Childhood Obesity: When Enough Is Enough

Childhood obesity can be understood and corrected by looking at cultural changes over the last few decades. A basic understanding of these changes and related issues can help change bad habits to good. Childhood obesity and the risks that are associated with it are seeing major billing in the news.  Like always, some of these are scare tactics that have people calling for a dramatic change in our society and/or government intervention. However, despite these extreme reactions, some basic facts still remain true.  

In Western countries, lower cost foods are readily available.  Everyone, but the poorest individuals are safe from the risk of starving.  Fast food establishments, convenience food and snack foods are practically everywhere and they do play a significant part in childhood obesity.  They have made it more likely that individuals will take in an abundance of extra calories.   Generally speaking, children are spending a considerable amount of time in front of the TV, on the computer and other sedentary actions such as talking on the phone.  With the exception of the Internet, these devices have all been available for decades.  For many, with the addition of the Internet to their lives, their physical activity has greatly declined and their snack food intake has greatly increased.  

On average, children today are heavier than they were just a few decades ago.  Foods with higher fats, complex sugars, and less fibers like fruit and vegetables are being consumed at an alarming rate.  For many, the overall affect is obesity. Childhood obesity and adult obesity are measured differently.  As a result, their rapidly changing metabolic and changing body rates are different.  Children often experience growth spurts that could skew any measurements that include Body Mass Index or BMI.  In children, instead of solely using BMI as a starting point, they combine it with the gender and age to create a more accurate picture.   

An adult would be considered to be on the border of obesity with a BMI of 30 or higher. The Center for Disease Control or CDC charts would designate a child as obese when they are in the 95th percentile.  Although the two are basically equivalent, it is necessary to look at the charts for a closer breakdown.   Another important measurement is the overall percentage of body fat.  With this percentage, the numbers vary between girls and boys.  For girls, the percentage of body fat of 32% or higher would be considered to obese.  However, a boy would be considered to be obese with a body fat of 25% or more.   

This can be explained because females naturally have a higher percentage of body fat than males.  For an adult woman, a healthy percentage of body fat would be 27% while for an adult male it would be roughly 15%.  In order to reduce body fat, both adults and adolescents must add exercise to their daily routine, as well as a proper diet.  The exercise can be as simple as starting to walk around the block and eventually further. For many, this will involve a change of lifestyle.  For younger children, this is often easier to implement.  When younger children establish good eating habits, it will often carry into their teenage years, as well as beyond. The bottom line is habits. It can be difficult to learn new ones sometimes, but what is the reward or payoff. A lifetime of feeling much better physically.  Adolescents, can be started on the road to good health, even if they have experienced childhood obesity and with some practice, they  will have an easier time maintaining this lifestyle into adulthood.