The Chubby American Child -- a Growing Problem

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Article Title:

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The Chubby American Child -- a Growing Problem

Article Description:

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Between 5-25% of children and teenagers in the United States are

obese (Dietz, 1983). As with adults, the prevalence of obesity in

the young varies by ethnic group.

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Distribution Date and Time: Tue Apr 11 07:48:49 EDT 2006

Written By: Kathy Castillo

Copyright: 2006,

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The Chubby American Child -- a Growing Problem

Copyright © 2006 Kathy Castillo,

DBA AdPro Media Sales

http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com

Between 5-25% of children and teenagers in the United States are

obese (Dietz, 1983). As with adults, the prevalence of obesity in

the young varies by ethnic group. It is estimated that 5-7% of

White and Black children are obese, while 12% of Hispanic boys

and 19% of Hispanic girls are obese (Office of Maternal and Child

Health, 1989).

Obesity is a growing problem in the United States and most of the

time it begins in childhood. The way a child is taught to eat at

an early age will effect how he/she eats as an adult. Children

who eat a lot of junk food such as soda pop, candies, potato

chips, and pastries will grow up with the craving to continue

eating these foods. Junk food is high in fats, oils, and calories

which, over time, will lead to obesity.

Children usually do not gain weight as rapidly as adults. This is

because they tend to be more active. However, when children get

older, their active lifestyles decrease. Sometimes, a child who

was skinny as a child will become obese as an adult. This is

mainly because the child ate a lot of junk food but was very

active. Then when adulthood started, the active lifestyle ceased

and the weight gain began.

Obesity treatment programs for children and adolescents rarely

have weight loss as a goal. Rather, their aim is to slow or halt

weight gain so the child will grow into his or her body weight

over a period of months to years. Dietz (1983) estimates that for

every 20% excess of ideal body weight, the child will need one

and one-half years of weight maintenance to attain his or her

ideal body weight.

Early and appropriate intervention is particularly valuable.

Childhood eating and exercise habits are more easily modified

than adult habits (Wolf, Cohen, & Rosenfeld, 1985). Three forms

of intervention include:

1. Physical Activity

Adopting a formal exercise program or simply becoming more active

is a valuable way to burn fat, increase energy expenditure, and

maintain lost weight. Most studies of children have not shown

exercise to be a successful strategy for weight loss unless it is

coupled with another intervention such as nutrition education or

behavior modification (Wolf et al., 1985).

However, exercise has additional health benefits. Even when

children's body weights and fat percentages did not change

following 50 minutes of aerobic exercise three times per week,

their blood lipid profiles and blood pressure did improve

(Becque, Katch, Rocchini, Marks, & head, 1988).

2. Diet Management

Fasting or extreme caloric restriction is not advisable for

children. Not only is this approach psychologically stressful,

but it may adversely affect growth and the child's perception of

" normal " eating. Balanced diets with moderate caloric

restriction, especially those diets with reduced fat, have been

used successfully in treating obesity (Dietz, 1983). Nutrition

education may be necessary. Diet management coupled with exercise

is an effective treatment for childhood obesity (Wolf et al.,

1985).

3. Behavior Modification

Many behavioral strategies used with adults have been

successfully applied to children and adolescents: self-monitoring

and recording food intake and physical activity, slowing the rate

of eating, limiting the time and place of eating, and using

rewards and incentives for desirable behaviors. Particularly

effective are behaviorally based treatments that include parents

(Epstein et al., 1987).

Graves, Meyers, and (1988) used problem-solving exercises

in a parent-child behavioral program and found children in the

problem-solving group, but not those in the behavioral treatment-

only group, significantly reduced their percent overweight and

maintained their reduced weight for six months. Problem-solving

training involved identifying possible weight-control problems,

and as a group, discussing solutions.

If your child is obese, you may want to consider a new powerful

vitamin that helps to alleviate childhood obesity. It is

called Essentialean. Essentialean is available on

http://www.bodestore.com and at www.Amazon.com. Now is the

time to start doing something to help your child overcome

obesity. Proper nutrition and exercise are the keys to avoiding

obesity. However, if obesity is already a problem, then

Essentialean may be your solution.

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Kathy Castillo is a health and fitness enthusiast and

advocate. She writes on a regular basis on timeless

health and fitness tips at the Fit After Forty Blog.

See more useful health and fitness news and tips at:

http://www.healthandfitnessvitality.com/blogs/fitnessblog.htm

Copyright 2006 AdPro Media Sales,

courtesy Kamau Austin.

This Article must be published with a disclaimer as such...

This article is for general information purposes only. Before

under taking any exercise or treatment program always first

check first with your doctor and health professionals.