Ask any parent about their child’s weight and you are likely to get a strong ” oh no, mine is fine” response.
Although more than 40 percent of patients that sit in pediatrician offices today are clearly overweight, many don’t know it and if they do they have a passive attitude.
It’s an easy mistake to make, according Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom, Michigan’s first surgeon general and chief wellness officer at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS).
The average body weight of children is increasing dramatically, according to Wisdom who cautions parents against “eyeballing” their kids size against their peers.
“Looks can be deceiving, particularly in communities that celebrate more voluptuous, curvy shapes in women and heftier men,” says Dr. Wisdom.
“In many African American and Hispanic families being overweight has become a part of our cultural identity,” she says. “In fact, most families worry more about being too thin or underweight than being overweight.
“If anything, we want to gain or maintain,” notes Dr. Wisdom.
This likely accounts for the alarming fact that four out of five African American women today are considered overweight or obese.
So what is the big issue with having some meat on your bones?
It becomes a problem when parents don’t see it as a problem, according to the physician and childhood obesity prevention advocate.
The likelihood that obese children will remain obese adults is near certain, according to numerous studies which conclude that 80 percent will carry excess weight into adulthood.
The statistics are raising alarm among pediatricians practicing in Michigan’s inner cities, who now must help parents face even greater challenges ahead.
But why aren’t alarm bells ringing in parents?
“An aware parent does not necessarily immediately translate to an alarmed parent,” says Dr. Wisdom.
“If a parent believes their heavier child is healthy, until they start to see other negative health indicators, it is often hard to convince them otherwise.”
The traditional method to evaluate healthy weight is to calculate Body Max Index (BMI), which is a very reliable measurement that measures body fat based on height and weight.
Although physicians consider other indicators in regard to healthy body size and growth patterns in children, the BMI index is a well accepted tool.
“That’s why we need to reposition our Body Mass Index (BMI) measurements as a predictive tool, comparable to any other accepted diagnostic indicator,” states Dr. Wisdom.
Constructive conversations about weight need to be taken more seriously at home, professionals worry that too many parents view weight like a reflection of their personal style. And that can be dangerous.
Health experts note that an elevated BMI is an early health indicator, that can be managed and often reversed. Left unaddressed…the problems get more serious.
“We are now beginning to see high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes in children as young as eight years old,” warns Dr. Wisdom.
If parents think that this is not a significant issue, they couldn’t be more wrong.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), type 2 diabetes will shorten a child’s life expectancy by 18 to 22 years.
Given current trends, the CDC projects that nearly one in every three children born in the U.S. after the year 2000 will develop diabetes in their lifetime. For children from ethnic minority groups, the ratio rises to one in two.
The cardiovascular risks in young people are nearly as stark.
The heavier the teen, the more abnormal their cardiovascular risk profile, with 49 percent of the overweight and 61 percent of the obese adolescents showing one or more risk factors for cardiovascular disease.
The symptoms of cardiovascular disease such as chest pain, shortness of breath, heart attacks and strokes usually don’t occur until adulthood, physical changes that lead to adult heart disease may begin in childhood and adolescence and persist into the adult years.
A very good reason to know your kids BMI number.
Editor’s Note: Although we encourage readers to visit TheWEIGH.com to access our free BMI calculator, supported by the CDC, we always recommend a follow-up conversation with your child’s pediatrician as additional tools are used in addressing any weight-related issues in children.
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The State of Michigan enacted in 2011 voluntarily reporting of Body Max Index (BMI) through its Michigan Care Improvement Registry (MCIR), which also is the home of the state’s mandatory childhood immunization registry.
The MCIR staff supported the technology and training needed to maximize registry use among physicians, but it is up to practitioners to leverage its fullest potential.
BMI statistics are not currently being reported out of the registry, according to a spokesperson at the Michigan Dept. of Community Health (MDCH).
Pediatric obesity is defined as at or above the 95th percentile, based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention age- and gender-specific growth charts. Overweight is defined at or above the 85th percentile but below the 95th.
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