Overweight and Obese Children
Are Your Kids Overweight?
In the last three decades, the number of obese children in the United States has more than tripled. Find out if your kid's weight is in the danger zone and learn about the emotional and physical cost being an overweight child.
What else indicates my kids' weight is in danger?
Lack of exercise alone doesn't signal weight trouble. Loss of the family table is another marker. It's common for both parents to work. If they're running late, so is dinner. The solution: high-calorie fast foods with sodas. Monitor how frequently your family consumes fast food and high calorie juice or cola. Abrams has treated children who drink a liter of soda every day. And frequent consumption of notoriously high-fat school lunches, which often consist of fried chicken nuggets, pizza, and hamburgers is another area to track. If your child is on a five-day-a-week school lunch program and doesn't engage in physical activity, there's a chance he or she will put on extra pounds. If you notice your child falling into any of these habits, and you think you are buying him or her bigger clothes more often, he or she could have a weight problem. Your pediatrician can assess whether or not your child is battling a weight issue, or is experiencing a natural growth spurt.
What are the side effects of obesity?
"The number one side effect seen in overweight and obese children is low self-esteem and depression," says Abrams, who feels that media messages teaching us that ‘thin is beautiful' fuel the crisis. Abrams has also seen patients with a number of disorders such as: orthopedic complications -- the developing bone and cartilage of children are not strong enough to carry excess weight, which can lead to bowing and overgrowth of leg bones; cerebral hypertension -- a condition in which the amount of fat in the body interferes with blood flow from the brain to the heart. The blood flow backs up and increases pressure in the brain, which increases risk of blindness; fatty liver disease, a condition in which fat in the organ exceeds safe levels. Over time, this could lead to non-alcoholic liver cirrhosis. Other side effects include hypertension, type 2 diabetes, gastroesophagal reflux, sleep apnea, asthma, and gallstones. Many overweight children go on to become overweight adults.
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