Child obesity ups risk of grave illness
in
Long
Q: Have you ever heard of the word "obesogenic?"
A: In the July/August edition of the American College of Sports Medicine's Health & Fitness Journal, you can read all about this term and how it relates to children's ever-rising levels of obesity and disease.
"Obesogenic" refers to environmental conditions that encourage excess weight gain. The article goes on to say what many health and fitness professionals have been declaring for years - that technology, coupled with very poor eating habits, is literally causing morbidity and mortality among children at an earlier age than previously thought.
We used to think children were simply immune to the effects of heart disease, hypertension, Type 2 diabetes, morbid obesity and the like. Children can't eat too much. Kids need to be kids, which means let them drink sodas and eat chips, candy, burgers and fries all day every day. Hey, it's summertime and hotter than fire outside. Let them stay indoors all day (every day) playing video games, watching TV and texting their friends for fun and entertainment. After all, aren't children immune to heart attacks, strokes and even certain cancers now linked to obesity?
The American College of Sports Medicine article also describes metabolic syndrome in children. Metabolic syndrome occurs when obesity leads to Type 2 diabetes, which can lead to cardiovascular disease. Again, this condition was typically thought to occur only in adults; now it is seen in children. The authors of the article, Jerome Brandon, Ph.D., and Larry Proctor, Ph.D., stated physical activity programs and weight loss regimens can greatly help manage metabolic syndrome in children.
The bottom line is if you think your children can't get a very serious medical condition because of their age, you are simply wrong! Children can and do suffer from medical problems once only seen in adults. This is a direct result of the lifestyles we lead in our contemporary society, especially here in the Deep South.
No one is telling you children should be outdoors playing in the deadly heat of late summer. Likewise, no one is telling you children should eat like Olympic athletes. Children need to, however, eat healthful foods most of the time and get in daily bouts of physical activity. It just may save their lives.
Scot E. Long, MSS, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist. He also is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern Mississippi and full-time professor at Mississippi College.
