University of Iowa Health Science Relations and
Eva Tsalikian, MD
Professor of Pediatrics
First Published: August 2002
Last Revised: October 2004
Peer Review Status: Internally Peer Reviewed

"We are seeing more and more very young children who are overweight," says Eva Tsalikian, MD University of Iowa Children's Hospital pediatrician. Since 1960, the number of children who are obese has doubled in the United States. The U.S. government estimates that some six million children are now overweight enough to endanger their health.

(Obesity is loosely defined as weight that is 20 percent more than appropriate for height and build.)

"Studies show that obesity in children leads to obesity in adults, with resulting complications," says Tsalikian. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention between 1990 and 1998, obesity fueled a 33 percent jump in adult diabetes. However, the statistics are more alarming for young adults - for those between the ages of 30 to 39, the increase was 70 percent.

Why are so many children overweight? Less activity and high calorie diets are the most common reasons according to Tsalikian. In a study of 400 teenagers, about one third failed to get enough calcium, iron, and several major vitamins. More than 65 percent of children between the ages of six and 19 eat too much total fat. Half of young people between ages of 12 to 21 engage in no regular vigorous physical activity.

Why has this become an epidemic among young people?

• Many parents think their children will grow out of it. Some children do "outgrow" weight problems. Only 20 percent of overweight four- and five-year olds become overweight adults. However, evidence shows that children who remain heavy through adolescence tend to stay that way as adults.

• Society has changed. You need look no further than the demise of home cooking and the increase of fast food meals. The snacks and sodas many of today's young people consider "normal" food are empty calories that do not promote a healthy life style.

Children suffer physically and emotionally by being overweight. For many children, it is not the extra pounds that take the greatest emotional toll - it is the reaction of family and peers.

Self-esteem becomes an issue. The child's obesity may be compounded by depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder. It is important for parents not to regard a plump child as a blight on their image or as a personal failure. Parents need to focus on helping the child, and the whole family, create and maintain healthy eating behaviors.

One of the most negative things a parent can do for an overweight child is to restrict food. Don't become the "food police." Your kids will hide food and lie about what was or was not eaten. They want to make you happy and don't want you angry with them. This behavior may be the beginning of a lifelong pattern. If children don't learn to manage food at home, they probably won't make good food decisions outside the home when peer pressure plays a powerful role.

Most children don't need a parent to tell them they are overweight. They know that from a variety of sources. What they do need is your help to focus on health, not appearance, and more activity and not what and how much they eat.