Obesity in Children
"Obesity is among the easiest medical conditions to recognize but the most difficult to treat" (A.A.C.A.P, 2008). You can see when a person is overweight or obese, it’s not something you can hide, but treating this condition is a lot harder. Changing your lifestyle is difficult, hence the reason so many Americans are obese. The United States was ranked 20th out of 92 in the countries with the highest childhood obesity for kids under 5. The USA has an obesity rate of 5.6 percent while; Albania takes first place with a rate of 22.4 percent. A British study by Plymouth 's Peninsula Medical School shows that obese mothers are ten times more likely than an average weight mother to have obese daughters. But sons are only six times more likely to be obese when born to obese dads. "DNA is not destiny, and there is a lot a parent can do in terms of role modeling." (Black, 2009) Not understanding what is considered obese for children, accompanied by a lack of exercise, without a balanced diet, all contributes to the rising epidemic of obesity in children.
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), for children BMI is calculated by using weight, height, and age. In children and teens a BMI of 95 percent or more is considered obese. A BMI between 85 and 95 percent is considered overweigh. In other words, 10 percent over the ideal weight for the child’s age group and height is overweight, with 20 percent over being obese. For the past 30 years, obesity or being overweight for children has doubled to 25 percent. That’s an estimated 22 million children in the America. Hawaiian children suffer double the amount of obesity in kids as the rest of the nation. The American Academy of Pediatrics has proposed numerous ideas to reduce and prevent this weight issue. One of the ideas being that physicians should regularly check and record children’s BMI, to efficiently recognize excessive weight gain in relation to height. This is just one of the many things that can be done to
Obesity is measured by body mass index (BMI), for children BMI is calculated by using weight, height, and age. In children and teens a BMI of 95 percent or more is considered obese. A BMI between 85 and 95 percent is considered overweigh. In other words, 10 percent over the ideal weight for the child’s age group and height is overweight, with 20 percent over being obese. For the past 30 years, obesity or being overweight for children has doubled to 25 percent. That’s an estimated 22 million children in the America. Hawaiian children suffer double the amount of obesity in kids as the rest of the nation. The American Academy of Pediatrics has proposed numerous ideas to reduce and prevent this weight issue. One of the ideas being that physicians should regularly check and record children’s BMI, to efficiently recognize excessive weight gain in relation to height. This is just one of the many things that can be done to
References: Bulluck, Pam (2005), Children’s life Expectancy being cut short by Obesity New York Times http://betterhealthusa.com/public/227.cfn Black, Rosemary, and (2009) Study: Children are likely to become overweight by mimicking behaviors of obese parent: ng_behaviors_of_obese_p.html CG News Desk (2004) Zoned-out or Zoomed-in? Does your child have an Electronic Babysitter? http://pamf.org/teen/health/nutrition/fastfood.html Pruitt, David, M.D, A.A.C.A.P, (1998) Morgan, Lisa, (2008) BMI…a weighty issue.