Tipping the scales on obesity

Tipping the scales on obesity (continued)
Parents must support, be honest with obese children

Being part of the problem
Sometimes, parents are in denial.

“We’ve seen cases where parents think of their full-faced child as being healthy. They say their child is eating and eating a lot, therefore; their child is healthy,” Brown said.

“It’s part of their culture to think because they can afford to feed their child, then their child is healthy. It’s a difficult cycle to break.”

Children grow and gain weight. It’s natural, said Dr. Helene Sheena, a pediatrician with Kelsey-Seybold Clinic.

As children get older, parents should keep a close eye on how much weight their children gain compared to height. Growth spurts will come and go.

“If your child is gaining a lot of weight without growing taller, then it’s time to make changes at home,” Sheena said.

If the parents don’t encourage changes, it could have significant impact on the child’s health.

Some children are products of their environment.

“We ask parents, ‘Are you worried about your child’s size?’” Brown said.

“There are instances where parents don’t see childhood obesity as a problem. Instead, parents compare their child to when they were younger and lost weight as they grew up.”

When the parents were children, they did not have access to as many sugary, unhealthy snack options. And, they were more apt to exercise because they played outside for entertainment.

“Now we have video games, television and tempting, sweet snacks as part of a child’s life,” Sheena said.

The CDC reports people between 8 and 16 spend 3 to 5 hours daily watching TV and playing video games.

“And the TV ads cater to the younger age groups,” Sheena said.

“That’s when you find all the commercials for sugary snacks, sugary cereals and McDonald’s. Cut down on the TV time, and they don’t see the ads, and they can spend that time playing outside.”

Obesity opens the door to several health conditions

From 1979-81 to 1997-99, annual hospital costs related to childhood obesity increased from $35 million to $127 million.
Download your child’s BMI growth chart: Boys | Girls

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