by Alan Haskvitz

Obesity in young children is absolutely alarming, becoming such a problem some students cannot sit at a regular desk. They have poor attendance, more medical problems, and can develop personality concerns that impact them for life. In fact, recent research reports obese adolescents consider themselves bad students.

What is happening? Obviously, people are not eating and exercising regularly. But what is most frightening to educators is that good eating habits are not taught and reinforced. It takes willing and spirited parents to change a child’s behavior; parents may even have to change their own lifestyle.

A life sentence

Overweight children bring many problems to school and life. Pediatric hypertension seems to be increasing, which, combined with other cardiovascular risk factors, produces insulin resistance and lack of concentration. In addition, a child who craves food constantly cannot pay attention in class until he or she finds sustenance. To give in to this craving, they violate the no-eating-in-class rule.  An obese student quickly learns how to sneak food and justifies this cheating by rationalizing it isn’t hurting anyone.

Few teachers have not spied candy wrappers, gum and other junk food remnants hidden away. Where do children develop this dependency? From home -- many parents simply do not care. High calorie treats for doing well are given freely without regard to developing delayed gratification or alternative rewards. Halloween becomes an orgy of eating, and a meal is not complete without a rich dessert. Little passion for exercise is exhibited, and the television and computer take precedence over walking and chores.

Our society contributes to this phenomenon by promoting questionable food choices for children. Supersizing, Happy Meals, toys and other marketing ploys promote eating fast food and are difficult for students to ignore. So what is a parent to do?

Work with the school

First, work with the school. If the school encourages poor nutrition by offering bad food choices, the work at home is partially nullified.Parents should make sure school offers some nutrition education. Children should learn the minimum daily calories needed, the calorie count of foods and the importance of exercise.  

Next, check what foods are offered at school. That nutritious sack lunch you send may end up in the garbage if your child has money to buy junk food outside of your view.

Finally, make sure physical education is robust. Merely having students play softball for 40 minutes does not develop good, lifelong exercise habits.  

Many years ago while teaching in Canada, I got a government grant to measure calorie usage and heart rate of students doing sports commonly played in physical education class. The results were dreadful. Most sports, such as softball, kickball, football and soccer, were essentially of no value to a non-interested child.  

For example in soccer, a child who is afraid to get involved can spend most of the period walking around hoping the action goes elsewhere. Even when the ball came into play, the action was usually brief. Now, those who were good at the sport had excellent results, except for the goal keepers. The best sports for physical fitness are those that require consistent levels of elevated heart activity at an acceptable level. We advocated altering these games, but the culture has established them firmly, and only a strong leader could make these changes stick.

Be a role model

As a parent, you need to monitor your child’s calorie intake and understand the importance of good eating habits. Equally important is physical fitness. At least 30 minutes of exercise every day is valuable, but make sure you check with your doctor to determine appropriate exercises before doing anything strenuous.  Become a role model by modeling good eating and exercise habits. Make it a game for your children.

How many calories?

Check out this chart for adults showing calories burned during various activities. See if limiting television and computer usage are worth it to help your child become fit. 
Calories Burned by Activity 

Remember, male children usually need between 2000 and 3000 calories per day, depending on their age, to maintain themselves. Females usually need between 2000 and 2300. Any calorie intake over these amounts without exercise is going to result in weight gain or fat storage.

Measure your child’s body mass

As a parent, you should know your child’s risk of becoming overweight. The following calculator enables you to find out more.  It only takes a minute, and it could impact a life. However, the most accurate check is from your doctor. 
BMI Calculator 

Sugar research

Some research worth noting concludes no correlation exists between sugar and behavior.  Sugar’s effect is modified by the foods eaten with it.  If a well-balanced diet is maintained, sugar does not cause hyperactivity. However, a new report indicates artificial food colorings and benzoate preservatives increase hyperactive behavior in preschool children. But, this was not a broad study. British findings also noted parents observed their children’s hyperactivity fell after the withdrawal of food additives, and an increase in hyperactivity appeared when food additives were re-introduced.

The combination of sugar and starch, in the absence of substantial protein, increased deviant behavior, not only in children who were mentally disturbed, but also in normal children. Sweetened breakfast cereal offers this combination. Children can react differently depending on where the sugar is from: corn, beets or cane.

Other research facts

• Obese children tend to become obese adults, putting them at higher risk of heart disease, stroke, diabetes, some cancers and other health problems.
• Two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight, and almost one in three is obese.
• As many as half of all middle school children may be overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.
• Most parents are unconcerned about their children’s weight. About one-third of obese girls and half of obese boys were considered to weigh “about right” by their parents.
• One-third of mothers and half of fathers who were overweight or obese themselves considered their own weight to be “about right.”
• Overweight children have become the norm. The result is parents of normal weight children are concerned their child is underweight.
• Of the overweight children, about 40 percent had pre-diabetes; nearly half of the students had low levels of HDL, the “good” form of cholesterol; and many had blood pressure above normal for their age.
• Junk foods like soft drinks and potato chips make up nearly one-third of calories in the American diet.
• Soft drinks and pastries add more calories to the daily diet than anything else. This includes high sugar content coffee drinks. Sweets, desserts, snacks and alcohol also contribute empty calories.
• Childhood obesity is one of the most prominent public health concerns in the U.S. It has been associated with health risks such as orthopedic, neurological, pulmonary, gastroenterological and endocrine conditions.
• Just as importantly, childhood obesity can impact personality and school life and create psychosocial outcomes such as low self-esteem and depression.

For ideas on how to help your child learn about nutrition, go to:

Nutrition Science and the Olympics 

Food Resources for Building Valuable Integrated Lesson Plans

Food Safety 

Health Links