Junk Food, TV Driving Kids to Obesity

Serena Gordon, "Junk Food, TV Driving Kids to Obesity", Washington
Post, September 25, 2007,
Link: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...092501041.html

Lifestyles with too little movement, too much TV exposure and way too
much junk food are pushing U.S. children toward a life of overweight
and obesity, a collection of new studies finds.

The studies -- published in a special supplement of theAmerican
Journal of Preventive Medicine-- show the myriad challenges youngsters
face every day in trying to maintain a healthy weight. Today's kids
live in a world where it's often easier to get a fast food meal than
fresh fruit, where walking to school is the exception rather than the
norm, and where they're bombarded by ads telling them to eat more junk
food and sugary beverages.

"It's a minefield out there for kids," said registered dietitian
Alexandra Salazar, a pediatric nutritionist at the Children's Hospital
of Montefiore in New York City. "Schools have a big part to play, but
kids often aren't offered the best choices at school or in the
community. It's up to parents to lead by example."

Almost one in six American children and teens are overweight,
according to the U.S. Surgeon General's office, which also warns that
70 percent of overweight teens will grow into overweight or obese
adults. Overweight children are now increasingly at risk for type 2
diabetes, a disease formerly associated only with adults. Kids
carrying extra pounds may also have a higher risk of developing low
self-esteem or depression.

"Were now seeing an epidemic of type 2 diabetes mellitus in children,"
said Dr. Brenda Kohn, a pediatric endocrinologist at the New York
University Medical Center. She noted that other disorders, such as
high cholesterol, are also on the rise in heavier youngsters.

Highlights of the studies included in the special supplement include:

Many schools offer easy access to junk food and beverages. Researchers
at the University of Michigan found that 83 percent of high schools
and 67 percent of middle schools now have contracts with a soft drink
manufacturer. Revenues from such contracts are modest -- about $500 a
year on average for middle schools and about $6,000 for high schools.
The study found that Hispanic children were most likely to consume
soft drinks.Fewer schools provide students with opportunities to
increase their levels of physical activity. In another study from the
University of Michigan, researchers found that while almost nine in 10
eighth-graders must participate in physical education, that number
drops to just two in 10 by 12th grade. Participation rates were lower
for black and Hispanic children, according to the study.Low-income,
minority neighborhoods are more likely to have fast-food restaurants
compared to high-income, predominantly white neighborhoods, according
to researchers from the University of Illinois.One in four TV
commercials seen by teens are food ads, according to another
University of Illinois study. The most common ads were for fast-food,
beverages and sweets. Black adolescents saw about 14 percent more food
ads than did their white peers, according to the study. The
availability of a large, chain supermarket was associated with a lower
body mass index (BMI) in teens. In contrast, high availability of
convenience stores was associated with a higher BMI, according to a
study done by researchers from both the University of Illinois and the
University of Michigan.

"The environment a lot of our kids live in is just plain unhealthy,"
said Dr. Goutham Rao, clinical director of the weight management and
wellness center at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, and author
ofChild Obesity: A Parent's Guide to a Fit, Trim and Happy Child.
"Human beings will eat what's easily available and will do what
requires the least effort, so if you live where there's no fresh fruit
available, you'll probably eat fast food," he said.

"I think that if you want to solve the problem, you have to look at
what the root causes a What are my kids doing that made them obese?
What are they missing? Step back and look at some of the basic
behaviors. Don't look for magic cures, because there aren't any.
Figure out what you are willing to do to change your basic behaviors,"
suggested Rao.

"The most important thing is to consider what the components of good
health a exercise, eating foods provided by nature, eating lean
protein and complex grains," said Kohn.

All three experts strongly advocated increasing your child's physical
activity levels. "After dinner, go for a walk. If your kids like to
watch videos, encourage them to dance to the music," advised Salazar.
Rao said that walking to school is also a great way for kids to get
more daily exercise.

"You can't create the perfect environment," said Rao, "but you can
make smarter choices."

All three also suggested adding nutrition education into school
curriculums to help give children the knowledge they need to make
those smarter choices.