Child Obesity

Child Obesity

Child obesity is becoming scary...obesity among children is evident in our society; the obesity statistics are alarming and show the evidence of just how unhealthy our children are. Take a look at the child obesity stats from the Centers for Disease Control of "a survey was taken illustrating the increase in overweight children":

from ages 2-5 years - overweight increased from 5% to 13.9%
for children ages 6-11 years - the rate rose from 6.5% to 18.8%
and, for kids from 12-19 years of age - the rate increased from 5% to 17.4%.

Unfortunately there's more. In a 2003-2004 survey, from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, it was determined that 17% of children and adolescents ages 2-19 are overweight. Here are their statistics of the overweight children:

ages 2-5 years rose from 7.2% to 13.9%
ages 6-11 years increased 11% to 19%
and, ages 12-19 increased from 11% to 17%So how can this happen?

It's clear that our children are still consuming fast foods and snacks and are not adhering to any type of nutritional diet even though measures are being taken to ban Trans fat. But not only the Trans fat, computers, video games, and TV detract our kids from not exercising as often as they should.

Two more contributing factors that leads to child obesity:

families whose lifestyle is sedentary
and, moms and dads who are overweight.

But it's in the family genes...

Well 'yes' and 'no' - genetically speaking, there are studies which indicate that overweight children can inherit specific genes which cause them to have a larger body mass. And also, recent research indicates that the hypothalamus gland is now considered to be one of the causes of obesity in children and adults. However, there are more studies that are being conducted to determine how obesity can be halted and eventually cured.

Here's a comparison...

The United States has the highest obesity level than any other country. Yet in Japan, obesity is almost non-existent because their diet consists of high fiber and low fat meals.

Obesity can kill!!!

and is the #1 cause of cardiovascular disease among children and adults.

You may have heard that people are living longer these days - but - contrary to this belief a recent survey determined that 77.5 is the median age for us as compared to every other nation in the world whose longevity age is higher. In fact, we are ranked in the low 20's...this speaks volumes about not only our lifestyle but our nutritional values as well.

Children are a precious commodity and child obesity is the catalyst that is causing a decline in their health. Here's what pediatricians are concerned about:

The rise in:

diabetes

cardiovascular disease

high blood pressure

and, other chronic illnesses

all of which are direct causes of obesity in children.

Being overweight is not just a serious health issue it's also a social issue as well. So, until additional research can find a cure - most experts recommend -

portion control for overweight children
a nutritional diet and exercise program

We all want our children to live long and healthy lives...
anything else is unacceptable.

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