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Super sized meals at McDonalds and Wendys and pizza from Pizza Hut
and Pizza Inn are just a minuscule representation of fast food restaurants
that have been blamed for the obesity rates in this country These factors
may contribute to the increased rates of obesity, but other factors are
also responsible This issue of Health in Our Hands will focus on
childhood obesity
Definition and Etiology
Weight gain occurs when food is ingested more abundantly than it is
expended and is due to habitually overeating Obesity can be defined as an
excessive accumulation of body fat Obesity is a familiar topic of
discussion in the adult population; however, the topic of childhood obesity
was not a conventional topic until recently Childhood obesity has
increased dramatically For example, between 1988 to 1994, the percentage
of obesity in both children and adolescents was
11 In 2000 the prevalence of
children between the ages of six
Childhood
Obesity
and 11 who were obese was 153 About 155 of adolescents between the
ages
of 12 and 19 were obese
Not only is childhood obesity prevalent in the United States, but
childhood obesity has also become rampant in Arkansas After Mississippi,
Arkansas has the leading childhood obesity rate
Detection
Skin fold measures can be used to determine obesity Skin folds of
the triceps alone, triceps and subscapula, triceps and calf, and calf alone
can be used Obesity can also be determined using the body mass index
BMI Body mass can be calculated by using the following formula: weight
in kilograms divided by height in meters squared Using this formula, an
11 year old child, who is 130
pounds lbs and 5 feet ft tall, would have a BMI of 25 A
child, who weighed 160 lbs with the same height, would have a
BMI of 31 According to the
Centers on Disease Control
CDC, the child with the BMI of 25 is in the 85th percentile and is
considered overweight, and the child with the BMI of 32 is
in the 95th percentile and is considered obese
Causes
Children are more overweight and obese than ever before based on three
main factors: family environment, heredity, and low-energy expenditure
Children usually model their parents eating and exercising
behaviors
Many parents claim that they do not have time to cook for their families;
therefore, they dine out When dining, these parents are not always eating
healthy
As a result, the children are not
eating healthy and tend to eat fatty foods, such as hamburgers and French
fries Likewise, these parents have poor exercising behaviors The
parents do not exercise, and the children do not feel the need to exercise
either
Heredity plays a factor When both parents are obese, there is a two-
thirds chance of the offspring being obese When one parent is obese,
there is one-half chance that the child will be obese Finally, if neither
parent is obese, the child has a nine percent chance of becoming obese
Children do not expend the energy that they once did, and obesity
results as a lack of physical activity The average American child views
television 24 hours per week While these children are watching
television, they usually eat snacks and do not expend energy consumed from
these snacks As a result, fat is accumulated Children also spend a
considerable amount of time playing videogames and working on the computer
Again, the energy expended is less than the amount of food
ingested; this
results in weight gain
Risk Factors
There are several risk factors Type II diabetes is a major risk
factor in childhood obesity Type II diabetes was formerly seen in
individuals 40 years and older Currently, the rate of Type II diabetes
has more than doubled in children because of the excess weight Another
disorder that has increased drastically in children is hypertension
Hypertension is currently nine times more prevalent in children Twenty to
30 of obese children have high blood pressure Both diabetes and
hypertension can increase childrens chances of atherosclerosis, hardening
of the
arteries
In girls, menstrual
abnormalities can exist Either early or late menarche is seen in obese
girls Orthopedic complications, such as Blounts
Disease or severe bowing of the
legs, are also seen Sleeping
disorders are common in obese children Sleep apnea, hypopnea, and
excessive night time arousals have been seen in children who are obese
Not only are sleeping patterns disturbed in children who are obese, but
eating patterns are often altered As a result of psychosocial aspects and
stigma of obesity, children who are obese are turning to other
eating
disorders, such as anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating
Other risk factors include:
psychological issues, such as low self-esteem
skin disorders, such as heat rashes
steatohepatitis, the presence of fat in the liver cells with
inflammation
and coronary heart disease
Treatment
Obesity treatment programs rarely focus on weight loss as the primary
goal; the goal is to slow weight gain Three strategies have been used for
treatment: physical activity, diet management, and behavior modification
Prevention
There are several strategies that can be taken by parents to assist
their children in preventing obesity During the childs infancy, the
mother can breast feed, recognize signals of when the child has had enough
to eat, and delay introduction of solid foods During early childhood, it
is imperative that parents promote proper nutrition selection For
example, when dining at a fast food restaurant, super-sized meals should be
avoided, and grilled foods should be chosen instead of fried foods In the
home, unhealthy food choices should be replaced with healthy ones Good
exercise and activity habits
should also be demonstrated in the home
environment Children should be encouraged to participate in activities
that they enjoy Furthermore, parents should monitor television viewing
and build their childrens self esteem when preventive measures can not be
overcome
Sources for this newsletter include:
wwwkidsourcecom
wwwobesityorg
wwwvhorg
wwwaafporg
appsnccdcdcgov
wwwnprorg
Blue You, Winter 2003
University News
The Physical Therapy Student Association will host their 2nd annual 5K
race on April 17th at 9:00 am Early registration, which will end April
4th, is encouraged; however, registration will occur on the day of the
race For more information, contact Jerry Fenter at 761-6463
The Arkansas State University Employee Wellness Newsletter is
published monthly during the academic year by the College of Nursing and
Health Professions Health questions can be addressed to Dean Susan
Hanrahan, Ph D, ext 3112 or hanrahan@astateedu
Produced by LaToya Nance, graduate student in the College of Nursing and
Health Professions, Physical Therapy Program
Source:ch.missouri.edu
