CHILDHOOD OBESITY

The rise in childhood obesity is believed to be due to increases in poor nutrition and inactivity. Television, computers, and other electronics are more popular with children today but generally offer no physical exercise. National guidelines recommend 150 minutes of physical activity per week for elementary school-age children and 225 minutes per week for older children and teens. In one survey completed by the Centers for Disease Control, 27.8 percent of high school girls and 43.8 percent of high school boys reported at least 60 minutes of exercise at least five times per week. High school boys are more likely than girls to be active because they are more likely to participate in sports. According to researchers at the University of South Carolina, one-third of teens are unfit, based on a study of more than 3,000 teens from 1999 to 2002. The definition of "unfit" was determined by a treadmill test where the teens’ heart rates were monitored. The researchers found that overweight teens are much more likely to fail the fitness test than normal-weight teens and that boys are slightly more likely to meet the fitness standard than girls. The findings were troubling to medical professionals because it is well accepted that unfit teens are much more likely to be unfit adults.

Fast food and vending machines in schools also contribute to childhood obesity. For many children, fast food is a weekly or even daily part of their diets. Particularly disturbing is the quantity of sugar children consume today. According to the United States Department of Agriculture, in the early 1800s, the average person consumed approximately 12 pounds of sugar annually. By the 1970s, the annual consumption of sugar jumped to 137 pounds, a figure that has not changed much over the years despite the introduction of many artificial sweeteners. The source of much of this sugar is in processed foods and sweetened drinks.

Processed foods are foods made with processed white sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, and grains such as white flour, in which the plant fiber—and most of the nutrition—has been removed. High-fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is a sweetener created from corn syrup. Most "convenience" foods are processed. The danger with processed foods is that without fiber to slow the absorption of food, the glucose (sugar) from the broken-down food floods the bloodstream, causing the body to produce insulin to handle this excess sugar. The insulin captures the sugar, which may leave the person feeling tired and cranky from a suddenly lower blood sugar level. This cycle is commonly known as a sugar crash, and from a medical perspective is an unhealthy eating style. Having insulin levels fluctuate greatly as a result of a poor diet can increase the chances of developing type 2 diabetes.


Becoming overweight as a child can make weight loss a more significant struggle throughout life. Scientists identified adolescence as a critical period for the development of obesity. A person who becomes overweight during adolescence is much more likely to struggle with obesity later in life. An overweight adolescent has a greater chance of being obese as an adult than an overweight child who has not reached adolescence. The reason for this is that weight gain in adolescence increases the amount and size of fat cells. Once fat cells are created, they cannot be lost through weight loss. When an adolescent tries to lose weight, he or she can only limit the size of the fat cells and not the total number of fat cells. The only way to get rid of fat cells permanently is through liposuction, a surgical procedure in which the fat cells are removed from the body. Liposuction is not a realistic option for most people, so the best way to control adult obesity is to limit the proliferation of new fat cells developed from childhood obesity.

Source: "Drugs The Straight Facts: Weight-Loss Drugs," Chelsea House, 2009