Wednesday, August 27, 2003

Georgia pediatricians target obesity

Georgia pediatricians are banding together to focus on the enormous task of preventing obesity and treating its consequences. The Committee on Nutrition for the state's chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics drafted a bold, comprehensive approach for doctors, families and communities to put into effect immediately.

The facts about the obesity epidemic are not new, but they are frightening. Over the past two decades, the prevalence of obesity has doubled for children and adolescents.

Fifteen percent of children between 6 and 12 years of age are overweight and 17 percent of adolescents are obese. This percentage increases among some minority and economically disadvantaged groups. More than a third of African-American girls are obese by nineteen years of age.

The statistics are worse in Georgia, where 9.4 percent of children 2 to 5 years of age already overweight. The number of hospitalizations related to obesity for children 6 to 17 years of age increased 65 percent over the past two decades. The cost of those hospitalizations increased nearly fourfold.

The first consequence these children often face is a crushing blow to their self-esteem and peer relationships. But they are also at risk for the medical side effects of obesity that occur later in adulthood, with hypertension and high lipid levels leading the list. However, type 2 diabetes, which was previously seen in only middle-aged adults, is now being diagnosed decades earlier.

Sadly, once obesity is present, losing the weight is difficult. Therefore, the Georgia pediatricians feel it necessary to intervene and are prepared to engage the many aspects of this serious national epidemic in a program titled "Healthy Lifestyles for a Lifetime." Their efforts will focus on:

Helping parents and family members understand their responsibilities and importance as role models in their own eating habits. Children are not the ones selecting the foods and snacks they eat at home; they often follow their parents' example. Children are not the ones choosing the restaurants they patronize; yet their consumption of increased fat, calories and salt are determined by those choices.

Encouraging children and families to become more active. The population has become more sedentary, spending more time watching television or on the computers, though it has been shown that increased television time is associated with increased risk of being overweight.

Working with schools to 1) promote healthy meals in their lunch rooms and breakfast plans; 2) limit vending machine access during school hours; 3) encourage better nutritional choices in those machines; and 4) incorporate physical activities into their curricula and after-school programming.

Promoting the concepts of healthy lifestyles for a Lifetime to the children and their families. At well child visits, physicians will discuss nutrition and activities with the patients and their families, screening for and following specific nutritional problems and their consequences.

Giving physicians and health care personnel better methods for diagnosing obesity and treating its consequences.

Advocating specific action plans to develop and promote active recreational programs appealing to children and accessible to families for after school, weekend and summer involvement.

Requesting a legislative committee to study the increasing prevalence of obesity in Georgia and to look for additional measures to combat obesity.