|
 
Booth suggests that parents encourage their children to
participate in outdoor activities while they are at home
and to monitor their food habits closely. Photo by Rob
Hill
|
Child
Obesity on the Rise
Parents, teachers,
doctors must be part of the solution, MU researcher Booth says
By Matt McGowan
SARS, West Nile virus, the Monkey Pox and
…childhood obesity? Most people might not group these
four health concerns together, and that mentality is part of
a growing problem that will contribute to a number of premature
deaths in the near future, a University of Missouri-Columbia
researcher claims.
“Everything we do, our lifestyle,
our eating habits, our hobbies and our activities are so sedentary
that they are hurting our children’s future health,”
said Frank Booth, a professor of biomedical
sciences. “Adults are at risk and need to change,
but we also need to kick our kids outside the house to play
and be active. However, until we see the immediate health threat
that sedentary behavior is to our lives, like the recent SARS
or West Nile outbreaks hyped in the media, it will be difficult
to change behavior.”
Booth, who is an author of a recent editorial
that was published in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent
Medicine, a journal of the American
Medical Association, claims that a person who is obese after
the age of 20 will have a much more difficult time losing weight
and becoming healthier. This situation is created in part by
an inactive lifestyle during childhood, Booth said. Currently,
approximately 50 percent of U.S. youth, aged 12 to 21, are considered
sedentary. In other words, they take on less than 30 minutes
of moderate-intensity physical activity per day as recommended
by the U.S. Surgeon General.
Booth believes the increase in sedentary
behavior is directly linked to the increase in type 2 diabetes.
It is also believed to be a risk factor for at least 35 chronic
health conditions including hypertension, insulin resistance,
asthma and steatohepatitis, or the development of a fatty liver.
“Many believe that overeating is
the sole cause of obesity, but body weight is a balance between
caloric intake and expenditure,” Booth said. “Sedentary
time for children has drastically increased in the past few
decades. For example, children now often use buses to transport
themselves to school, lack recess, don’t have physical
education classes, and watch an average of 3 to 4½ hours
of television each day.”
Booth suggests that parents encourage their
children to participate in outdoor activities while they are
at home and to monitor their food habits closely. Even though
children may be eating low-fat foods, they may still be gaining
weight if they are not active on a regular basis, Booth said.
Archives
| Comments | Home SUBSCRIPTIONS
Subscribe
| Change Your
Address | Unsubscribe
Copyright © 2008 — Curators of the University of Missouri
DMCA and other copyright information.
All rights reserved.
An equal opportunity/ADA institution.
Published by the Mizzou Alumni Association
Questions? Comments? E-mail comments@mizzoualumni.org
Last Update:
April 1, 2008
|
