Reducing childhood obesity

Childhood obesity is becoming increasing common. Approximately 30% of children under 18 and 15% of children under 12 are now classified as obese. With the increasing weight of children comes increased risk of obesity related health problems and diseases such as type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and coronary heart disease.

Physical activity is decreasing with the increasing role of technology in our daily lives. As such, children are watching television, videos and playing computer games for entertainment rather than playing sport or just generally playing with their friends. Also playing a role in increasing obesity is the rising concern of safety for children playing outside. Add also to the equation the increased availability of high fat, energy dense foods, which are often eaten when partaking in a passive activity such as watching television. These factors when
considered together are a recipe for obesity.

Diets are often not recommended for children due to the fact that they are constantly growing and their body needs nutrients, including fat, to develop properly. One solution is increasing physical activity, or as an American group of researchers suggest, decreasing inactivity. The aim is to limit the amount of time children can spend engaging in passive activity such as watching television or playing computer games through adopting a points system, and when all of their points are used up they have to find something else to do. As a result of this intervention these researchers found that the children became more active because time spent engaging in passive activities had been restricted.

This group believed that this technique is more effective than trying to get overweight children to take up a sport or participate in any kind of organised activity that they may not enjoy or be good at.

Another method suggested by an Australian group involved getting children to lift weights. There is some concern that children should not lift weights because it may affect bone development, however this research shows that children lifting weights while on a prescribed diet gain more muscle and lose more fat than children only following the diet.

• Schwingshandi, J. et al. Effect of an individualised training program during weight reduction on body composition: a randomised trial. Archives of Diseases of Childhood. (1999) 81: 426-428.
  
• Epstein, L.H., Paluch, R.A., Gordy, C.C., Dorn, J. Decreasing sedentary behaviours in treating pediatric obesity. Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. (2000) 154(3): 220-226.
  
• Decreasing inactivity in childhood. Choice Health Reader, July-August 2000. 6(6): 5.
• Weight training for children. Choice Health Reader, July-August 2000. 6(6): 4-5.

Last Updated: April 5, 2001