Overweight Children: The New Childhood Epidemic

Increasing numbers of overweight children in the United States is an alarming trend which should have the attention of all parents. Statistics show that the percentage of overweight children in the United States has more than doubled since the seventies and this epidemic shows no signs of slowing down. Today, about 15 percent of children are overweight and another 15 percent are at risk for gaining weight. Overall, one third of U.S. children are either overweight now or are at risk of being overweight children.

Parents across the country can be valuable partners in the goal to reduce the number of overweight children in the United States. First, each parent should determine if any of their children are overweight. Most parents can look at their children and tell if the child appears to be overweight. A child’s proportion between height and weight is also a good measure. If your child is in the 95th percentile of weight but only the 50th percentile in height, there’s a good possibility that the child is overweight.

To help solve the problem, it helps to understand the many possible causes for the increasing number of overweight children in our country. In most cases, overweight children are probably affected by a number of factors including genetics, lifestyle habits, and food choices. When you combine the effects of a sedentary lifestyle with a high-calorie, processed diet, it’s only natural that overweight children would become more common in our culture. Television and video games are a major factor for overweight children. It is estimated that American children spend an average of 4.5 hours a day in front of a screen. Along with video time, children are juggling school and homework as well, leaving little time for exercise. Parents are extremely busy, too, which gets in the way of preparing fresh, healthy, lower-calorie meals. Unfortunately, schools may also be contributing to the problem of overweight children as gym classes and other fitness programs have dwindled down to about a half-hour a week.

Obviously, there are several medical conditions that may cause a child to gain too much weight and these should be ruled out first. If it is determined that a child is overweight because of lifestyle factors, parents can work with their kids to learn healthier habits. Preventing overweight children means the entire family becomes involved in exercising, eating right, and limiting time in front of the TV or computer. By helping overweight children to limit weight gain as they grow taller, parents can prevent their kids from developing some very serious health conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Sometimes, instead of losing weight, it’s easier for overweight children to stop gaining weight while they allow their bodies to “grow into” their weight.