Kathleen Sebelius, our new Health and Human Services Secretary, made headlines the other day at a "Weight of the Nation" conference when she said that about
. But in my Central California pediatric practice, the figure is much higher. I see about 40% Latino and 35% Anglo patients as well as many Hmong/Cambodian, Laotian, Filipino, East Indian, and Native American children. Child obesity is rampant among every one of these groups, and I shudder to think about the future health calamities these kids are going to be facing if nothing changes. Their physical, mental, and emotional health is at stake. This isn't just a personal issue that fuels unhappiness, depression, even teen suicides. It's also a serious economic issue, as this week's CDC statistics on the
point out. But here's what I see day after day in my practice. A mom brings in her 5-year-old son. He weighs 90 pounds, which would be healthy if he were twice that age and almost a foot taller. When I ask about any family history of metabolic disorders, she says, "I think so. A lot of my side of the family are overweight, even though we're not big eaters....I think he has another condition going on that's causing this. Can you test him?" Then she takes another sip from her super-sized plastic cup of soda. The little boy has one too. But when I ask he eats much junk food, she says no. I estimate that the number of obese kids coming into my office has mushroomed over the past 15 years. It's only to be expected that a high-school football player might tip the scales at over 200 pounds -- but to see a freshman weighing in at 300 is shocking. Not to mention that many of the young teenage girls I see are obese too. They come in seriously depressed and unhappy and ask for referrals to gastric bypass surgeons. Ten years ago, I couldn't find any specialists who dealt with obese teenagers, but these days I get several brochures a week from these doctors informing me of their services. Sebelius was also quoted as saying that First Lady Michelle Obama is planning to take on child health as an issue. I'd like nothing better than to sit down with her to discuss the following "talking points" (as the politicians say) regarding some of the basic causes and some workable for this national crisis.
- Parents, take responsibility. Almost invariably, when obese kids show up in my office, they're there with a parent who is obese as well. These don't say no to their kids' demands for junk food and they certainly aren't setting a good example with their own junk-food consumption. These kinds of parents also let their kids choose where and when to eat. I've actually had parents tell me that they go to three different fast-food places every night so all their kids will end up getting what they want. They don't seem to care about the calories as long as the kids are happy and don't demand much attention. Besides, the parents themselves are usually too much in a hurry to get home and sit in front of the TV watching their favorite shows -- while they eat some more.
Stop denying the obvious. The major factor in child obesity is totally obvious: kids today are fat because they eat too much (and move too little). But I see parents every week who insist that I test their kids for possible medical issues that are causing the problem. These parents also deny that they buy much junk food or go out for fast food more than "occasionally," but when I go shopping at the grocery store and run into them, their carts are piled high with junk food. Parents also tell me, "My kids don't watch any more TV than any other kid." That may be, but with my patients racking up to 6 hours a day of TV watching or in front of the computer, that's still a lot of sedentary living. But they prefer to blame restaurants for serving too much food, not their own lifestyle. Are our own fears fueling our children's obesity? Think about it -- we've turned into a frightened society. We don't let our kids outside for fear that a deranged stranger may snatch them away -- never mind that in most abductions, child murders, or child-abuse cases, the perpetrator is a family member or family friend. Even if we don't live in gang-infested areas, we're scared of drive-by shootings. We fear that our next-door neighbors may harm our children, but we've never made any effort to get to know them ourselves. We're a nation of strangers who are fearful of each other.So instead of allowing our children to explore and sample life in the "outside world," we keep them inside, feed them junk food, and use TV as a babysitter. Here are just 3 simple solutions that we as parents can try -- if we're willing to do a better job of stepping up to our responsibilities.
- Let's take back our neighborhoods and allow our kids to roam around picking up other kids as they go. I firmly believe that kids can and will protect each other just as well as adults can. It's when they're isolated and alone that they're vulnerable.
Support your family's physical health and your social ties with your neighborhood by going out on family walks. For one thing, when it comes to sheer physical exercise, kids respond better when they're given a good example that they can model. "Do as I say" while you sit in front of the TV isn't going to cut it. Also, it's good for them to see us walking around and stopping to chat with our neighbors. Getting out into our neighborhoods will foster a greater sense of community and mutual protection -- if you know your neighbors and they know you, they'll look out for your kids just as you'll start looking out for theirs. Turn off the TV (and ignore the kids' protests). Also, try to make TV a shared, whole-family event instead of a taken-for-granted routine where each member of the family is isolated in a one-on-one relationship with their own TV set night after night. Limit TV viewing to a few favorite shows each week. And go out for walks.Support HuffPost
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