Editor's note: The number of overweight U.S. children is increasing. According to a July report, the National Center for Health Statistics indicate 15 percent of children ages 6 to 18 were overweight in 2000, up from 6 percent in 1980. Fifteen percent of youngsters ages 6 to 19 and 10 percent of children 2 through 5 were considered seriously overweight. Sources: AHA, NIH, CDC, NHNES.

Obesity in children has become a top priority for health professionals in the United States. More than two-thirds of Americans are overweight and 30 per cent suffer from obesity but there has been a dramatic increase in childhood obesity. In the United States, the percentage of overweight or obese children has doubled over the past 30 years to 25 per cent of the under-19 population.

Overweight and obesity are caused by an imbalance between food consumption and energy expenditure and experts agree that this is probably due to changes in diets as they are increasingly high in fats and carbohydrates. According to Dr. Francine Kaufman, former president of the American Diabetes Association and head of pediatric endocrinology at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, children are increasingly exposed to genetic and environmental "triggers" that can lead to obesity and possibly diabetes, said.

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...children are increasingly exposed to genetic and environmental 'triggers' that can lead to obesity and possibly diabetes

The American Academy of Pediatrics, which represents American pediatricians, points out that obesity isn't simply defined by a child's weight, but rather by something called "body mass index" (or BMI), a mathematical formula that takes into account both the child's weight and height. The increasing percentage of children suffering from obesity has put children at risk for complications of obesity both in childhood and adult life. A child who is overweight has a greater chance of becoming an overweight adult. A teen with "baby" fat has a 75 percent-plus chance of becoming overweight, putting them at high risk for diabetes, heart problems, cancer, high blood pressure and other serious diseases. High cholesterol has even been discovered in some toddlers today.

The Academy has proposed a number of approaches to help reduce the growing epidemic of obesity among American children. This includes that physicians should regularly track each child's BMI to more efficiently recognize excessive weight gain in relation to height. It has also proposed that families should be educated to understand the important impact they have on their children's development of lifelong habits of nutritious eating and regular physical activity. Dietary practices should encourage moderate eating rather than over-consumption and rather than trying to control children's eating practices, parents should encourage healthful choices; for example, nutritious snacks can include vegetables and fruit, low-fat dairy foods, and whole grains, as mentioned in the proposals put forward by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

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Sources:
1. Committee on Nutrition, American Academy of Pediatrics: Pediatrics, August 2003
2. Reimer, Andrea "Hold the fatty foods to keep kids slim and trim", The Vancouver Sun (British Columbia, Canada), October 2, 2003 3. American Headache Society, June 22, 2006

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