Future Epidemic of our children lies on our backs.. or perhaps even our grandchildren…
As I do not fully agree with the BMI charts when it comes to adults, children bring a different outlook to the discussion. Defining obesity for children puts a child at or above the 95th percentile in their age range. As for those severely obese, these individuals are in the 99th percentile (Boyd & Bee, P. 215, 2015). My reasoning for not fully agreeing with BMI charts from a personal trainer’s point of view, is that muscle mass is not considered. For example, I have been at a “normal weight” according to the BMI but was also at 4-5% body fat, which is not very healthy to maintain. When I am closer to 10-12% body fat I am around 200-210lbs putting me at “overweight”. You can assess yours from the references below out of personal curiosity (BMI, n.d.). Again this is not the common factor for children, as education must be key to the adults. Just be prepared for personal considerations as well. Given pediatrics can be ages 16-19 as well, where teenagers could develop enough mass to tip the calculator.
Obesity is not intended for “shaming”, there are severe complications to being overweight that are not to be taken lightly. According to Boyd and Bee, the physical domain complications consist of alteration in the puberty process, sleeping disorders, cardiovascular damage, joint complications and diabetes. The social complications consist of discrimination, teasing and social isolation. Cognitively it can reduce the rate of school attendance and potentially affects one’s ability to focus (Boyd & Bee, P. 215, 2015). As the complications are as dramatic, this is a growing issue amongst the United States. According to a graph within Lifespan Development by Boyd and Bee, obesity continues to grow significantly amongst children between the ages of six and eleven. In 1971-2974 the statistics were 4%. In 2007-2008 the percentage was up to 19.6%, which is a 15.6% variance of unhealthy growth amongst the adolescent population (Boyd & Bee, P 216, 2015).
As of 2020, childhood obesity has now grown to be affecting 19.7% or about 14.7 million children and adolescents. (CDC, May 17th, 2022)
In an era where more information than ever is accessible, it simply does not appear to be an information issue. With over a decade of experience working with adolescent and adults, there are a variety of factors to consider….
If you have children, you’re the living example of what is and is not perceived as appropriate behavior. If your children see you moving more, they are inclined to join you through influence when their minds are most adaptable. We set the example and facilitate behavioral habits that spark connections in their brains that become potential life long habits. Of course I’m not speaking from a pollyannaish perspective where everything will be sunshine and rainbows but there is something to be said when research supports when a child has two active parents they are nearly 6x as likely to live an active and perceived healthier lifestyle than those with inactive parents. (Oliver, Schofield & Schluter, 2010).
References
BMI. (n.d.). BMI Calculator. Retrieved September 10, 2018, from https://www.google.com/search?q=bmi chart&rlz=1C5CHFA_enUS727US728&oq=BMI&aqs=chrome.1.0l2j35i39j0l3.4779j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8 Boyd, D. R., & Bee, H. L. (2015). Lifespan development (7th ed., P.215). Boston: Pearson. https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/childhood.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5833469/#ref-27 (Oliver, Schofield & Schluter, 2010).
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