Childhood Obesity
Childhood obesity can’t be ignored or taken lightly. The incidence of this disease is growing throughout the world at an alarming rate. It is especially evident in industrialized nations, like America, where so many folks live sedentary lives eating convenience foods high in calories and low in nutritional value. In just two decades the prevalence of overweight in children ages 6-11 doubled in the U.S. and tripled for teenagers. The annual National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about one-third of American children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
In total, about 25 million of our children and adolescents are overweight or nearly overweight.
This is frightening on many levels.
How do you know if your child's weight gain is normal or not – or when it may be leading to childhood obesity? Obviously children are still growing so unlike adults they need extra nutrients and calories to fuel their development. If they consume the right number of calories they need for daily activities, growth and metabolism, they are adding the right number of pounds in proportion to the inches they’re adding. But if they eat more calories than they need, they gain weight beyond the need to support their growing frames. In these cases, the added weight increases their risk of obesity and weight-related health problems.
Obesity in children is particularly troubling. The extra pounds they are gaining starts them early on the path to other health problems that were once only adult problems such as diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
One of the best strategies to combat excess weight in your children is to improve the diet and exercise levels of your entire family. This helps protect the health of your children now and in the future. For more information visit: www.MayoClinic.com