Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Bigger is not better where obesity concerned

Saying obesity in America is like saying water is wet.

It's an obvious problem, and one only getting worse as the nation's children are more obese than ever.

This is the information provided to the Prescott-Nevada County Health Alliance at its June meeting.

Grace Kirkpatrick, a registered dietician with the Arkansas Department of Health (ADH), said the trends for childhood obesity show children getting bigger and bigger.

Nutritionists and dieticians don't look at height/weight factors any longer to determine obesity. The current guideline is the Body Mass Index and age.

Since 1963, she said, there has been a steady increase in childhood obesity. In 63, statistics showed only 4 percent of children in the nation were considered to be overweight (the politically correct term). By 1999, though, the stats were up to 11 percent and climbing.

The end result is children are now more susceptible to a wider variety of health problems due to being overweight.

In fact, there are more incidents of Type II diabetes in children than ever before. Type II diabetes is more commonly known as adult onset diabetes, and is related to obesity. Type I diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, differs from Type II as in Type I, the child's body doesn't produce insulin. In Type II, the body isn't able to properly utilize the insulin it produces.

Children, Kirkpatrick said, are also suffering from such medical problems as high blood pressure and high cholesterol to go along with the Type II diabetes.

"There are six- and eight-year-olds on the same medications their grandmothers are on," she said.

Children who have all three problems are more likely to suffer from heart problems. They can also suffer from sleep apnea (a disorder wherein the person stops breathing during sleep). Sleep apnea, she said, is six times more common in boys who are overweight.

Part of the problem, though, stems from the family situation. Children of obese parents are more likely to be obese themselves.

According to Kirkpatrick, there are four factors involved in obesity.

The first is personal. This involves genetic and socio-economic factors, along with access to health care.

While a person genetically disposed toward obesity can't help their DNA structure, there are things they can do to improve their situation; such as watching what they eat, exercising regularly and avoiding junk food.

The second factor is interpersonal  or family factors. Parents with bad dietary habits are a poor role model for their children. If the children see dad sitting on the sofa watching sports, drinking sodas and eating chips all day, this is what they learn.

In addition, a lot of families today eat in front of the television, instead of having their meals in a dining room with the TV turned off.

Factor three is population, including media/advertising/marketing.

In marketing, the portion size of fast food meals has increased since 1957.

In 57, Kirkpatrick said, there was one ounce of meat in a fast food hamburger. Today, there's a six-ounce patty on the bun.

Soft drinks have increased in size from eight to 20 ounces.

This is coupled with the ability to "super size" a fast food meal, making the soda and fries even larger, and there's a lot of fat in fries, she said.

Combining the intake of high calory fast foods and a more sedentary lifestyle leads to a problem with obesity.

Kirkpatrick said in 1999, the average child between 8-18, spent about 3.25 hours per day watching television; approximately 45 minutes a day watching videos; around 30 minutes playing video games; and almost 30 more minutes on the computer.

"Society has changed," Kirkpatrick said. "Working mothers use drive-through's and society isn't as safe as it was.

"With single mothers and apartment living, they have no time or energy left for their children."

This, she said, makes it easier for them to tell their children to watch television and leave her alone for awhile.

"Parents need to make good food choices," she said. "They need to teach their children to play inside, not necessarily exercise, but play."

For adults, the figures on obesity aren't any better. They are, in fact, worse.

Since 1985, the trend has been for adults to become obese. This is defined as being 30 or more pounds over the ideal weight for their age. As of 2001, 15-24 percent of all adults are considered obese across the nation.

In the past, Kirkpatrick said, the stereotype was directed toward the South with its fried foods. However, the facts show obesity is a national problem and getting worse.

In other business conducted by the PNCHA, the members were told the organization has $1,200 for the annual Health-A-Rama, scheduled for Oct. 4.

The PNCHA is getting a $1,000 for grant for prostate exams, which will be done at the Health-A-Rama. Medical Park Hospital personnel will be performing these exams.

Invitations have been sent out for the Health-A-Rama, Edie Greenwood said, and everything is starting to come together.

The bloodmobile will be on hand to accept donations, and there will be a demonstration of the Jaws of Life again this year by the Nevada County Rescue Unit.