pecialist In Emergency Medicine
This article will be dedicated to some eye-opening statistics
on a subject of interest to all of us, that appeared in the
prestigious journal the New England Journal of
Medicine of February 26, 04. The subject is obesity in
childhood and adolescence.
Most of the data is from the USA, where the problem has
reached epidemic proportions. The prevalence of this problem
in the last twenty years has doubled among children between
ages 6 and 11, and tripled among those between ages 12-17. In
addition, fat-associated diseases that used to be seen just
in obese adults are now appearing in children, such as
gallbladder disease, sleep apnea (where obesity causes people
to stop breathing for short periods during sleep) and type II
diabetes, that is, adult-onset diabetes, which is usually a
disease of the overweight.
Sixty percent of overweight children have risk factors for
heart disease, such as elevated blood pressure and high
cholesterol. These problems were unknown when I was growing
up. Fast foods and high fat diets were not that available in
those days in the frum community as there was less red
meat, kosher treats and fast food that was kosher.
Obesity that persists into adulthood is a problem only in 30
percent of children (I was a fat kid around age 13 but now I
am average) but fat kids who stay fat when they reach
adulthood are in big trouble.
There are three periods of obesity in a child's life. Low
birth weight babies have more risks for diabetes and heart
trouble in adulthood, but those chubby, roly-poly babies have
a greater risk of adult obesity with all the consequences as
well. There is a rebound phase of obesity around age 6 after
weight remains static for a few years. Then adolescence comes
and here it is a problem--more so for girls. Fat teenagers
will stay that way for life, 80 percent of the time. Boys
store fat in their abdomens, girls tend to store it in their
posteriors, but once they develop a noticeably increased
stomach girth -- and boys as well for that matter --
complications increase significantly. We have not discussed
other complications such as poor self-image and shidduchim
problems.
These are the statistics. That does not mean one should give
up hope, even though obesity can be a genetic trait in
families. What it does mean is that we have to work on this
problem in childhood before health problems are irreversible.
You can encourage that by making exercise a regular routine
in the house, and watching what you bring into the house.
Due to Israel's abundance of fresh fruit and vegetables, it
is a little easier here, but Australia and especially Britain
have less availability and this can be a problem. Loving your
children means kisses, hugs, spending time with them. It does
not mean Bamba. Write me in care of the Yated.
A message from GlaxoSmithKline, sponsor of this
column. Zinnat is a versatile antibiotic which has found
much use in Israel. It is effective for skin diseases,
urinary tract infections and pneumonia, while not being
difficult to take (twice a day) and with few side effects.
Available for children too in a syrup form.
