What to do about obesity in kids
If you're concerned about your child's weight, you're in good company.
"Childhood obesity is a serious problem. About 25 to 30% of school-age children in the U.S. are overweight or obese, which puts them at high risk for heart disease, diabetes, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, asthma, orthopaedic problems, hypertension and other health problems," says
Samuel S. Gidding, MD, a Virtua/duPont pediatric cardiologist.
Some of the causes
Family history
How heavy is too heavy?
Selecting a weight management program
Fitness just for kids
Some of the causes
Although rapid growth and weight gain is part of puberty and adolescence, Dr. Gidding explains that many children and teens become overweight because of too many calories and too little exercise. "In today's fast-paced society, many families eat out or on the run, most often selecting larger-portion, higher-calorie, fatty foods because they are easier to access," says Dr. Gidding.
Many parents express concern about their children's inactivity and the huge amount of time spent playing video games or watching television. Dr. Gidding recommends that all families add physical activities, such as walking or biking, into family life. "In addition to helping maintain weight, regular exercise is the most effective treatment to prevent the onset of diabetes, high blood pressure and other risk factors. Studies have also shown that exercise and physical fitness is directly associated with long-term freedom from heart and other diseases."
Family history
While nutrition and exercise are the primary culprits, a family history of obesity may also increase a child's risk, especially if both parents are overweight. That's another reason why Dr. Gidding recommends a family approach to weight control. He says: "Look at your own lifestyle habits to see if you are setting a good example. Eliminate unhealthy foods from your household rather than singling out your child and prohibiting her from eating them; limit television and computer time; and make time to exercise with your child."
How heavy is too heavy?
To find out if your child is too heavy, check with your physician to see if the child's weight is in sync with height and age. Most often, obesity is diagnosed by calculating body mass index, a weight for height measure, and plotting it on standard growth curves. "In general," says Dr. Gidding, "a child is mildly obese if weight is 20% or more in excess of the expected weight for a given height. Severe obesity is when the child is more than 30% above ideal weight."
Selecting a weight management program
For children who are more than 40% overweight, Dr. Gidding recommends a weight management program that is supervised by a physician or registered dietitian and that stresses behavior modification rather than just restricting calories. "During the course of the program, the emphasis should be on adopting a healthier lifestyle for the long term and managing - not just losing - weight," explains Dr. Gidding. "Rapid weight loss is often associated with subsequent rapid weight gain. Usually people need to learn to maintain their current weight before they move onto weight loss. Weight maintenance is an achievable short term goal for most children."
One such weight management program is Shapedown, which is offered in Voorhees at the William G. Rohrer Center for HealthFitness. In this 10-week program, a registered dietitian works with youngsters to help them improve their self-esteem and to develop healthy exercise and eating habits through behavior modification strategies. The program avoids aggressive techniques such as low calorie or restrictive diets, and stresses lifestyle changes. The ultimate goal is to improve the child's current quality of life as well as reduce his risk of developing chronic diseases in the future.
Fitness just for kids
A great complement to Shapedown is the exercise class, Fitness for Kids, which is also offered at the Center for HealthFitness. This fitness class is for kids ages 8 to 12 who have never exercised before. It offers a variety of cardiovascular exercises, as well as coordination, balance, strength, flexibility and endurance activities.
For information and registration for these programs, please call toll-free 1-888-Virtua-3 (1-888-847-8823).