What are you feeding your kids?

[Shelby]

This is data from 2007. I can only imagine it's quite a bit worse today.



Childhood Obesity Statistics and Facts
January 2007

General Stats
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16 percent of children (over 9 million) 6-19 years old are overweight or obese -- a number that has tripled since 1980. In addition to the 16 percent of children and teens ages 6 to 19 who were overweight in 1999-2002, another 15 percent were considered at risk of becoming overweight. ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004)


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2-5 years and adolescents aged 12-19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004)


Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80 percent if one or more parent is overweight or obese. (United States Department of Health and Human Services)

Costs/Socioeconomics
Obesity-associated annual hospital costs for children and youth more than tripled over two decades, rising from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)


Adolescents with no insurance or public insurance such as Medicaid are more likely than those covered by other insurance to be overweight, according to a 2003 study. ( J.S. Haas et al. (2003) The association of race, socioeconomic status, and health insurance status with the prevalence of overweight among children and adolescents. American Journal of Public Health, 93, 2105-2110.)



Among white teen girls, the prevalence of overweight decreases with increasing socioeconomic status. Among black teen girls, the prevalence of overweight remains the same or increases with increasing socioeconomic status.(P. Gordon-Larsen et al. (2003) The relationship of ethnicity, socioeconomic factors, and overweight in U.S. adolescents. Obesity Research, 11, 121-129.)

Exercise
Experts agree that inactivity and poor eating habits contribute to obesity. While national guidelines recommend 150 minutes of physical activity each week for elementary children and 225 minutes for older children, only Illinois has a statewide requirement for daily physical education.

Nutrition
Nearly one-third of U.S. Children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food every day, resulting in approximately six extra pounds per year, per child. Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. ("Effects of Fast-Food Consumption on Energy Intake and Diet Quality Among Children in a National Household Survey," Pediatrics, January 2004.)

Obesity-related Disease
For children born in the United States in 2000, the lifetime risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives is estimated to be about 30 percent for boys and 40 percent for girls. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)


In case reports limited to the 1990s, Type 2 diabetes accounted for 8 to 45 percent of all new pediatric cases of diabetes, in contrast with fewer than 4 percent before the 1990s. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)


In a population-based sample, approximately 60 percent of obese children aged 5 to 10 years had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor, such as elevated total cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin or blood pressure, and 25 percent had two or more risk factors. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)


Data from the NACHRI Case Mix Program show inpatient diabetes cases in children's hospitals have increased approximately 12 percent between 2002 and 2004, and average adjusted estimated costs have grown approximately 10 percent during the same time frame. (Information pulled September 2005. NACHRI maintains the nation's largest pediatric-specific inpatient database, housing over 3 million discharge records from 72 children's hospitals.)

Minority Data
Among boys, the highest prevalence of obesity is observed in Hispanics. Among girls, the highest prevalence is observed in African Americans. ("Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance, 2005," Institute of Medicine.)

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, non-Hispanic black (21 percent) and Mexican-American adolescents (23 percent) ages 12-19 were more likely to be overweight than non-Hispanic white adolescents (14 percent). ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004.)


According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Mexican-American children ages 6-11 were more likely to be overweight (22 percent) than non-Hispanic black children (20 percent) and non-Hispanic white children (14 percent). ("Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity Among Children and Adolescents: United States, 1999-2002"; Oct. 6, 2004.)

 

[Gunsmith]

Althought my little guy does eat some fast food (chicken nuggets) about once a every couple weeks he eats pretty clean compaired to the crap thats fed to most youngsters , he follows me around and wants to do what I do so naturaly he wants to eat what I eat (not so much with the veggies) so I just figured what the hell may as well make him a plate while I make mine.

We have a friend whos son whom has Autism and they feed him a very strict diet as apparently their are ALOT of things that can be seriously helped with these people though their diet , he other son is suffers with A.D.D. and diet also has a major influance on their actions , she has been great enough to let me borrow some of her books about what their diet looks like and how it affects them. Sadly trying to follow a very healthy whole food diet is very very expensive , inconvient and time consuming but it for the kids so we do what we can.

I'm fortunate enough to have two very health kids and have the means to take great care of them , my family owns some property and we raise alot of our own food (mostly meat) as well and hunt so I'd say that 75% of or meat comes from clean farm raised free rangeing animals , our vegitables we buy form a small "farmers market" their a little bit more expensive but their ALWAYS much more fresh and alot cleaner when it comes to pesticides and fertilizers.

Fast food does get eatin and like everything else I think that taken in moderation its fine , hell even if you do feed you kids fast food a couple times a week their are things that are being made more healthy , some chains offer apple wedges instead of fries , juice and milk instead of soft drinks and so on so just cause you run through McDonalds doesn't meen you have to get a double quarter pounder , take 5 min walk in to make the order and make sure you get what you want , their salads arn't bad , just tell them to hold the cheese ,corn chips and beans , then add an extra grilled chicken breast.

 

[Che]

Great post Shelby...I have 4 kids, ranging from 7 years old to 1 year old, with my 6 year old daughter having autism - I can tell you that a child's diet is important. Granted, I do very little of the cooking in the house, but my wife does a great job. Sure, every now and then a kid has to have McDonalds - but veggies, fruits, and lean protein are the way to go. One of my daughter's autism specialists specifically called out for us to have her take fish oil and avoid anything with red food coloring.

I'm going to go off on a tangent really quick - I'm not a pro and never will be...but I try to live a bodybuilding lifestyle the best I can while I live my everyday life. My wife is the same way. I think it's crucial for little kids to see both of their parents exercising, eating the proper foods, and living a healthy lifestyle. My father was a collegiate basketball player and his concern over heath and athletics stayed with me. As he got older and more sedentary, it affected the eating and exercise habits of my younger siblings - who have all had their stomachs stapled from being morbidly obese. People can dismiss my passion for bodybuilding as vanity, and part of it is, but overall it's an example of a healthy life that I'm trying to portray to my kids.