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PrintBeyond Baby Fat
The finger of blame points to many factors for this rise, including over abundant fast-food, supersizing menus, poor diet choices, video games and overall sedentary lifestyles. Whatever the reasons, it’s a phenomenon that should be addressed and reversed before it becomes a nationwide health crisis.
Raising a weight-healthy child in today’s society may be a challenge, but it is one that can be successfully addressed, starting at home. Dr. Alan Getts, a pediatrician with Covenant Pediatrics in Martinez, says maintaining a healthy weight is a habit that needs to be formed early. “This is a lifestyle so guidelines are set when children are young.” Initiate simple healthy habits such as drinking water instead of juices and eating snacks that are low in sugar. He also recommends parents “disconnect from the idea that food is supposed to make you feel better.”
There is also a youth certification class for older kids ages 13 to 15. It is a teen orientation program, taught by certified fitness staff, with a defined curriculum that includes four sessions in which participants learn about the physiology of exercise as well as proper form and technique with an emphasis on safety.
Another exciting program that begins in January is Let’s Play 60 Kid’s Challenge, a Team Lean event that is free to all children, ages K-12th grade. In its fourth year, Team Lean is an adult challenge where teams compete to lose weight and get fit. Let’s Play 60 is a 12-week nutritional and physical activity-based challenge where the children earn points for meeting weekly challenges (such as playing outside before or after school, eating fruits and vegetables with dinner and including dairy products with dinner). Each week there’s a different challenge and once completed the participant “earns” a coupon for Adventure Crossing, bowling, Earth Fare and other activities or venues. “The Y’s responsibility is to provide a safe, fun, teaching opportunity about what a healthy lifestyle looks like and what it is all about,” says Thornburg.
Focusing on the family working together to eat better and exercise regularly is key to success. “The family can ride bikes together, plan meatless meals together and basically eat healthier—together is the only way it will work,” says Dr. Getts. Starting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle now, including both physical activity and eating better, can lower the risk of obesity and related diseases now and later in life. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
But how do you know if your child is on the path to obesity or still carrying a little baby fat? Your pediatrician is one of your best resources for determining whether your child’s weight is healthy. Yearly well visits are an appropriate time to discuss any concerns. Issues of weight begin to develop when your child is no longer eating baby food or drinking formula, usually around ages two to four. “Problems with weight after 12 months is diet, not baby fat,” says Dr. Getts. “People have forgotten what ‘normal’ is.” A four to five year old should be quite slender and ages five to 10 should still be lanky until puberty hits, he explains. If you’re seeing a trend otherwise, seek advice from your pediatrician.
Children who are overweight are more likely to be obese as adults, which can lead to a multitude of serious health problems including heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, stroke, many types of cancer and osteoarthritis, according to the CDC. Dr. Getts has seen an alarming increase in Type 2 diabetes in teens. One of the most prevalent adolescent problems is insulin resistance, which can lead to prediabetes. “This is extremely common in overweight children,” says Dr. Getts. “If this extends over long periods of time, it will lead to Type 2 diabetes later in life.”
Cardiovascular diseases are also occurring at a younger age. Alarmingly, according to the CDC, 70 percent of obese 5 to 17 year olds in a population-based sample had at least one risk factor for cardiovascular disease, such as high blood pressure or cholesterol. They are also at greater risk for joint and bone problems, sleep apnea and social and psychological problems such a stigmatization and poor self-esteem.
So clearly a healthy diet is a major factor in developing and maintaining a healthy body weight. The other equally important ingredient is exercise. Dr. Getts says that the key to achieving this is to involve the entire family, not just the child in question. “This is a family event, and Mom and Dad need to do the same thing to set an example,” he says. Parents who buy the groceries and drive the car to fast-food restaurants also model fitness routines.
“Nobody got up and said, ‘I am going to be unhealthy,’” says Janet Thornburg, community health director at the Family Y. “It is up to everyone—family, businesses, etc.—to reprogram people into eating better.”
Thornburg agrees that fitness and healthy living should be a family endeavor. In fact, when planning the children’s fitness programs, Thornburg says one of their goals was to make the Y a family-friendly destination. “We wanted to make the Y a place everyone in the family wants to go and eliminate the barriers that would keep a family from coming,” she says.
While many children are actively involved in sports the fact is not all children are athletic. So in addition to a full regimen of competitive sports, the Y offers a variety of fitness classes for children including Cardio Kids, a class aimed at 5 to 12 year olds. “This class is about keeping the kids in perpetual motion,” Thornburg says. “We want to get their heart rate up but also educate them about ways to become physically active—sweating is good.”
The Family Y also offers a youth bootcamp, for ages 10 to 14, at the Marshall and North Augusta branches, which meets twice a week. Each program is taught by a certified fitness staff and varies a little at each branch. But the goal is for the kids to not only be active but also to learn social responsibility by volunteering at various Y events and programs.
There is also a youth certification class for older kids ages 13 to 15. It is a teen orientation program, taught by certified fitness staff, with a defined curriculum that includes four sessions in which participants learn about the physiology of exercise as well as proper form and technique with an emphasis on safety.
Another exciting program that begins in January is Let’s Play 60 Kid’s Challenge, a Team Lean event that is free to all children, ages K-12th grade. In its fourth year, Team Lean is an adult challenge where teams compete to lose weight and get fit. Let’s Play 60 is a 12-week nutritional and physical activity-based challenge where the children earn points for meeting weekly challenges (such as playing outside before or after school, eating fruits and vegetables with dinner and including dairy products with dinner). Each week there’s a different challenge and once completed the participant “earns” a coupon for Adventure Crossing, bowling, Earth Fare and other activities or venues.
“The Y’s responsibility is to provide a safe, fun, teaching opportunity about what a healthy lifestyle looks like and what it is all about,” says Thornburg.
Focusing on the family working together to eat better and exercise regularly is key to success. “The family can ride bikes together, plan meatless meals together and basically eat healthier—together is the only way it will work,” says Dr. Getts. Starting and maintaining a healthy lifestyle now, including both physical activity and eating better, can lower the risk of obesity and related diseases now and later in life. It’s a win-win situation for all involved.
