How Do We Tackle Childhood Obesity?

Close to 20% of American kids aged 2-19 are obese. No one can say exactly why. There are most certainly socioeconomic reasons. Research shows that boys, Hispanic children, and non-Hispanic Black children are at higher risk of being overweight or obese throughout their elementary school years, and the more economically challenged a family is, the worse the situation gets.  

A large meta-analysis discovered that the first 1000 days of life is a pretty good predictor of whether a child will be obese–so in less than three years, it’s already obvious that these kids are already going horribly off course.  This has led many to believe that a focus should be on educating pregnant mothers on healthy nutrition and strategies to avoid obesity in their children. If a family is eating healthily together, the kids are more likely to be healthy–and the opposite is also most definitely true. But diet is just one of the factors to look at.  Physical activity, sedentary behaviors (like screen time), sleep, and early life traumas all seem to play a factor–but so much can be done within the family to help an overweight or obese child. 

Physical activity

Any activity is a good activity! It’s possible that overweight or obese kids will be intimidated or less interested in competitive sports–but a kid’s disinterest in sports should not sound the death knell for their physical activity. Parents can lead the way with physical activity traditions like taking long family walks together after meals. Kids are also more likely to open up and talk about what’s going on with them after some sustained physical activity–so a long walk is also a great opportunity for some quality talk. The Fitness app on the iPhone is a great tool to get the whole family being more conscious of their daily steps. You can set a goal of, for instance, 10,000 steps per day and get awarded badges and awards for being consistent or setting new movement records. You can also share your movement stats with others in your family. 

Sedentary behaviors

The continuing rise in screen time can seem like a perpetual battle that can never be won. Making deals to offset screen time with some physical activity can be really effective. In essence, the idea is that a kid “buys” an hour of screen time with an hour of a combination of physical activity and other non-screen activities. This has been super effective in our families, even if it hasn’t been strictly adhered to–and often it leads to parents exercising alongside kids. 

Sleep

Getting kids to sleep can be challenging, but it is so important for kids to get a solid nine hours of sleep. Research has linked shorter sleep durations to all kinds of chronic diseases, including obesity. A young body will crave sugar and other junk food carbs just to get a quick hit of energy–and it can be tough to fight off. Kids also need to be educated about caffeine. Highly caffeinated energy drinks are all the rage with kids right now–and any of these consumed after 12:00 pm will adversely affect that night’s sleep. As we’ve mentioned in many blogs about sleep, stopping the use of smartphones 90 minutes before sleep is also an effective way to wind down. Many screens can be programmed to switch to a “night screen” each night at a certain time–to avoid the wakefulness that the blue screen light promotes. Also darkening lights in the house an hour before bed is an effective way to promote the winding down of kids. 

Early life traumas

Sadly, research shows that overweight or obese kids often experience teasing, bullying, and low self-esteem. To complicate things further, research has shown that there is an association between insecure parental attachment in childhood, as well as other early life traumas, and increased intake of high-caloric foods that contributes to childhood overweight/obesity and that carries through to adulthood overweight/obesity. Seeking out help from a professional to get a conversation going about these things can be very helpful. If your child refuses to talk to a professional, or the cost of therapy is prohibitive, we highly recommend that parents educate themselves on parental attachment and early life traumas.  A great book is How to Do the Work by Dr. Nicole LePera.

Childhood obesity is a complicated problem that requires multi-component solutions. We don’t pretend that the situation can be addressed in a short blog post. But we feel reflecting on these ideas as a parent, or as someone that is close to an overweight or obese child, is a great start towards making a difference in these kids’ lives. 

Until next time

Scott and Lennart