WP: Obesity Threatens a Generation

[MountainLaurel]

An epidemic of obesity is compromising the lives of millions of American children, with burgeoning problems that reveal how much more vulnerable young bodies are to the toxic effects of fat.

In ways only beginning to be understood, being overweight at a young age appears to be far more destructive to well-being than adding excess pounds later in life. Virtually every major organ is at risk. The greater damage is probably irreversible.

Doctors are seeing confirmation of this daily: boys and girls in elementary school suffering from high blood pressure, high cholesterol and painful joint conditions; a soaring incidence of type 2 diabetes, once a rarity in pediatricians' offices; even a spike in child gallstones, also once a singularly adult affliction. Minority youth are most severely affected, because so many are pushing the scales into the most dangerous territory.

With one in three children in this country overweight or worse, the future health and productivity of an entire generation -- and a nation -- could be in jeopardy.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/05/09/ST2008050900425.html?sid=ST2008050900425?hpid=topnews

[AndyTiedye]

1. Let Them Dance!

We didn't have such an obesity problem before they shut down almost all the raves!

[lizerdbits]

2. I have a coworker in a public health program

it she noted in several studies (which I don't have and didn't read myself, just looked at a page of stats with activity and obesity) that it was more food than lower activity although I think this focused on adults and not children. There's a common perception that we're less active and I was surprised when she said we're still getting fatter despite a relatively steady activity level. However the problem with these activity levels is they were self reported, and some people might not be fully honest, so I took that with multiple grains of salt especially since I didn't have time to read everything she had.

I think most of it is stress and cost of real food. If it takes 2 full time jobs to support your family who has time or energy to cook, even if it's just half an hour? You pick up your kids who have been hungry for an hour or so, they're whining and fighting with each other, are you going to cook a meal? No, you're probably going to grab a box that takes 10 minutes to fix or get fast food. So the fast food habits are starting very early, they may not be learning anything regarding cooking for themselves. I've seen pre sliced veggies in grocery stores as a time saver but they are much more expensive. And if you're poor forget it. It's so much more expensive to buy better food that it's not even an option, on top of possibly working even more hours to stay afloat. Especially when you don't have the option of a small garden depending on where you live. (I'd love my condo assoc. to have some kind of community garden where we all pitch in with a little work.) No surprise at all that the people with the least resources to start with are going to be the ones who are going to need more health care at a younger age.
:(

ETA: I didn't want to sound like I was blaming parents. I have no kids and if I did I'd probably be doing that too due to stress.

[Quantess]

3. Kids and teenagers are so fat these days.

I don't think they even know that middle aged people like me are watching in disbelief as they waddle off the schoolbus, wondering how sedentary they probably are. I'm thinking most of them go straight to the couch and play video games.

Average weight of today's youth was considered fat 25 years ago. It's their bodies, they can do whatever they want. I'm just saying it's not healthy.

[DavidDvorkin]

4. A major problem is denial that the problem exists

Something we see here on DU whenever the topic is raised in areas with heavy traffic, such as GD.

[MountainLaurel]

5. More articles from the series

Two Worlds: One Problem (about obese children in the 'burbs}:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/05/09/AR2008050900721.html



In DC, Where Kids Live Sets Tone for Weight-Loss Success (on the role of neighborhood in youth obesity):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/05/09/ST2008050900716.html


'Fat School' (a boarding school for obese children):

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/story/2008/05/19/ST2008051901576.html