The Surgeon General’s Call to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity: The Problem of Overweight in Children and Adolescents

The United States Department of Health and Human Services website is offered to all citizens of the United States of America with the intention of helping the nation maintain a healthy lifestyle.  Providing links to other related subjects, I found this website very helpful and easy to navigate.

With convenient access to television, Nintendo, computer games, and other sedentary means of entertainment, children do not have to leave the comforts of their home to be entertained.  Research has found that 43% of all children watch more than two hours of television a day, resulting in more than three years in front of the television by the time an individual graduates from high school.  With an increase in inactivity, children are beginning to struggle with problems such as obesity.  In 1999, studies found that 13% of children 6 to 11 years old, and 14% of adolescents 12 to 19 years old, experience difficulty with being overweight.  Once the brawl with weight begins, children and adolescents have an increased chance of becoming obese as they mature and transform into adulthood.  The prevalence of obesity has almost tripled in the last two decades!   

The state of being overweight/obese has many consequences.  Conditions such as heart disease, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes are related to obesity.  These circumstances, in return, inhibit and create difficulty for children to participate in the forms of physical activity that they need. 

If a child is thought to be overweight, a physician can assist in creating an exercise and nutrition plan to help your child grow into their weight.  Such precautions can prevent obesity and eating disorders when the child is more mature.  Regardless of shape or size, it is important that children know that they are loved and appreciated regardless of their weight.  Children need approval, support, and encouragement from their parents; parents need to encourage physical activity and take part in these activities with their children utilizing this time to bond with their child.  It is recommended that children be physically active for at least 60 minutes a day, every day of the week.  Planning family activities that revolve around playing sports, swimming, and biking are good ways to incorporate physical activity into the life of your child.  It is also helpful if television time is diminished and limited each day, thus encouraging a more active lifestyle.