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Hope for Overweight Teens
Putting an End to Childhood Obesity
By Kendeyl Johansen
Twenty-five percent of U.S. children are overweight or at risk for becoming overweight, and that number is increasing rapidly, according to The National Institutes of Health. The city of Birmingham, Ala., serves as a microcosm: In Birmingham, 23 percent of African-American girls and 10 percent of Anglo girls are obese by age 5, and 13 percent of African-American boys and 6 percent of Anglo boys are obese at this same age, reports Dr. Reinaldo Figueroa-Colon, while studying increased blood pressure in elementary school-aged children. And kids often aren't losing their excess weight by adolescence.
"Teenage obesity is complex in that both the potential physical and psychosocial consequences of obesity at this age need to be taken into account," says Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, Chair of the Public Health Nutrition Program, School of Public Health, University of Minnesota.
It also hurts parents, such as New York City mom Laura Vik, to see their teens in physical or emotional distress. "My 17-year-old son is 6 feet tall and weights around 300 pounds," Vik says. "He's always tired and complaining about his bad knee hurting when he walks." Vik's overweight daughter, Kari, faced name-calling from teenaged peers. But more than just ridicule, teenage obesity can lead to increased risk for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and other serious health disorders.
How did this overweight epidemic start and how can parents fight it? Experts blame the rise in obesity on unhealthy food choices and increasingly sedentary lifestyles. A study published in the American Journal of Health PromotionL found that students decreased their consumption of breakfast, fruits, vegetables and milk as they moved from elementary to junior high and middle school. Between the third to the eighth grades, fruit consumption fell by 41 percent and vegetable consumption dropped by 25 percent. Soft drink consumption tripled, often at the expense of healthier alternatives, such as milk and fruit juice.