Childhood Overweight and Obesity

Overweight and Obesity in Youth (1)

• Approximately 30% of children and adolescents in the US are overweight and 15-16% are obese. 
• The prevalence of obesity in adolescents more than doubled between 1971 and 2000, from 6% to 15%.
• Being overweight in childhood and adolescence is a strong predictor of being overweight as an adult. 
• Today’s youth are more inactive than in previous generations due in part to reduce school activity, unsafe community facilities, and poor dietary habits.  
• Health effects of overweight and obesity in children and adolescents include asthma, Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, orthopedic complications, psychological effects and stigma, and sleep apnea.

How are terms “children” and “adolescents” defined? Discussion of childhood obesity generally includes adolescents.  However, the CDC and other organizations also separate the group out:

• Children are considered to be ages 6-11;
• Adolescents are considered to be ages 12-19.
• Some counts include children under the age of 5.

Measuring Overweight And Obesity In Children:

Overweight and obesity is measured differently in children and adolescents than adults, primarily because their growth and development is not yet complete.  While adult overweight and obesity rely on BMI – a function of height and weight, childhood overweight and obesity is based on their relative BMI based on growth charts developed by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

• Children and adolescents in the 95th percentile for their age group are considered to be overweight.
• Children and adolescents in the 85th-94th percentile for their age group are considered to at risk for being overweight.
• Some groups such as the American Obesity Association consider children and adolescents in the 95th percentile to be obese because a) it correlates with adult BMI of 30; b) it identifies children who grow up to be obese; c) it is associated with high blood pressure and high lipid count in adolescents and increases health risks. (2)

Causes of Childhood Obesity include:

• Lack of physical activity and exercise
• Sedentary behavior such as increased television viewing and computer usage
• Eating habits
• Environmental factors
• Socioeconomic status
• Genetics Children of overweight and obese parents are at greater risk for being overweight and obese.

Prevention and Management of Childhood Obesity (see also Prevention and Management

Teaching children healthy behaviors  -- healthy eating, physical activity, self-regulation -- is critical for both short and long-term prevention of overweight and obesity.

Primary types of interventions include:

• Dietary interventions and changes
• Physical activity
• Behavioral interventions designed to promote weight loss and maintenance

Parents are considered to be one of the most important factor in preventing childhood overweight and obesity because parents are the ones who model healthy behaviors and have control over many of the factors that results in overweight and obesity.  Schools are also a critical factor because this is where children spend most of their time when they are away from home.

Read more on the American Obesity Association survey of parents:

Additional Resources

Department of Agriculture,

• USDA for Kids 
• Child Care Nutrition Resource System

American Academy of Family Physicians, Helping Your Child Keep a Healthy Weight

The George Washington University Center for Health and Health Care in Schools:

• Childhood Overweight: A Selected Bibliography, March 2005. 
• Childhood Overweight: What Research Tells Us (March 2005).

Fu WP, Lee HC, Ng CJ, Tay YK, Kau CY, Seow CJ, Siak JK, Hong CY.

Screening for childhood obesity: international vs population-specific definitions. Which is more appropriate? Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2003 Sep;27(9):1121-6.

Hood MY, Moore LL, Sundarajan-Ramamurti A, Singer M, Cupples LA, Ellison RC. Parental eating attitudes and the development of obesity in children. The Framingham Children's Study. Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord. 2000 Oct;24(10):1319-25.

Sources

(1) American Obesity Association

(2) http://www.obesity.org/subs/childhood/prevalence.shtml

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