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Weighing in on Childhood Obesity


Growing up, I was an overweight child. I remember getting teased about my flabby belly and remember getting winded when playing with all of the other kids at recess. Being an overweight child even led to other health related problems such as bad knees. Genetically, I inherited weak knees from my grandmother, and in combination with my excessive weight and high-levels of energy, I exhausted them at a young age, resulting in a dislocated patella in 3rd grade. For a child, this was a pretty traumatic event. It took me months to recover and I recall the days that went by where I had to sit and watch all of my other classmates play.

There were several factors that led to me being an overweight child. In the 1980's, school nutrition did not live up to the standards that are more readily practiced today, nor did they offer a healthy variety of nutrient-packed foods.  Skim milk was not an option during my elementary days, only whole milk and chocolate. Now any nutritionist would tell you right away that this is absurd, but again, this was a quarter of a century ago.

Another factor that led to my weight problem was my food consumption at home. I was allowed to snack on calorie packed, preservative-rich foods such as Pringles and M&M's instead of apples and peanut butter or celery sticks with ranch dressing. I was also extremely involved with extracurricular activities as a youngster, and in combination with my parents' busy schedules, it did not leave much time for dinner around the table. It was more like a trip through the closest drive through. Thankfully, in high school, I began to take charge of my own diet and became extremely involved in sports which leveled out my weight and brought me to a substantially healthy lifestyle which I have worked hard to maintain.

Like myself in the 80's, children in the United States are becoming more overweight and obese, putting them at risk for serious health concerns such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and elevated cholesterol and blood pressure levels. In addition to the risk of obesity-related health concerns, poor food choices could lead to other health concerns, like osteoporosis later in life from inadequate calcium intake.

In response to growing concerns over obesity, national attention has focused on the need to establish school nutrition standards and limit access to competitive foods. As a result, over the past few years, school nutrition policy initiatives have been put into place at federal, state, and local levels. However, responses of school districts to meeting wellness policy requirements have not been consistent. One major issue, according to The Centers for Disease Control, was the lack of accessible drinking water in public schools.

In December 2010, President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law.  This act improves child nutrition policy in many important ways, including a provision to require free drinking water to be available with school meals.  In September 2010, Governor Schwarzenegger signed a state act creating a similar requirement for all schools in California to make free, fresh drinking water available to students during school meals.  These new requirements recognize that some progress has been made in getting rid of sugary drinks in schools.  But, not as much has been done on promoting the healthy choices, namely water.  Water is an essential nutrient and is calorie-free. Best of all, tap water is free!  Unfortunately, according to The Department of Public Health, a recent survey in California found that over 40 percent of responding schools reported to have no access to free water in cafeterias.

Another issue with school cafeterias is their lack of variety when pertaining to fruits and vegetables. Many school lunches offer too many calorie-loaded foods such as pizza and French fries on a daily basis and do not regulate how many times a week a child can select these items. The Institute of Medicine suggests that parents and PTO's should become avid advocates in implementing local policy to regulate what types of foods should and should not be offered at school. Things that parents can recommend to their local school nutritionist are regulating the snacks and ice creams that are readily available as add-ons in cafeterias, making sure that there are healthy alternatives in school vending machines, and lobbying for salad bar options in every lunch room.

Now, eating right is not the only way to regulate healthy weight in children. Exercise and physical activity are also areas that parents and schools should encourage and educate their students to participate in. The Centers for Disease Control recommends that children should get 3 hours of exercise a week in 3 major categories: aerobic, muscle, and bone strengthening. For younger children, running around on the playground, zipping around on their scooter, and swimming are all forms of aerobic exercise. The most important thing is to make sure that their heart is beating faster than normal for at least 3 hours a week. Now small children cannot lift weights, nor would any health professional recommend so. Instead, children can strengthen their bones and muscles by doing gymnastics, climbing on monkey bars and jungle gyms, as well as jumping rope and hula-hooping.

A lot of parents, especially those living in large metropolitan areas, face many concerns when deciding where their children may recreate. Safety, supervision, and proximity to home are several factors that place into this decision, and often times if parents cannot find a solution to outdoor play areas, they will encourage their children to stay at home, indoors. However, children in population-dense regions who live around green parks and lawns may be less likely to be overweight, according to a study appearing in the March/April issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion.

The researchers based their study on a long-held theory that environmental conditions can influence the growing obesity epidemic by affecting physical activity and nutrition. They concluded that densely populated neighborhoods with more plants and grass were associated with a reduced risk of overweight and obesity among children and suggested it was because access to parks and outdoor play spaces increased their activity levels.

Other than parks and recreational areas, there are several ways to get your children involved in after school or weekend activities that will increase their energy-output levels, get them active, and keep them healthy. Most communities have a YMCA with free or discounted services for children. Another option is to research and see if your community has a Big Brother/Big Sister Program where your child can get active with an older role model if they do not have an older sibling with whom they can play.

The point is, keeping your children active, teaching them early that exercise is essential, and providing them with nutritional food at an early age will reduce their risks of being overweight and send them into a bright future where they will live happier, healthier lives. McDonald's happy meals may put a smile on your child's face temporarily, but a childhood of good decisions will keep them smiling for a lifetime.

Rehabmart carries over two hundred products to assist over-weight individuals or those with obesity problems  To view these products, please go to the Obesity Products  bage.


Keith Higginbotham,
Medical Consumer Writer
and
Hulet Smith, OT
Rehabmart Team Leader & CEO