Childhood obesity is a growing concern for parents as well as healthcare professionals. The prevalence of obesity among children in the United States increased by 100 percent between 1980 and the mid-1990s. Being overweight brings serious health concerns for children including diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol levels and orthopedic problems, such as increased stress on joints. Self-esteem also often decreases when children are overweight.
Why are more children overweight?
Genetic factors play a role in a child's risk of being overweight, but obesity rates have tripled in the past 30 years, while genes have not changed. That means that the recent widespread obesity problem is primarily caused by environmental factors.
In other words, says David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children's Hospital Boston, genes are not the problem for the vast majority of people. Instead, two-thirds of obesity would vanish, he says, if society could revert back to the way it did certain things 40 years ago. Environmental factors that have changed since then include:
*What we're eating
*How active we are
*Our family structure
"Parents can think back to their childhood to what they ate and what they did for activities," Dr. Ludwig says. "In many cases, it is vastly different than what many families eat and do today."
What We're Eating
Fast food
In the 1950s, people ate fast food maybe once a month on special occasions or as a treat. Now, most children in the United States have fast food at least once a week and it's served in enormous portion sizes. Fast food has a tremendous number of calories per bite, and no fiber, so it can be chewed easily and consumed quickly before the body has time to register that the calories are coming in. By the time the body registers that it is full, too many calories have already been consumed.
"Fast is not best when it comes to eating," says Dr. Ludwig. "The focus should instead be on quality."
Typical fast food meals are high in refined starch and added sugar. They also have a high glycemic index, which refers to the rise in blood glucose that occurs after a person eats foods containing carbohydrates. High glycemic diets have been associated with an increase in insulin levels and may contribute to excessive weight gain. Some studies have shown that high glycemic load meals increase hunger and make a person want to eat more throughout the day.
To help prevent becoming overweight, children should eat less fast food, says Dr. Ludwig. Overall, they should eat less refined grains and concentrated sugars, and more low glycemic index foods–fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, unprocessed grains, adequate protein and healthful oils such as olive oil, avocados, nuts, and omega 3 fats–which leave a person feeling filled longer.
Even schools may be contributing to the problem of obesity by including fast food in their lunch menus and having soft drink machines on campus for students.
Soft Drinks
Soft drinks are another likely reason for increased childhood obesity. In the 1950s, children had three cups of milk for every one cup of soda. Now that has reversed, says Dr. Ludwig. Most children in the United States have three cups of soda for every one cup of milk.
Similar to eating calorie-laden fast food, when a person drinks soda–which is 100 percent sugar–it may escape the body's regulating methods.
One study found that every additional serving of soda per day increased a child's odds of becoming obese by 1.6 times.
"We've cut back on fats, but we've replaced them with refined starches and sugars. So this makes our blood sugar go way up and then crash, and then we want to eat again," Dr. Ludwig says. "We're always craving sweets because we're lacking real nutritious foods."
How Active We Are
Instead of playing outside, children are watching a massive amount of television, which is clearly linked to obesity, Dr Ludwig says. And while children are watching television, they are:
*Not exercising
*Eating junk food
*Being inundated with advertisements for some of the unhealthiest foods.
"Parents' efforts to teach their children to eat healthy are being undermined by the television," Dr. Ludwig says. "Television typically advertises some of the worst kinds of foods for you
Children and teenagers who watch several hours of television a day have less opportunity to develop the athletic skills and love of physical activity, which can make exercise and staying physically fit enjoyable as they grow into adulthood. Unfortunately, many schools are cutting back on physical activity and physical education programs. This gives children even less opportunity to get exercise, become more confident in their athletic abilities, and develop an interest in sports or in being active.
The Family Structure
The third contributing factor to the obesity epidemic in the United States, according to Dr. Ludwig, is that there's too much stress on families these days. "Everybody is working too hard and too long to support an increasingly materialistic lifestyle and parents aren't spending time with their kids, teaching them good nutrition or being active with them."
Forty years ago, families cooked dinner and sat and ate it together on a regular basis. Too often now, dinner is grabbed from a fast food restaurant and eaten on the go.
It's important to set a good example for your children by being active yourself and planning family activities such as biking, hiking, running, walking, swimming or skating.
"There's no alternative to a parent cooking a dinner and eating it together with his or her children, and taking them outside to play," Dr. Ludwig says. "The answer to the obesity problem is very simple. We need to return to more traditional ways of eating, exercising and being with our families."
Source: David Ludwig, MD, PhD, director of the Optimal Weight for Life program at Children's Hospital Boston.
Last Updated: 07/30/04
2007 Children's Hospital Boston . All rights reserved.
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