Childhood Obesity

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Childhood Obesity

• Heather Harshaw

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STATS AND FACTS

• Child obesity has doubled since 1970s.
• 1 in 7 children are obese.
• 10 of 2-5 year-olds are overweight.
• 15 of children 6-19 are overweight.

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More facts

• Avg. child gets less then 15 min/day of vigorous
  activity.
• Avg. child consumes at least 20 ounces of
  soda/day.
• 9 out of 10 parents think their child is fit when
  only 1 out of 3 are.

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Environmental Causes

• Insufficient calorie expenditure through
  exercise.
• Children consume more calories than burn.
• More time watching TV then being active.
• 1 in 5 participate in extra physical activity.

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Environmental causes cont.

• Excessive Snacking
• High calorie snacks.
• Sugar filled soft drinks.
• Fast Food Diet
• In 1992, kids 6-14 ate fast food 157 million
  times/month.

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Environmental Causes cont.

• Family behaviors.
• Children of obese parents have 25-30 increase in
  being obese.
• Increase risk due to poor eating and nutrition
  habits.

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The Effects

• Increased risk of
• Type 2 diabetes.
• High blood pressure
• High cholesterol
• Heart disease/heart failure/stroke

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Overcoming Overweight

• Take a whole family approach
• Practice what you preach
• Involve children in meal prep/grocery shopping
• Set example be active as a parent
• Limit TV/computer time
• Encourage outdoor/extra-curricular activities.

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Recommendations

• The National Association for Sports and Physical
  Education recommends that school age children
• Get 60 min/day of physical activity.
• Accumulate activity throughout day that can be
  broken down in bouts of 15 min.
• Avoid periods of inactivity of 2 hrs or more.