Battling Childhood Obesity

Obesity continues to be a major problem in our country despite all of the efforts from various campaigns that promote regular exercise and a healthy diet. Unfortunately, children of all ages, even as young as two years old, are affected. Approximately a third of all American children are considered either overweight or obese. It takes a multi-factorial approach to treat it because of the wide variety of causes for obesity. Childhood obesity often persists into adulthood.

Like obese adults, obese children may develop medical problems like diabetes, high blood pressure and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Obesity may also put children at risk for long-term chronic diseases like arthritis and cancer. The problem is that most treatments for such illnesses have been studied only in adults so there is a concern for the children’s safety. The consequences of being overweight play a role in the development of a child’s self-esteem and body image which in turn may put them at risk for depression.

Obesity is commonly defined as weighing 20 percent greater than the average. Another way to measure it is according to the body mass index (BMI) which the National Institutes of Health (NIH) currently uses to define normal weight, overweight and obesity rather than the traditional height/weight charts. Children’s growth spurts occur sporadically so assessing obesity in children can be difficult. It is important to consider the child's age and growth patterns since the amount of height gain may lag behind the weight gain, making it appear the child is overweight or obese.Learn helpful strategies for battling childhood obesity in your household on the next page.