Trimming The Fat
Millions of kids are overweight—and suffering from some very adult health complications. Don’t sit by and let your child be one of them.
By Alyson Black

If you think high cholesterol, hypertension, and Type II diabetes are the hallmarks of an older generation, think again: As the number of overweight and obese children has swelled to epidemic proportions, so, too, has the number of children facing some very adult ailments. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention, 16 percent of U.S. children ages 6 to 19—that’s more than 9 million kids—are overweight or obese (a number that has tripled since 1980), and another 15 percent are at risk of joining those ranks. When you consider that overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults (80 percent if one or both parents is overweight or obese) and that the life expectancy for children has decreased for the first time in history, the need for action—to do something now!—is especially clear. Monica Cattano, RNC, NP, CSN, the school nurse at Summit’s Jefferson Elementary School and the school-nurse coordinator for the Summit school district, has witnessed the changes firsthand. “There has been an increased prevalence of childhood obesity at younger and younger levels, and you see this in the schools,” she says. “It’s a reflection of the changes in society.”

What Went Wrong?
Cattano points not to any one definitive pound-packing reason but to a whole litany of factors that have contributed to rampant obesity: Kids don’t walk to school anymore and they are in school for longer periods of time. Entertainment—like computers and video games and even cell-phone time—is sedentary; there’s less going out to play. And portion sizes have increased; everything is supersized these days.

Says Sue Fieseler, community wellness director of the Summit Area YMCA, “Children today are much more aware about calories and carbohydrates, but they have never known what a normal portion is. There are fast-food restaurants that continue to make a hamburger from one-third of a pound of meat. And it doesn’t seem like you can go anywhere in this country without food being sold.”

What’s Being Done
The overall trend toward childhood obesity forms a bleak picture, but through Active Summit, a coalition of agencies formed by the Overlook Hospital Community Health Committee, schools and other community groups in the area are working together to increase activity levels, improve nutrition, and communicate best practices. In the schools, for example, children attend assemblies to learn about healthy food choices, and lesson plans include information on putting together a healthy meal complete with fruits and vegetables. Vending machines have been restocked to offer better snack options; bake sales have beenscaled back. At back-to-school night, nurses set up display tables with appropriate snacks for holiday parties and other celebrations. Some schools now offer a breakfast program; atothers, parents are invited to join in the brown-bag-lunch roundtable discussion, created to open up a dialogue about nutrition.

Community-wide Family Dinner Night means no homework; families are encouraged to take the time to eat together instead. Other programs, like the Summit Olympics scheduled for this spring, are designed to get families moving with such events as golf, tennis, swimming, softball, tug-of-war—even a scavenger hunt. “Summit is really on the ball and is doing a lot,” says Cattano.

What You Can Do
“A lot of people want to do the right thing,” says Fieseler. “They just don’t know where to start.” She and Cattano offer these suggestions for stopping childhood obesity from entering your home.

• Eliminate high-sugar drinks, especially sodas.
  
• Increase overall activity levels, aiming for at least 20 to 30 minutes of activity each day. Take the stairs instead of riding the elevator or escalator; have children walk to school on a safe route, and walk with them if possible. Choose a sport that encourages constant activity—not a lot of standing around or
  sitting on a bench.
• Don’t skip meals; have your child go to school with a full breakfast to get his or her metabolism going. “A lot of kids are in the nurse’s office with headaches and sluggishness at 10 o’clock,” says Cattano. “When I ask if they’ve had a good breakfast, they haven’t.”
• Get back to family meals. It has been proven that doing so improves nutrition—and communication.

“Change won’t happen overnight,” cautions Cattano. “It will take a while for kids to buy into this, but the more they’re offered healthier choices at home, the more they accept it. I believe we’re finally at a turning point.”