Overweight Children: A Painful Epidemic?

 
Author: Joanne Eglash 
Published on: July 3, 2000
 
 
 
 

"Tubby, tubby, two-by-four, can't get through the bathroom door," taunt the other children on the playground.
"Learn self-control and discipline, and stop eating so much," scold the parents.

The overweight child is silent -- on the outside. Inside, he or she thinks only of how to stuff down the pain, find comfort and even a friend: using food.

Studies show that incidents of childhood obesity is growing at epidemic proportions. The challenges for educators and health care professionals are how to reach out to and motivate these suffering youngsters. Discussing long-term goals, such as better health, might appeal to an adult, but a child or teenager sees such discussions as meaningless.

Moreover, the influence of parents, friends, and classmates often defies all the well-meant advice and counsel of professionals. If parents serve fat-and-sugar laden meals and allow the child to spend endless hours seated in front of a TV set, diet plans offered by physicians are meaningless. If the other teenagers at school frequent the fast-food drive-ins at lunch and after school, the temptation to grab a Big Mac (with cheese, please) and French fries (extra-large) is irresistable. And when the "other kids" tease the child about his or her weight, the craving for candy at the 7-11 on the way home may be stronger than the desire to "stay on Mom's diet."

There are no simple answers. What is known, however, is that there is an epidemic in our society. And it's attacking our youngest citizens.