Dealing With Weighty Issues

Childhood obesity has become an epidemic and can lead to serious health complications for your child. With this special issue of Shine, we’re here to help you turn away from unhealthy options and onto the road to a healthier family.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than nine million American children between the ages of six and 19 are overweight. Obesity can lead to a large list of future health concerns, including diabetes, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, asthma, depression and orthopedic conditions.

Is this the future you want for your children? Of course not. The time to make a change is now.

The Source of the Epidemic

Packed schedules for parents and children and scores of convenient fast food restaurants make picking up high-fat, high-calorie meals an option that many of us can’t pass up. Combine that with more sedentary lifestyles that include video games, computers and television, and obesity is often the end result.

 “With kids experiencing less activity and having easy access to unhealthy foods, it is easy for them to gain weight,” said Stephen Daniels, MD, PhD, Pediatrician-in-Chief for Children's Hospital Colorado and Professor and Chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine. “This is a problem because it only takes an extra 100 calories every day for a child to gain as much as 10 pounds in a year.”

As more and more children are overweight, it can be difficult to determine if your child is obese by comparing him to other children on the playground, and by the time parents realize their children are overweight, they often are already obese. The best way to know if your child is at a healthy weight is to have a body mass index (BMI) evaluation completed by your child’s pediatrician or family physician, which you can review during every visit.

Help is Here

To help parents get their child’s weight back on track, this edition of Shine addresses common concerns and possible solutions for your child’s weight-related health problems. Making it fun and involving the whole family are keys to success. This issue is filled with tips you can put to use starting today. Resolve to follow at least a few, and your child will thank you for creating a healthier future.