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March/2010/child obesity |
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It’s alarming to discover that 1 out of 3 children in the United States are considered overweight or obese. Many kids are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, of video games. Also, with American families being busier than ever, especially with this recession, families have less time to prepare home-cooked meals. With the combination of of fast food and electronics, obesity is that much more on the rise.
The way you can tell if you child is overweight is to measure the Body mass index (BMI) which uses the height and weight to determine how much body fat a person has
*underweight: BMI is below the 5th percentile
*normal weight: BMI is at the 5th and less than the 85th percentile
*overweight: BMI is at the 85th and below the 95Th percentiles
*obese: BMI is at or above the 95th percentile
Below is a link for a BMI calculator
http://kidshealth.org/parent/food/weight/bmi_charts.html
BMI can be misleading in some situations. A muscular person may have a high BMI without actually being overweight. BMI is usually a good indicator but not a direct measurement of body fat
According to the centers for disease control and prevention, 16% of children (over 9 million) of 6-19 year olds are overweight or obese, a number that has tripled since 1980. In addition to the 16% who were declared overweight, another 15% were considered at risk of becoming overweight (1999-2002). Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children 2-5 years old, and adolescents 12-19 and more than tripled for children 6-11 years old. Obesity-associated hospital costs for children and youth has more than tripled over the past two decades, from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 197-1999
National guidelines recommend 150 minutes of physical activity each week for elementary children and 225 minutes for older children. Shockingly, Illinois is the only state that has a requirement for daily physical education.
Nearly 1/2 of US children 4-19 eat fast food every day, resulting in approximately 6 extra pounds a year for each child. This may make you reconsider the next time the children crave Burger King. Among boys, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in hispanic, and among girls, african americans.
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