Obesity in Boys Up 29 Percent

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The prevalence of obesity has leveled off in the past decade in the US after nearly doubling in the previous two decades, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention reported last week. This is good news but not exactly great: One-third of adults — more than 78 million people — in the US are obese, up from 30.5 percent in 1999.

Unfortunately, the obesity rate among boys aged 6 to 19 is up 29 percent. Some 12.5 million children — nearly 1 in 3 — are now obese. Health insurers and employers are now required to pay for the cost of screening children for obesity and providing “appropriate counseling,” though medical professionals are just beginning to explore treatments and programs that might help children not only lose weight, but learn to keep it off, the New York Times reports.

Researchers interviewed by Bloomberg underscore that obesity is a problem which is better prevented, as it is extremely hard to reverse and has been linked to numerous health problems including heart disease, diabetes, some cancers, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and stroke. Americans spend $147 billion annually on obesity-related health costs. Frank Hu, professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard School of Public Health, points out that,

“Despite all the effort and all the money we’ve put into obesity control, there is no sign the epidemic is abating. If anything, obesity rates are actually inching up, especially in some groups.”

Over the past decade, obesity has increased more in men. 27.5 men were obese at the end of the previous decade but now 35.5 percent are. Obesity prevalence in women has remained about the same in the time period and is currently at 35.8 percent, though women 60 and older have the highest obesity prevalence of any age group, 42.3 percent.

Rise in Childhood Obesity: What Should Be Done?

My teenage son Charlie, who is on the moderate to severe end of the autism spectrum, is not overweight. But children with disabilities are 38 percent more likely to be overweight than their peers. Due to their diagnoses, children with disabilities may have far fewer physical education classes and not as many opportunities for exercise and recreation. Some may also take medications that have been linked to weight gain. Charlie took one such medication, Risperidone — an increase in appetite is a common side-effect — for some years and indeed gained quite a bit of weight. We worked on Charlie eating a healthy diet (not so easy as he is a picky eater) and exercising daily to address this.. Thankfully, he is no longer taking Risperidone anymore, but the experience definitely alerted us to the dangers of obesity in children.

Jacob Warman, chief of endocrinology at the Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York, speculates that obesity may be on the rise in boys and at a faster rate than in girls due to “the ever-growing use of video games, the Internet, and electronic devices.” School PE and fitness program certainly emphasize exercise, staying active and eating right but the reality is that, outside of school, kids are drawn to electronic devices (and junk food).

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Read more: children, diets, kids, kids health, nutrition, obesity, obesity epidemic, weight

Photo by Roebot

Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

federico b.

3:23AM PDT on Apr 24, 2012

Non è colpa di internet ma di tutte quelle schifezze che mangiano

send a green star

Elisabeth T.

6:38AM PDT on Mar 21, 2012

I don't think the internet is at fault here....

Jennifer C.

5:19PM PDT on Mar 14, 2012

Thanks for the post.

LMj S.

9:44PM PST on Feb 24, 2012

I want internet that buys groceries,, thank you for article.

Eternal G.

5:02PM PST on Feb 12, 2012

Noted.

Lika S.

12:55AM PST on Feb 1, 2012

Andrew, you're not telling anyone anything we don't know. There are other factors at times also, such as if you have relatives that are also overweight, if you have a disability or not, etc.

KS G.

4:08AM PST on Jan 29, 2012

Thanks for the article.

Ann D.

8:08AM PST on Jan 27, 2012

The obesity increase is related to food is a natural drug for many children and adults. Children are just as susceptible to using food as a drug. Also psychological suffering creates more apathy for children and adults. This creates less activity and adds to the problem. The myth of genetics in school creates learned helplessness for children and adults. This can easily lead to many escapes for Males to more outside measures such as sports/video games to gain feelings of love, honor, respect from others (boys must generate love, honor -Unlike girls who receive love/honor for being girls, boys must earn this in some way or be left out). I feel boys who may feel learned helplessness may both turn to video games and food as easy drugs for both immediate esteem and food for psychological suffering. Boys are more prone to escape due to far fewer supports and more aggression allowed upon them by parents, peers, teachers, and others. My learning theory shows how layers mental frictions accumulate, more so from differential treatment, thus affecting boys more than girls.
http://learningtheory.homestead.com/Theory.html

Sue M.

6:52PM PST on Jan 24, 2012

thanks

Tolga U.

5:45PM PST on Jan 24, 2012

And blame the governments that they allow those big companies to sell crap!!!