It is so important that we treat obesity, particularly childhood obesity, as a medical problem, rather than just as a cosmetic problem. We have a serious problem in the U.S. - the fastest growing population of overweight people is children!
A recent edition (2003) of the Columbus Dispatch featured an article about twin sisters who both had gastric bypass surgery. They had been overweight their entire life, and the reason, according to the article, was genes. The fact is that studies of identical twins consistently show that genes only account for between 25-35% of health outcomes, with the rest determined by lifestyle and dietary habits. This article did a terrible disservice by convincing some people that their problem is genetic and therefore best remedied by bypass surgery, rather than by changing their diets. The worst part of the whole piece was the mention that both of these women have children who are obese. One of the children weighed 270 pounds at the age of 14!
According to research published in the Journal of the American Medical Association this month in a special edition devoted to obesity research, children who are obese rate their quality of life as low as that of child cancer patients. They are teased about their size, they have trouble playing sports and suffer lots of physical ailments related to their weight. Common ailments among these children were fatty liver disease, obstructive sleep apnea, diabetes and orthopedic problems related to their weight.
In this study, 106 children ages 5 to 18 were asked to rate their well-being on physical, emotional and social measures. Obese children were more likely to miss school than healthy, normal weight children, and 5 times more likely to report low quality of life. Additionally, the children reported on their ability to walk one block, play sports, sleep well, get along with others and in school performance.
Obese children scored an average 67 points out of 100 - 16 points lower than a group of 400 normal weight children. The obese children's scores were similar to those of a group of 100 cancer patients. What a tragedy, particularly since it is entirely preventable!
The bottom line - parents of obese children should be doing everything they can to learn about proper health and nutrition and to assist their children in losing weight. Dr. John McDougall states that if children suffered these types of physical problems because of their parents striking them physically, they would be determined to be abused and the children would be taken away by the courts. Yet we allow children to suffer in this way, and no attempt is made to force parents to care for them properly.
Our future depends on our children - let's address this issue now while we can!
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