Bringing Childhood Obesity With Sleep Apnea & Other Health Issues in Focus

According to a research study results that appeared in the September issue of the journal Pediatrics, in the last 30 years, the prevalence of obesity in children has tripled, leading to children developing adult medical problems, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and sleep apnea.

“The California study gives us hope that while the childhood obesity epidemic is severe, we are seeing a decline in certain populations,” said Dr. Ashley Weedn, an OU researcher and clinical assistant professor at the University of Oklahoma’s Health Sciences Center. “It gives us hope that we can make a difference in Oklahoma too.”.

Nationally, more than 12 million children and adolescents are considered obese.They’re especially important to Oklahoma’s heath care leaders because the state has the 17th highest child obesity rate in the nation, according to a 2007 National Survey of Children’s Health. More than 16 percent of Oklahoma’s children ages 10 to 17 were obese,revealed the study results.

Weedn and California researchers used the body mass index of more than 8 million children in California schools from 2001 to 2008 to measure the most recent trends in childhood obesity.

Weedn said California is on the forefront of tackling childhood obesity by eliminating junk food and sugary drinks from schools and increasing the required amount of physical education.”Oklahoma has a lot to learn from California,” she said.

“Children who are obese are also more likely to continue on to be obese as an adult,” she said.

But the raw numbers don’t reveal the underlying causes for the results. Hispanic, black and American Indian girls had a much higher rate of obesity than whites. Only white girls saw a drop in obesity by 2008. But obesity rates for American Indian and black girls have continued to rise, she said.

“We can infer that increased awareness about obesity in children has had an impact,” she said. “Our data showed that certain ethnicities still showed an increase despite the overall implementation of the school mandates.”

Weedn said there are more studies looking at socioeconomic status and by district to determine exactly why there is such a disparity for girls and, in particular, those who are American Indian, Hispanic or black.

“Our society has an obligation to our children. While we encourage families to make lifestyle changes, the change has to come at a societal and legislative level.”

Tagged with: BMI • Body Mass Index • Child Obesity • Childhood Obesity • Cholesterol • diabetes • high blood pressure • Obesity • Sleep Apnea

Filed under: Diabetes • High Blood Pressure • Obesity • Sleep • Sleep Apnea • Sleep Apnea Effects

Like this post? Subscribe to my RSS feed and get loads more!