“Because of the increasing rates of obesity, unhealthy eating habits and physical inactivity, we may see the first generation that will be less healthy and have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.” — Former Surgeon General Richard Carmona
The number of obese children in America, and indeed in many parts of the world, is huge. This article will begin with the all-too-depressing facts about obesity in children, along with the causes of this epidemic. If you know all about that, just skip on down to the more encouraging section on a variety of solutions, from what needs to happen on a societal level to what parents, other family members, and children themselves can do. All along, you will find links to useful articles, books, and a BMI calculator for children.
The Problem of Obesity in American Children
Obesity in children has surpassed drugs and smoking to become the #1 health concern of American parents, according to the American Heart Association.
And no wonder, with about one third of American children and teens overweight or obese. The figures are higher among Hispanic and Black children. The heavier a child is, the greater the risk of being obese as an adult.
These numbers are sobering for a variety of reasons. Children who are obese are at much greater risk of being obese as adults than children of normal weight. So they are looking at a lifetime of health and emotional problems, which include diabetes, high blood pressure, low self-esteem, depression, dying younger, cancer, breathing problems, heart disease, anxiety, and more. Physicians now are seeing many health conditions in children, like Type 2 diabetes, which used to be found almost entirely in adults.
How is the BMI Used to Assess Childhood Obesity?
Overweight in both adults and children can be measured using the BMI. That’s short for Body Mass Index, a mathematical formula that measures weight and height in relation to each other. The BMI for children also takes age into account, so it is a slightly different measurement than the one for adults. Here is an informative article about children’s BMI, at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a very credible source for health information online.
They also have a free BMI calculator for children.
Once you get a BMI score for a child, it is compared to the scores for other children of the same age and height. Children who have a higher BMI than 85% of the other kids are defined as overweight and children whose BMI is higher than 95% are obese. The American Academy of Pediatrics, an organization of American pediatricians, suggests that doctors should track children’s BMI scores regularly, as the pattern over years can be useful to see. (By the way, this organization published the book A Parent’s Guide to Childhood Obesity: A Roadmap to Health and you can see it at Amazon by clicking on the book cover image or the link.
What Causes Childhood Obesity?
In the past couple of decades, some changes have taken place in our society that are not exactly for the better. Our fat kids are paying the price. For one thing, most fast food chains dramatically increased portion sizes. This was excellent for their profits but not so good for anyone’s health. Over the same time period, more and more families chose to eat fast food more often and to cook meals at home less frequently. Pizza, hamburgers, fries, shakes, and the like thus became a higher percentage of the American diet.
The increase in calories alone would have caused health problems, but this all happened at the same time that children became much more sedentary than they used to be. Instead of playing outside after school, they frequently prefer to play computer games, go online, or watch TV or DVDs. Of course, television has been around for over half a century, but still, with so many enticing activities that don’t require movement, and fewer parents at home after school to enforce a balance of activities, the net result is kids who don’t move much. Many school systems have removed physical education courses to save money, so that too contributes to the situation.
More children now are being raised by one parent, and often that hardworking person isn’t home at meal times. When kids choose what to eat for meals themselves, studies have shown what you can imagine, that they don’t make as healthy food choices as the adults might. Even when eating at home with a parent, not every child gets a great role model. If a child has one obese parent, the odds are 50-50 that the child will also be obese. But if both parents are obese, the child has an 80% chance of following in their footsteps!
At the most basic level, of course, people of all ages become overweight when they take in more food, measured in calories, than they expend in activities. Some people have a greater genetic tendency to gain weight than others, and emotional factors such as stress also play their part in how much someone eats. None of this is simple, but the results are clear: there are lots of kids who are obese.
Solutions
The problem of obesity in children is so daunting that it can be easy to be overwhelmed in thinking about what we can do. I have found this fact helpful: The more obese a child is, the more likely he or she is to be an obese adult. How is this helpful rather than depressing? It means that even modest improvements in a child’s obesity have value.
Also, as children are still growing, it is not usually necessary that they lose weight. If they can keep from gaining much as they grow taller, their obesity will diminish and they will be closer to the midrange.
The solutions will need to be implemented at societal levels, community levels, and family levels. They will all involve getting children to exercise more and to eat more of the healthy foods and less of the unhealthy ones. Some of the larger changes include changing the contents of school lunches to be more nutritious, getting children to exercise more at school, getting the fast food world to improve its offerings, and more.
It’s important to realize that by and large, diets aren’t the way to go with children. It’s much more useful in the long term to get them to learn healthier eating and exercise habits that will stand them in good stead for their entire lives.
Since many of the family members of obese children also have weight issues, it’s important to go with small steps that can be implemented as time allows. If you are the parent or guardian of a child who is obese or tending in that direction, there are many things you can do to help the child. They will take time, patience, and possibly some money, but you can make a difference.
What has been found to be successful? Children are most likely to become a better weight if they are getting the same or similar messages in different places, for example, school and home. But even when the school isn’t offering the best choices, and television is advertising less-than-ideal foods, studies have shown that the more involved parents are, the better. This is especially true for parents who themselves improve their own ways of eating and methods of exercise.
Ten Tips for Parents and Other Family Members to Help Obese Kids
- Make exercise more a part of life. This could be by walking more, or doing other activities that kids often like, such as bicycling, playing sports, swimming (unless they are too embarrassed about their bodies to enjoy it), and so on. Even a lively game of ping pong can burn calories.
- Have as many meals together with your children as you can. Children who have regular meals with their parents or guardians tend to be more emotionally secure. And have the television off during most of those meals.
- Gradually make the meals more healthy. For example, if you stop for some takeouts on the way home, when you get home, make a salad as well. Provide low-fat milk instead of sodas. Cut calories. Get fewer takeouts and make more regular trips to buy the groceries you will use for the next few days or week, including healthy snacks like fresh fruit or string cheese.
- Don’t go so far as to forbid favorite foods outright, unless your doctor says your child really needs that. It’s better to allow them now and then as treats, because this is much more likely to work long term.
- Get the child motivated, however you can do that. This will be different for different children. Calling them chubby or fatty doesn’t help. But getting them motivated is the only way that better habits will develop. Give your child a pedometer to track how many steps are taken in a day.
- Involve your doctor or clinic. A medical evaluation can be a good idea.
- Don’t use food to reward your child. Use money, time doing something special, or other things.
- For some children, overeating has emotional aspects as well. If their eating problems involve bingeing or other emotional components, see about getting some professional help. If you can’t afford it, look into the free and low cost resources in your community.
- Turn to community groups such as Overeaters Anonymous or a local Weight Watchers group, or to online resources such as the free online weight loss plans described on this website. Some of them focus on children’s needs.
- Be sure to talk with your child about things besides weight! Emphasize any strengths the child has, such as drawing, singing, certain parts of schoolwork, etc.
Two More Ways to Help Obese Children in America
Spend some time at a website on children’s health, kidshealth.org, run by a large non-profit called Nemours which does many things for the health of children. Here is their page on overweight and obese children.
Here’s a book that describes a very useful program to help overweight kids:
