Strategies to Combat Childhood Obesity in the US Have Been Patchy and Lacking in National Leadership

18/09/06 As more Americans acknowledge the serious problem of childhood obesity in the United States, strategies to combat it have been patchy and lacking in national leadership, according to an Institute of Medicine Report, called Progress in Preventing Childhood Obesity: How Do We Measure Up?. The study was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Princeton, New Jersey.

Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, President, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, said "The very health of the country hangs in the balance until we reverse the childhood obesity epidemic. Leaders in Washington, in our home states and towns need to accept this cold hard fact. If we do not reverse the epidemic of childhood obesity, millions of kids and our society will be robbed of a healthy and hopeful future."

Over one third of all US children are obese or at risk of becoming obese. The growth in childhood/adolescent obesity has been relentless:

-- 2002 - 16% of kids/teens were obese
-- 2004 - 17.1% of kids/teens were obese
-- 2010 - 20% of kids/teens will be obese (prediction)

The report acknowledges some short-term gains in the fight against childhood obesity, including some federal drives that focussed on school sports and nutrition. Other projects have borne fruit, such as the building of cycle lanes/paths and sidewalks. Nationally, the report says that people are becoming more aware of obesity and the problems that come with it.

The report goes on to say that more long-term commitment is needed at national and local levels - a commitment which needs to persist for several years.

Team leader, Dr. Jeffrey P. Koplan, Emory University's Woodruff Health Sciences Center, said "The nation is beginning to grasp the severity of the epidemic. But despite some encouraging efforts, many of them remain fragmented and small in scale. We are still not doing enough to prevent childhood obesity and the problem is getting worse."

Koplan added that most programs cannot be assessed because monitoring is inconsistent. He said he and his team noticed that many environments do not support healthy behaviors for children and adolescents. "In some communities, fruits and vegetables are not readily available, especially for families on limited household budgets. Certain neighborhoods don't offer safe places for children to play....There is need for collective responsibility and actions among all who have a stake in reversing this problem. No single sector of society should bear the responsibility of the problem, and no single sector, acting alone, can effectively halt and reverse it."

The creation and evaluation of programs needs to be done by federal and local governments, says the report. It calls on the food industry to promote healthy products, as well as to take steps to develop well-balanced and nutritious products.

The main problem at the moment is identifying the programs that work the best.

The main consequence of obesity is on your health, not on your appearance:

-- About 300,000 deaths per year may be attributable to obesity in the USA

-- The risk of death rises with increasing weight

-- People who are obese have a 50 to 100% raised risk of premature death from all causes, compared to individuals with a healthy weight

-- Obesity significantly raises your chances of developing heart disease

-- Obese people are twice as likely to suffer from hypertension (high blood pressure) compared to people of normal weight

-- Obese people have higher levels of bad cholesterol (LDL) and lower levels of good cholesterol (HDL), when compared to people of normal weight

-- Obesity seriously raises your chances of suffering from Diabetes Type II

-- >80% of people with Diabetes Type II are obese/overweight

-- Obese/overweight people have a higher risk of developing endometrial cancer, colon cancer, gall bladder cancer, prostate cancer, kidney cancer and post-menopausal breast cancer

-- Women who gain 20 pounds (8.5 kilos) from age of 18 to midlife double their chances of developing post-menopausal breast cancer, compared to women whose weight stays the same

-- Obese people are much more likely to suffer from sleep apnea, compared to individuals with a healthy weight

-- Obese people are much more likely to suffer from asthma, compared to individuals with a healthy weight

-- Arthritis is much more common among obese people. Symptoms can improve significantly if the patient loses weight.

-- Obese pregnant women are ten times more likely to develop maternal high blood pressure, compared to women with a healthy weight

-- Obese pregnant women are much more likely to have babies who soon die or are stillborn than pregnant women of normal weight

-- Obese pregnant women are at a higher risk of giving birth to babies with neural tube defects (e.g. spina bifida)

-- A higher percentage of obese people suffer from depression, when compared to people of normal weight