Childhood Obesity Statistics Predict Prevalence of Diabetes

The health picture presented by current childhood obesity statistics is not a rosy one. Schwarzenberg (2005) notes that the percentage of obese or overweight children in the United States has roughly doubled recently.

That is bad news. The prevalence of overweight and obese children has increased from 15% in 1971 to more than 30% in 2000.

One study reported by Lee, et. al. (2006) points to large disparities in the childhood overweight situation in the Los Angeles county of California. One could surmise that this may be typical of the general US population.

A study conducted in 1999-2002 found that approximately 16 percent of young people 6 to 19 years old were overweight; see Boon and Clydesdale (2005).

It looked at efforts of intervention of the overweight problem during childhood. However, since childhood obesity statistics show that there is such disparity among ethnic groups, any efforts to address the problem must take the ethnic differences into consideration.

Is this a global problem?

The problem is not only in the United States (as the statistics show.) An investigation of the pediatric population of Pescara province, Italy, in 2001 - 2002 academic school year concluded that the obesity problem is urgent.

Childhood obesity statistics are showing a similar need for urgent attention in Nigeria and other African and European countries as well. But why does this problem seem to be taking on pandemic proportions?

Why is the world getting bigger?

It must have to do with something we are doing now that we have not been doing before. In trying to put a finger on the problem, I think of things my grandparents used to do that my children do not do nowadays...

Well, my grandparents never had video games during childhood. As children, grandma and grandpa played outdoors.  These childhood obesity statistics could not have existed in their time.

New research is even showing that "participation in sports among children is declining." So while there is less provision for children to play outside in large open spaces, there is also less participation in sports at school.

Could this be because school sports has become so competitive (and commercialized?)

Urban neighborhoods today are not the kinds of places where children feel safe to roam and play for hours. Gone are the days when most 8 to 12 year-olds could be left to supervise themselves in their neighborhoods.

Parents now have to be concerned about child abductors, youth gang activity, and other deterrents. Outdoor physical activity is "shelved," and labeled "not safe." Now video games, Internet chat and games, and the television are taking that space.

Consider the modern Western diet factor

Another difference between the way my grandparents lived and how many children live today is in the area of diet. Grandpa's breakfast never came in boxes and cans. Mostly, it came from the backyard garden. In other words, freshly grown fruits and vegetables were a big part of the diet.

There was not so much sugar in the diet. They never knew so much junk food as children now consume. I believe that these two areas of physical activity **and** diet are the root cause of the obesity problem.

Childhood obesity statistics predict diabetes

With these areas of our lives being neglected everyday, we can expect the Childhood obesity statistics to continue to show a grim future for the health and wellness of future generations.

Physical activity among children should not be allowed to wane. As Broderick, Winter, and Allan (2006) remarked, "Sport and physical activity are important in childhood for optimizing bone mass and reducing obesity and insulin resistance."

Coupling the lack of physical activity with the prevalence of junk food, excess sugar and fats in the diet, one can expect this trend to produce an even larger segment of the world population having type 2 diabetes.

However, whenever these childhood obesity statistics meet the practice of the anti-diabetes diet, they begin to change.

References

Lee N. E., De A. K., Simon P. A. (2006). School-based physical fitness testing identifies large disparities in childhood overweight in Los Angeles.  J Am Diet Assoc. 2006 Jan;106(1):118-21.

Boon C. S., Clydesdale F. M. (2005). A review of childhood and adolescent obesity interventions. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2005;45(7-8):511-25.

Broderick C. R., Winter G. J., Allan R. M. (2006). Sport for special groups. Med J Aust. 2006 Mar;184(6):297-302.

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