| What is the definition of overweight, obesity and BMI?
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Why do we care about overweight and obesity in children?
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| THERE IS AN EPIDEMIC OF CHILDHOOD/ADOLESCENT OVERWEIGHT AND OBESITY GOING ON RIGHT NOW... AND IT IS PREVENTABLE.
There has been a dramatic increase in the prevalence of childhood and adolescent overweight and obesity over the last two decades. The majority of youth are sedentary and do not eat well. The resulting poor nutrition and lack of physical exercise has created this epidemic of adolescent overweight and obesity and there are no signs that it's slowing down. According to CDC (Center for Disease Control), approximately, 16 % of children (ages 6-11) and 16 % of adolescents (age 12-19) were overweight in the period 1999-2000. And additional 15% of the children and 14%of adolescents were at risk for overweight with a BMI at or above the 85th percentile. Overweight and obesity is impairing the health of our children and it can lead to conditions such as elevated blood pressure and cholesterol, joint problems, Type II Diabetes, gallbladder disease, depression and anxiety, heart disease and stroke.
Did you know that...
- Fewer than 25% of children and adolescents get at least 30 minutes of exercise of any kind every day. (Footnote 1)
- More than 80% of children and adolescents eat too much fat. (Footnote 2)
- Only 2% of school-aged children consume the recommended daily number of servings of all five major food groups, and only 30% consume the suggested amount of milk per day. (Footnote 3)
- More than 38% of students watch television 3 or more hours per average school day. (Footnote 4)
- 98% of 6 to 18 year olds report eating at least 3 snacks per day and more than 50% report 5 snacks per day. (Footnote 5)
- An overweight child or adolescent is more likely to continue to be overweight in adulthood or become an obese adult.
This web site was designed to provide educational information on ways to address and prevent childhood/ adolescent overweight and obesity with suggestions for the building blocks of good health; a balanced diet with regular physical exercise. The information on this site includes a variety of topics on nutrition, exercise, tips on cooking, portions sizing, etc with reputable web sites links for the younger children and teenagers as well as parents and guardians.
This WEB page was made possible through a grant received from Harvard Pilgrim Health Plan (HPHC).
It is the goal the Heywood Hospital and PHO as well as HPHC to improve the health of our community. There rising number of overweight children and adolescents has been identified in Gardner and the surrounding communities. Communities need to work together to identify and address this growing epidemic.
Footnotes:
- International Life Sciences Institute, Improving children's health through physical activity: a new opportunity, a survey of parents and children about physical activity patterns, 1997.
- Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services/USDA 2001; National center for Chronic Disease Prevention and health Promotion.
- 3 United States of Agriculture (USDA). 1994-1996 Continuing survey of food intakes for individuals (CSFII)
- USCDC (United States Center for Disease Control) 2004
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