994, and it basically confirms the continuing
increase."
"We know that
in the early '60s to 1980, the overweight increases were very
small, from 5 percent in 1963 to 6 or 7 percent, depending on
the age," Lancashire says. "From 1980 to the end of the last National
Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) in 1994, the
percentages doubled, which was quite amazing."
Lancashire
says the government has been surveying the nation's health since
the 1960s. "We actually go around the country examining people,"
he says. The survey includes a health interview and a physical
exam. "We see about 5,000 people a year," he adds.
Blame cable
television and computers for some of the problem, Lancashire says.
"There are now more sedentary modes of entertainment for kids.
Cable television has proliferated, and obviously we now have computers
and the Internet. Couple that with changes in the diet -- kids
are eating a lot more fast food -- and that may explain the increase,
though to which degree either is impacting the problem, we just
don't know," he says.
Or you can
blame genes and evolution. "The leading theory right now is that
we believe people evolved in an environment where food was scarce
and there was a lot of need for physical activity as part of day-to-day
life," says Dr. Andrew Tershakovec, director of the weight management
program at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia in Pennsylvania.
"We believe that led to the development of a genetic makeup that,
in the right environment, causes human beings to become obese."
Tershakovec
says, "there's a whole slew of medical conditions associated with
obesity: heart disease, arthritis and bone and joint problems.
We are now seeing an epidemic in obesity, and we are going to
see an epidemic in these other diseases and conditions in the
not so distant future. For instance, Type II diabetes, which was
commonly known as adult-onset diabetes, is now showing up in children."
Lancashire
agrees. "Kids and teens who are obese now are at high risk for
being obese in adulthood," he adds.
The problem's
not just confined to the United States, Lancashire says. "What's
interesting is that other studies have showed similar patterns
in Canada and the United Kingdom, so the problem cannot be explained
by a change in demographics caused by changing immigration patterns,"
he explains.
"Unfortunately
there's no easy fix," Tershakovec says. "We need a comprehensive
medical and public health effort to get a handle on this problem.
We need supportive environments in the home and in the community
to treat obesity, prevent obesity, and help people who have lost
weight to keep that weight off."
Concerned
that your child may pack a few pounds too many?
Here's a body-mass calculator and an explanation of what your
child's number may mean.
If
you'd like to see the NHANES study, visit the
National Center for Health Statistics. And to learn what to
do if your child is overweight, see San Diego's
Children's Hospital and Health Center.
Reference
Source 101
For more information on how to prevent other diseases, use
PreventDisease.com's "Quick
Prevention Resources".
|
