Parental Support is Crucial in Helping Children Overcome Obesity

Across the country pediatricians report seeing more overweight youngsters in their offices than ever before. One in five American youngsters is now overweight. That's easily more than a million children, according to Dr. William Dietz, an expert in pediatric nutrition who teaches at Tufts University medical school.

More than half of American girls 6 to 17 years old can't do one pull-up. Thirty percent of boys 6 to 12 can't run a mile in less than 10 minutes. Even more astonishing, 40 percent of children 5 to 8 years old already show at least one risk factor for heart disease, all this is according to the President's Council on Physical Fitness. Parents just don't realize how inactive and out of shape their kids are. Even in children, obesity can lead to a host of medical problems, including the premature onset of puberty, breathing problems while sleeping, and flat feet. Equally worrisome are the emotional and psychological consequences of being an overweight child.

People judge a fat person as being lazy or bad. That's what these kids are growing up with in today's fast food nation. These overweight and out of shape children are becoming more and more antisocial because of their unhealthy condition. The stigma associated with obesity is causing these children to begin spending more and more time in their rooms by themselves. They never go out on weekends. They never even want to be with their family. For many this leads to a vicious cycle causing mental and physical health to continuously decline at an alarming rate.

One young teen trying to break this cycle is Rosanne Cellini, with her parents' encouragement, she enrolled in the On Track program at St Joseph Hospital and Health Care Center. There, after a medical and psychological workup, she began to meet weekly with other youngsters her age, a social worker or psychologist and a nutritionist. Her mother participates in the program too, even meeting separately with the other parents. Parental support is crucial, says On Track director Steve Perlow, a clinical psychologist. "When I get depressed now," Rosanne says, "I go to my mom and talk to her instead of going to the fridge." The St. Joseph's professionals monitor Rosanne's lifestyle as well as her diet. They encourage her to exercise more and show her how to focus less on food, especially when she is upset. They teach her to cope with tempting situations like parties, and about food groups and calories. "The key is really wanting it," says Rosanne.

She has no doubts that she'll succeed. She has even developed a career interest out of her weight-loss experience: She says that she hopes to become model and a nutritionist "I'm not thinking about food anymore," she says. "I'm focused on other stuff."

Sources:

American Academy of Pediatrics, and Sandra G. Hassink A Parent's Guide to Childhood Obesity: A Roadmap to Health 2006

Berg, Frances M. Underage and Overweight: America's Childhood Obesity Epidemic--What Every Parent Needs to Know 2003