Editor's Desk: Healthy Choices

By Michael F. Flach
Herald Editor
(From the issue of 6/17/04)

Local soccer fields and recreation centers are filled to capacity on most weekday afternoons and weekend mornings. At times it appears there isn’t enough room to accommodate the demand for space. Local jurisdictions continue to put forth bond referendums to help pay for the cost of expansion. Families move from basketball to soccer to swimming, depending on the season.

Judging by all this activity you would think that the physical condition of our children would be at an all-time high. It is a bit surprising, then, to read a recent report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) that the number of overweight adolescents has escalated since 1980 and an estimated 15 percent of children aged 6 to19 are overweight.

"The percentage of young people who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 20 years, and we are seeing serious related complications, including dramatic increases in Type 2 diabetes in adolescents," said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The CDC is promoting a national, multicultural campaign called the VERB, which is intended to promote physical activity and displace unhealthy risky behavior among the nation’s children.

"The campaign sends the message to children that being active is an important part of being healthy," Thompson said.

"Today people are not 20 or even 50 pounds overweight, they are 200 and 300 pounds over their ideal weight," said Jeniece Schaller, a doctor of integrative medicine at the Marq Health Center in Annandale. "As a society, we have to make larger weight scales, larger furniture, larger-sized clothing and larger airplane seats.

"Clinically, we hear people report about the problem of sudden weight gain and stubborn weight loss," she said. "Having gone through a difficult life situation, people gain an abnormal amount of weight that does not easily leave. The weight gain should have only been 10 pounds, instead it was 30 to 40. They diet for even a month or more and lose nothing."

The CDC has compiled a list of disconcerting facts:

— The number of overweight children and adolescents suggest the likelihood of another generation of overweight adults who may be at risk for heart disease, high cholesterol and high blood pressure.

— Type 2 diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents.

— The most immediate consequence of being overweight as perceived by children themselves is social discrimination, which translates to poor self-esteem and depression.

— U.S. society has become increasingly sedentary. Television, computer and video games contribute to a child’s inactive lifestyle. Forty-three percent of adolescents watch more than two hours of television each day.

— Experts recommend 60 minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day. Walking, biking, swimming, engaging in sports and games all contribute to accumulated physical activity. Children who are engaged in physical activity are less likely to become involved in risky behaviors.

— Recent studies state that 29 percent of children in the U.S. attend physical education classes daily, down from 42 percent in 1991. This lack of physical activity among young people may be one factor responsible for the steep increase in childhood obesity.

— Nearly half of young people 12 to 21 years old do not regularly engage in vigorous physical activity.

This week’s "Health & Wellness" special section (pages 15-26) offers a closer look at how to maintain or begin a healthier lifestyle. It’s never too late or too early to start. — M.F.F.

Copyright ©2004 Arlington Catholic Herald.  All rights reserved.