Gauging the Epidemic of Obese Children Philadelphia PA

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The widespread nature of childhood obesity

Thirty years ago, less than 5 percent of children were considered obese. Today’s figures put the number of obese American children somewhere between 12 percent and 15 percent! That translates into millions of children, preteens, and teens suffering from very adult conditions like diabetes and depression related to weight gain.

Only a physician can make the official diagnosis of obesity. He or she does this by using height and weight charts along with BMI-for-age charts. These tools give the doctor a clear indication of

How heavy a child is in relation to the normal weight for his or her age

The types of interventions the doctor should recommend in order to improve the child’s health

Although some areas of the country are touted to have larger populations of heavy adults and kids, childhood obesity isn’t really a regional problem. The surgeon general has said that it’s an epidemic affecting the entire country; he doesn’t single out one specific state or city.

Changes for the worse at home

A large part of the childhood obesity epidemic is the result of some major lifestyle changes. Thirty years ago, back when a tiny percentage of children qualified as obese, there weren’t 800 cable television channels to choose from. Video games were boring and low-tech, to say the least, and most people didn’t even know what a computer was. Kids simply didn’t have endless indoor entertainment options, so they played outside more often. They were active without even knowing it. It’s simply what kids did back then!

Today, many kids are glued to some sort of screen much of the time. However, some kids aren’t allowed to play outside because they come home from school to an empty house or to a babysitter who isn’t quite up to the task of keeping the kids safe outdoors. Thirty years ago, in comparison, a large number of households had at least one parent who stayed home full time, who booted the kids out the door when they got on her nerves, and who prepared meals from scratch. We’re not knocking moms who work full time outside the home nowadays. (Indeed, many homes depend on two full-time salaries just to keep things moving toward the black and away from the red.) Families are just far more dependent on fast food and convenience foods these days, both of which tend to be very high in fat, and both of which are believed to contribute mightily to obesity.

With so many meals eaten on-the-go, families don’t sit down to dinner together. People have forgotten how to eat for the sake of nutrition; instead, food has become part of entertainment (as when families eat in front of the TV) or a contest to see how fast one can finish an entire bagged meal (because she’s running late and only has five minutes for dinner). People don’t know what normal portions look like anymore, and they’ve forgotten how to slow down and evaluate the merits of what they’re eating.

Vending junk at school

In addition to the changes in the average home, many children also face the rigors of making healthy choices at school. In many school cafeterias, finding healthy options is difficult, especially if the school has allowed fast-food vendors to set up shop in the lunchroom. Vending machines have become so commonplace in schools that kids and parents hardly give them a second glance anymore; however, because these machines usually aren’t stocked with apples and oranges but instead with soda and candy bars, even kids who want a healthy snack often find themselves out of luck.

provided by:


For Dummies is a registered trademark of Wiley Publishing, Inc. in the United States and other countries. Used here by license.

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