Overweight Kids - The Numbers Don't Lie!

12.4% of children aged 2-5 years…17.0% of children aged 6-11 years…17.6% of children/adolescents aged 12-19 years…are OBESE, not just overweight but obese! The number of overweight children and adolescents (2-19 years) is a staggering 32%! Shocking, isn’t it? One out of every three children is overweight…nearly one out of every five is obese.
(Based on the 2000 CDC U.S. Growth Charts for children of the same age and sex: Overweight is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile; Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile.)

Those statistics are from the CDC’s National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey from 2003-2006. To provide a little perspective, here are the obesity rates from the 1976-1980 survey: 5.0% of children aged 2-5 years…6.5% of children aged 6-11 years…5.0% of children/adolescents aged 12-19 years.

In nearly 25 years, the obesity rates of children aged 2-11 years more than DOUBLED. Even worse, obesity rates for adolescents aged 12-19 years MORE THAN TRIPLED! Do you agree that THIS TREND MUST CHANGE?

If, by chance, you’re not yet convinced, it gets worse: one study found that 80% of children who were overweight at the age of 10-15 years were obese at 25 years of age, not just overweight but obese. We are all painfully aware of the poor quality of life, shorter life span and high medical costs associated with obesity. Is this what we want for our children?

The good news, if it can be called “good news”, is that it appears as if the obesity rates for children have begun to level off over the past few years…thank goodness! Although I’ll consider the news “good” when we start to see a true decline in the rates!

Is this possible? It is absolutely possible! However, to succeed, each child must learn to treat her body with respect and as the gift it is. She must learn how to nourish and support her body in all aspects: physical, physiological, emotional, psychological, intellectual, spiritual. How do children learn this? They learn from us. If we don’t treat our bodies with respect, how can we expect our kids to treat theirs in that way?

Growing Healthy Kids means Sowing Healthy Habits…it begins with us!

For references and to learn more: http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/obesity/index.htm and http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/health/research/28obesity.html.