Growing Kids: A Weighty Issue

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International Food Information Council Foundation

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The timeless axiom that children learn best by example may carry more weight than we realize - literally.

Just as studies indicate obesity is steadily increasing among American adults, recent research shows that pre-teens and adolescents are putting on the pounds, too.

According to the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), obesity among six- to-17-year olds more than doubled between 1988 and 1991.

Richard P. Troiano, Ph.D., R.D., and colleagues at the National Center for Health Statistics studied 2,290 children and compared their results with earlier NHANES surveys. They found that during the 1960s and 1970s, the prevalence of overweight generally was steady among adolescents and rose slowly in children. But the greatest increase in overweight prevalence occurred between the mid-1970s and early 1990s.

According to the study reported in Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 22 percent of children and adolescents fit the criteria for overweight, up from 15 percent in the previous survey. Troiano noted that overweight may be a part of normal growth, as young adolescents experience rapid changes which require time for their bodies to adjust. But he also warned of the long-term prospects.

"Although some overweight youths will lose their excess weight as they mature and develop," said Troiano, "many may go on to become overweight adults. This implies an increased need for treatment of morbidities associated with overweight in the near and distant future."

Total caloric and fat intake of the children varied little across the years. Thus, finding the root of the overweight problem remains a challenge. Dietary treatment for obesity has been largely ineffective in children and is complicated by the need to avoid interference with their optimal growth and development.

The solution: prevention through action. The researchers concluded, "Attempts to increase physical activity for children and adolescents may be a promising avenue in this effort."

Judy Dodd, M.S., R.D., a counselor in child and adolescent nutrition and former president of The American Dietetic Association, concurs: "One of the basic principles of weight loss and maintenance is to use - or expend - the same number of calories taken in. Kids lead a much more sedentary life than ever before. They don't have the opportunity or the interest in playing or being active."

The new data may be the call to action that adults and children have needed. "All adults - from parents and teachers to coaches and celebrities - influence kids' choices and decisions. This is the wake-up call we need to encourage our kids to get up and move," said Dodd.

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Reprinted from the International Food Information Council Foundation