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Childhood Obesity and Related Ills
Bred by Greed and Laziness, Empowered by Ambivalence
By: Geoff Hampton
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"Childhood obesity is now referred to as an epidemic by the CDC and it is said that the epidemic is going to get worse and may not peak for another ten years!"
It is well documented that Childhood Obesity has more than decimated the youth of our country. While the greatest impact has been in underserved communities it has crossed all socio-economic lines and is taking a toll on the health and longevity of our children in many ways. How did we, as the most powerful nation in the world get to this point? Could it be greed and laziness empowered by ambivalence? What we have done is weakened our nation through the exploitation of our youth, with the call to action being slow in issuance, and the response to this long overdue calling being far too passive.
An Alarming 25% Of New York City First Graders Are Obese
According to The American Obesity Association, the prevalence of obese children was only 7% from 1976 to 1980. In the most recent statistics that are available (these percentages have worsened since these numbers were collected), from 1999 to 2000 the prevalence of obesity of children shot up to an alarming 15.3%. According to the New York City department of health and education, 21% of kindergartners in that city are obese and even worse, 25% of first graders are obese. Childhood obesity is now referred to as an epidemic by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (www.cdc.gov ) and it is said that the epidemic is going to get worse and may not peak for another ten years!
How the epidemic of childhood obesity breaks down by ethnicity;
| Ages 6-11 | Ages 12-19 | | overweight | obese | overweight | obese | | white | 26.2% | 11.8% | 26.5% | 12.7% | | black | 35.9% | 19.5% | 40.4% | 23.6% | | hispanic | 39.3% | 23.7% | 43.8% | 23.4% | | native american | 39.6% | 24.2% | 43.9% | 24.8% |
According to research conducted by the Departments of Preventive Medicine and Physiology & Biophysics at the Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, which was published in the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, annual obesity-related costs in 6 - 17 year olds has increased three fold over the last twenty-years and has reached $127 million per year. Some of the primary health effects that have been attributed to the rise of obesity in our children include significant increased incidences of asthma, diabetes (Type 2), hypertension, orthopedic complications, psychosocial effects & stigma, sleep apnea and others. The marked decrease in physical activity at schools and at home among our nation's youth, the preponderance of unhealthy fast-food restaurants, the advent of computers and video games, the seductive youth oriented marketing of cigarette and alcohol companies and many other factors have contributed to this national disaster and its accompanying effects. As a result of all these related factors our children are experiencing a dramatic rise in health related problems as listed above and other maladies including mental and emotional health problems (according to The National Academies of Science one in five children in America experiences some form of diagnosable mental, emotional or behavioral disorder, a dramatic rise in drug and alcohol use, violence, criminal acts, unrepentant disrespectful behaviors and a breakdown in family cohesiveness. All are systemic problems of the breakdown in our ability to effectively care for our children. It has been estimated that almost 50% of children between the ages of 8 and 16 years old watch 3 to 5 hours of television per day. Not surprisingly, children who watch the most television have the highest rates of obesity. Who is to blame? Everybody who likely has blame, shirks that responsibility, makes excuses and shifts the focus to someone or something else. At the same time big businesses continue to increase profits off of the convenient revenues generated by this epidemic.
"Schools have found enticing new revenue streams in the proliferation of fast food partnerships and installing vending machines loaded with soft drinks and candy"
Examples:
Public School Systems
Schools all over the country have dropped most active physical education programs (remember that from 1976 - 1980 most schools still had some form of active physical education). Schools have found enticing new revenue streams in the proliferation of fast food partnerships and installing vending machines loaded with soft drinks and candy and now as some try to repeal these agreements/contracts they are discovering that the greedy partners are not that easy to get rid of. Additionally, one of the original factors that drove schools to these partnerships was a reduction in available funds. Those funds have not yet been replaced and this contributes to a catch 22 effect for many schools who desire to make changes...
Fast Food Restaurants
These operators have found a financial gold mine in marketing their unhealthy fare to our youth. Sadly, many parents fail to recognize the harm being done by this type of dietary regimen. Far too many parents have even opted to make these types of restaurants a system of "rewards" for their children. Of course the ease of feeding children through this option remains appealing to many busy parents as well. However, the results have been catastrophic to the health and well being of our children.
Video Game Producers and the Internet
These folks are creating increasingly violent games that preoccupy the time and minds of our youth. Children spend an extraordinary amount of time almost every day playing video games, surfing the Internet and instant messaging one another. In the past much of this time was spent engaged in an active lifestyle. Beer and Cigarette Advertisers
These advertisers intentionally design their campaigns to appeal to our children and the results have been quantifiably devastating. Especially concerning is the dramatic increase in alcohol use by children. For many years a small group of dedicated individuals have tried to make their voices of concern heard in this important matter. Until recently they have had their message drowned out by big money and political and legal wrangling by the perpetrators of these quantifiable problems. Recently the concerns of the dedicated few have gained momentum through governmental action that has lead to mass media coverage. Now, is the perfect time for the health and wellness business to stand up and make a difference in the current and future health of our children. More...
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