NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - As American youngsters continue to pack on the pounds they can expect to confront a range of diseases and medical complications that used to be largely confined to adults, an expert with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said Thursday.

The costs--both economic and health-related--will be staggering, Dr. William H. Dietz, director of the division of nutrition and physical activity at the CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion in Atlanta, Georgia, said at an American Medical Association briefing. Major risk factors for heart disease such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure are showing up in younger Americans more than ever before, he said.

``It's a time bomb. We could start to see blindness, amputations and kidney failure in 30-year-olds,'' Dietz told Reuters Health, referring to some of the medical complications of type 2 diabetes.

Indeed, there has been a steady rise in the number of children and teenagers diagnosed with the disease over the past 20 years, due largely to increases in rates of overweight and obesity, according to health experts. Type 2 diabetes has traditionally been known as adult-onset diabetes because it was diagnosed predominately in middle-aged men and women.

Among adults, obesity is also linked to high blood pressure, elevated fats in the blood, gallbladder disease, some cancers, orthopedic complications and a number of other disorders.

Unfortunately, Dietz noted, many parents are unaware of the risks of obesity and believe that excess weight is a not problem unless it affects a child's self esteem. He cited a study by the American Heart Association that found that fewer than one third of Americans realized that obesity, lack of physical activity or high cholesterol levels were associated with heart disease.

To reverse the trend, Dietz said that parents should encourage more physical activity and less television viewing, which not only promotes sedentary behavior, but also makes kids vulnerable to advertisers promoting high-fat foods. He said even small changes such as walking to school, eating breakfast and sitting down to dinner as a family can translate into substantial weight loss over time.

``Obesity is a grave and serious problem,'' Dietz said. ``My belief is that the current epidemic doesn't reflect genetic factors, but substantial changes in the way we live our lives.''

Dr. Robert I. Berkowitz of the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia said that children are more likely to lose weight and keep it off when the whole family is involved.

For instance, Berkowitz pointed out, parents can keep their kitchen free of junk food, serve single portions and act as role models by keeping up their own exercise habits. For their part, schools can try to include healthier choices in lunch menus, offer intramural activities and refuse to eliminate physical education as a way to cut costs, he said.

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