Childhood Obesity An Opportunity To Change

By Lauren Bland, MSN, RN, CFNP

Loudoun Pediatric Associates

More Child Health and Safety Articles

Childhood Obesity An Opportunity To Change

Change is a difficult task for most people. We develop particular habits and then when we have to alter those habits it seems an insurmountable task. Childhood is a time to learn how to grow into a healthy adult. This begins with encouraging breastfeeding in infancy, waiting to introduce solid foods until six months of age, and developing healthy eating habits as the child grows.

In the United States we have been developing some unhealthy lifestyle habits; not only are there more adults who are overweight, now there are also more children who are becoming overweight and possibly obese. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one in three children is overweight or obese. This can affect any population, but has more prevalence in the African American and Hispanic population.

Overweight and obesity are both labels for ranges of weight that are greater than what is considered healthy for a given height and age. Specifically, obesity in children can be defined as a body weight that is twenty percent higher than a healthy weight for a child of that height, or a body fat percentage above twenty five percent in boys and above thirty two percent in girls.

There is a tendency for obese children to go on to become overweight or obese as adults. With this comes the increase in chronic health issues such as hypertension, diabetes and elevated cholesterol. There has been an increase in the occurrence of type 2 diabetes in children, where once it was only a rarity. Additionally, other health issues such as asthma, sleep apnea and social discrimination are more prevalent in children who are obese.

Many people are struggling with healthcare costs and wondering how the changes in healthcare reform will affect them. Healthcare costs are higher in children who are overweight and obese due to more frequent need for healthcare and the chronic nature of the health problems that they experience.

So what can we do as a community of parents, healthcare providers, schools and recreational facilities? Here are a few simple ways we can change our lifestyle

1. Include exercise in your child's routine one hour a day. It doesn't have to be all at once, you can still benefit from a few twenty-minute workouts in a day if your schedule doesn't permit one hour at a time.

2. Limit TV time (includes video gaming and computer time) – to two hours a day. For example, you can incorporate exercise into the day of your child who is not interested in sports by requiring that he or she run around the outside of the house several times before watching TV.

3. Replace routine drinking of juices and sugared sodas and drinks with water and milk. Include fruits, vegetables and whole grain foods in the diet.

4. Bring lunch instead of buying fast food loaded with carbohydrates.

Childhood is a vital time for learning and instilling healthy habits, as it will provide lifetime benefits by giving them an opportunity to make healthy choices as adults.