DAD (Doctors Against Diabetes) : Yes No. Number of diabetic patients you see/day or month: where all the : complications of diabetes can be dealth with …
Ages Stages: Obesity Childrens Health
from the National Womens Health Report, Women Obesity
As frightening as the overweight epidemic is in adults, its nothing
compared to whats happening with children Today, one in five children
ages two to five is overweight or obese, as is one in three children ages
six to 19 Those numbers have doubled for kids 6 to 11 in the past 20
years; tripled for those 12 to 19 The rates of chlamydia, gonorrhea and
human papillomavirus HPV are highest among female adolescents
Adolescents and females are biologically more susceptible to STIs, so as a
college-age woman, you need to be especially careful
Its the most serious medical disease thats ever hit children, says
pediatrician William Sears, MD, an associate clinical professor of
pediatrics at the University of California-Irvine Thats because kids
rarely grow out of their weight problems, with an overweight adolescent
having an 80 percent chance of being overweight through adulthood
Overweight kids also face significant health challenges About 60 percent
have at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, including high
cholesterol, elevated insulin levels and elevated blood pressure;
25
percent have two or more Today pediatricians treat ever-increasing numbers
of children with type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, back pain
and other weight-related conditions
The bottom line: unless American families change the way they eat and live,
the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention CDC predicts one in
three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime
Theres no one reason for the epidemic, not even fast food companies
Studies find connections between everything from the amount of TV kids
watch and having a television in their bedroom to skipping breakfast, less
physical education in school and the demise of the family dinner
The entire environment is the problem, says Robert H Lustig, MD,
professor of clinical pediatrics in the Division of Endocrinology at the
University of California, San Francisco Its toxic
As with adults, diets are not the answer, warns Dr Sears Parents need to
stay away from crash diets, he says Eating needs to be pleasurable
Plus, childrens nutritional needs are much greater than adult needs Even
a 100-calorie a day reduction without professional oversight could lead to
nutritional deficiencies in a child
The most
successful weight-loss programs for kids use a comprehensive
approach, including behavioral modification therapy They also tend to
involve the entire family, not just the child My personal bias is that
parents who try to make changes for their kids arent going to have that
much success, says Joseph A Skelton, MD, assistant professor of
pediatrics at the Medical College of Wisconsin, who directs a program for
overweight children at Childrens Hospital of Wisconsin If you do it as a
family, though, youre changing the micro-environment
And dont try to change everything at once, he warns Focus on those
things you can get the biggest bang for the change, he says, like cutting
out soda and other sweetened beverages; eating out once a month instead of
five times; going for a walk or bike ride three nights after dinner instead
of plopping down in front of the TV
Dr Sears uses a similar approach in his program, LEAN lifestyle, exercise,
attitude, nutrition, which the state of California is piloting in Boys
and Girls Clubs and YMCAs He asks children to make one change a day and
write it down So instead of a bag of chips, they might choose an apple
Often, one instead of healthy choice a day is
all they need, he says
The average child is only 100 calories a day over what they need to be
He also doesnt focus on weight Instead, we start with the child, and the
first thing we ask is What would you change if you could? says Dr
Sears And they say, Id like to run faster, so we say, OK, call this
Dr Bills Run Faster program
And he, like Dr Skelton, believes parents must be involved Parents have
to take this seriously, he says I use scare tactics sometimes, because
the parents are not getting the message I say, I know you love your
child, but if your child continues on this track, shes going to get
diabetes, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, behavior and learning
problems, vision problems and self-image problems Then, he says, they
start to listen
References
Hedley AA, Ogden CL, Johnson CL, et al Prevalence of overweight and
obesity among US children, adolescents, and adults, 1999- 2002 JAMA 2004
Jun 16;29123:2847-50
Daniels SR The consequences of childhood overweight and obesity Future
Child 2006 Spring;161:47-67 Review
Freedman DS, Dietz WH, Srinivasan SR, Berenson GS The relation of
overweight to cardiovascular risk factors among children and adolescents:
The Bogalusa Heart
Study Pediatrics 1999;103:1175-1182
Narayan KM, Boyle JP, Thompson TJ, et al Lifetime risk for diabetes
mellitus in the United States JAMA 2003 Oct 8;29014:1884-90
Dubois L, Girard M, Potvin Kent M Breakfast eating and overweight in a pre-
school population: Public Health Nutr 2006 Jun;94:436-42
Krebs NF, Jacobson MS; American Academy of Pediatrics Committee on
Nutrition Prevention of pediatric overweight and obesity Pediatrics 2003
Aug;1122:424-30
| | 2006 National Womens Health Resource |
| |Center, Inc NWHRC All rights reserved |
| |Reprinted with permission from the NWHRC |
| |1-877-986-9472 toll-free On the Web at: |
| |wwwhealthywomenorg |
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