Facing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic
November 18th, 2010 
Carol 
As a child and adolescent clinician, there isn’t a day that goes by I am not inundated by my overweight patients reporting low self-esteem, depression, a lack of motivation to participate in activities and the daily dread of having to walk into school knowing they may face another day of bullying.
More than 50% of child and adolescent patients I see are obese and just about 100% of them have obese parents. While the nation’s youth are faced with the one of the greatest health problems, the need for mental health care providers is also in demand to provide treatment for our obese youth. Childhood obesity has been correlated with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV criteria for Major Depressive Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder and Bulimia Nervosa (American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2006).
I spend many family sessions reviewing self-care habits including sleep, eating and exercise patterns with the usual answer of no time for sleep, a diet of fast food and lack of motivation to exercise.
As a parent educator and advocate of youth fitness, here are several tips I provide to parents and guardians:
• Model healthy behaviors for children. Children have learned that eating fast food and sedentary lifestyles are the norm within the culture of the family. If parents are eating high calorie meals, they are giving their children the same food. Research has shown parents with healthy eating patterns, including a well-balanced diet of complex carbohydrates, lean protein and dairy, fruits and vegetables, have children who eat more fruits and vegetables on a consistent basis. This includes both the home and school environment. The same is applied to exercise. According to the Journal of Family Psychology, active children are two times as likely to have parents who support and encourage physical activity as compared to non-active children.
• Provide structure with eating patterns. Throughout early development, food intake patterns develop from repeated exposure to foods and factors that regulate the time of consumption from beginning to end. An example of the time of consumption is your child consistently eats when watching TV or eats breakfast before taking the bus to school. Your child has now adapted to this pattern of eating. Parents must find a healthy balance of control when setting limits and allow for some autonomy in food choices. Too much parental control around food can result in a life long problem of eating disorders (e.g. Bulimia, Anorexia, and Binge Eating Disorder). Take the opportunity to eat dinner together as a family as often as possible. Children who sit down to eat dinner on a consistent basis have been found to make healthier and more balanced food choices in all environments (e.g. school, home, friend’s houses).
• Develop specific and realistic goals with your child. If a child is struggling with their weight, create a routine that works for the child or adolescent such as riding a bike for 20 minutes, 3 times per week. Encourage your child to identify his or her strengths and interests. Goals should involve the family and should be attainable for the child. Weight loss is most effective when the family provides social support and rewards such as new sneakers or a game that encourages movement.
• Set limits on television and video games. The Journal of Public Policy and Marketing reports that the average child watches 1500 hours of TV per year as compared to 900 hours spent in school. Not only is there low-energy expenditure from watching television, but they are also inundated by food advertisements. On average children are watching two hours of ad-supported television per day and exposure to food advertisements is associated with adiposity (body fatness) in youth. Parents, television sets are not babysitters!
• Encourage extracurricular activities. Physical activity, such as sports participation, influences growth and development in children and adolescence. It is also encourages family involvement and increased self-esteem. However, the positive effects of sport participation (e.g. having fun, learning responsibility and discipline, importance of teamwork, developing peer relationships) have lost focus in comparison to performance and achievement. As school budgets are constantly being cut, so are the after school programs available to youth. Make sure to check out the town’s Park and Recreation program for a list of available sports and activities.
As reported by many researchers, this is the first generation that is not expected to live to be older than their parents. Although the obesity epidemic will take years to effect change, parent influence may have fundamental importance in preventing obesity-promoting behaviors for the future.
Melissa Lambert, M.Ed — Child and Adolescent Therapist, International Youth Fitness Association Specialist
Posted in Comments (2)
Excellent write up Melissa! I look forward to reading your next one.
well written…insightfull..a good read overall job well done Melissa!