On Sunday, March 21st, 2010, Jamie Oliver's show Food Revolution aired. This show campaigns for healthy school meals, families to recognize the importance of nutrition, and general awareness of the obesity epidemic facing this nation. Another popular show, The Biggest Loser, turns weight loss into a contest, all along revealing the personal struggles and hardships faced by an expanding obese demographic.
Furthermore, Michelle Obama is spearheading a campaign to fight obesity in America, primarily addressing the growing population of children faced with early onset diabetes. All of this, combined with Kevin Smith getting kicked off a plane for "being too fat", has brought significant media attention to the obesity epidemic. The overwhelming question is why has this problem come this far? What affect does this have on the present and the future for America, healthcare, and the welfare of children?
One in Three Children with Diabetes
KidsHealth.org reports that "One in three children born in 2000 are overweight or obese," placing these individuals at risk for diabetes. Why is this trend occurring? Ask the experts and there will be a laundry list of answers. General inactivity, video games, sugary sodas, poor parental guidance, and reduced physical education programs are just a few.
Overall, children are doing less, eating more, and are suffering lifestyle diseases usually only seen later in life. KidsHealth.org lists that obese children suffer from a variety of problems, including diabetes, high blood pressure, bone and joint problems, gall bladder and liver disease, and depression.
In 2005, S. Jay Olshansky reported in The New England Journal of Medicine that the "life expectancy of children today will drop two to five years as a direct result of the obesity epidemic." While decreased longevity is an issue, the escalating concerns for quality of life are magnifying yearly. Children suffering diseases usually seen amongst the Medicare population raises serious questions about quality of life.
Diabetes impacts not only insulin levels but damages kidneys, resulting in dialysis and weekly doctor visits. Bone and joint disease spawn arthritic conditions that cripple a child's ability to move and further impact a future of pain and disability. All together, children will live shorter more debilitated lives facing a future their parents never wished for them.
Obesity Impact on the Future
According to Dr. Thomas Frieden, director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average American "is about 23 pounds overweight" and the problems is "only getting worse." This extra weight accounts for increased healthcare expenditures, including an 80% hike in prescription costs for obese individuals compared to normal weight. This statistic was quoted by Eric Finkelstein, director, RTI Public Health Economics Program in Research Triangle Park, N.C. Finkelstein also found obese Medicare recepients ulitize almost $2,000 more each year in services in respect to individual maintaining a normal weight.
Steven Reinberg, writer for HealthDay, reported that Frieden is considering a soda tax to curb the obesity epidemic. The tax is designed to deter sugary sodas in respect to healthier selections such as water. All together, America is fatter, costing more, and facing taxes to resolve the epidemic. The future is not looking good.
Obseity Solution
What is the answer to the obesity epidemic facing children today? Television networks are producing inspiring shows to motivate healthier lifestyles and weight loss. The government is campaigning to change school lunches and curb a growing population of obese children. Healthcare is pushing for early intervention and creating drugs and technologies to address a younger and unhealthy population. Even utilizing taxes to control American consuming habits is suggested as a resolution to the obesity epidemic.
Media, government, and healthcare all have something to gain or lose, but the individual facing this problem only has loss. As a nation, Americans have to want a better future. Americans are allowing their future, their individual futures, to suffer because changing the "status quo" is too difficult.
Is facing mounting medical bills less challenging that looking at fried food as a "once a week treat"? Is walking 30 minutes more of an inconvenience than checking glucose levels on an 14-year old with type II diabetes? Is knowing that parents may outlive their children and watch them suffer daily with simple tasks such as walking, sleeping, and breathing not pressing enough to want change? The problems of today are the death sentence for children of tomorrow. Get active, eat sensibly, and educate anyone willing to listen. Become part of the solution.
Sources:
S. Jay Olshansky et al. "A Potential Decline in Life Expectancy in the United States in the 21st Century," The New England Journal of Medicine 352, no. 11 (2005): 1138-45.
Keith Cronin - Keith is a physical therapist in the St. Louis area and enjoys writing on the topics of health, sports, and education. Keith provides ...
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