A child can develop a variety of health issues for an array of reasons. Bouts of flu, broken bones and earaches are almost rites of childhood.
But health issues not often associated with childhood include high blood pressure, high cholesterol and Type 2 diabetes, and cases of these health problems are on the rise in children and adolescents.
It’s is a topic discussed, debated and, in some cases, ignored within the United States. Last week the conversation came to Centre County when Nittany Health showed a popular HBO documentary and hosted a discussion afterward at the State Theatre with area doctors and other health specialists.
Part of a four-week presentation of the documentary “The Weight of the Nation,” the group of panelists led a discussion with community members about childhood obesity, which has doubled and tripled in children and adolescents in the past 30 years, respectively. The documentary follows doctors and obese Americans who are fighting against the epidemic.
Dr. George McCormick, a pediatrician with Mount Nittany Health, said childhood obesity is one of the biggest medical problems today. “Talking to kids [about obesity] is a huge challenge,” McCormick said. It is a struggle, he said, to motivate not only kids but parents to become more educated.
“Parents need to know what they need to do,” said Penn State Hershey PRO Wellness Center Project Manager Barb Blatt. Blatt says it is also important for parents to know about is body mass indexing (BMI) requirements, which takes a person’s weight and height to calculate body fat.
Two reasons childhood obesity has increased in the last three decades is due to a lack of proper nutrition and exercise, the documentary and panelists said.
In the State College Area School District (SCASD), 18.6 percent of students are either overweight or obese, K-12 Curriculum Coordinator for Health Education and Physical Education Linda Eggebeen said. Compared to the state average of 66 percent of kids being overweight or obese, Blatt said, the area is doing relatively good.
Physical education is required to be taught in Pennsylvania schools, Eggebeen said. Students in elementary schools must have 40 minutes per week, middle school students get two 48-minute sessions every six days and high school students have five days a week for one full semester.
Still, “it is a far cry from daily,” Eggebeen said.
Losing weight effectively and making that important to the kids is a priority of the SCASD, she said.
The topic of physical education needs to be brought to the home too, the panelists said. McCormick said doing things like not allowing a television in your child’s bedroom and not letting them play four hours of video games every night will trigger results. “Parents have to set an example for (their) children,” he said.
Kids also look up to their parents and elders as examples for eating habits.
“We teach kids how to overeat,” McCormick said.
SCASD food service director Megan Schaper said the district’s schools have been operating under USDA standards for more than 15 years. Prepackaged lunches, which the documentary argues are not nutritious, are being served, but Schaper said SCASD makes sure students get a variety of fruits and vegetables as well as whole grain food options.
However, Schaper said if no examples are being set at home with nutrition, kids will carry that to school.
Beverages, McCormick said, are one of the biggest culprits in childhood obesity just like it is with adults who are obese. “We’ve sort of taught children if it’s not flavored, sweetened or colored,” he said, “it’s not good.”
The documentary also stressed that eliminating sugar-sweetened drinks like soda, juice and energy drinks from a child’s diet will drastically improve overall health.
