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Combatting childhood obesity
CayCompass.com, 25 October, 2012
During the recent Healthcare 20/20 Conference one of the main talking
points at the paediatric session was childhood obesity.
With a panel ranging from nutritionists to doctors and an informed
audience, there were numerous suggestions in terms of how the crisis
could be approached.
And a crisis it is, with a clear increase in the body mass index of
children across all age groups, starting as early as the 3- to 6-year
age group, where around 29 per cent of children are overweight or
obese, with increasing blood pressure and cholesterol levels. This
number rises more dramatically once the children reach primary school
age, with some 34 per cent of children being overweight or obese.
According to Bethany Smith, Cayman Islands Health Services Authority
community dietician, the numbers make for dire reading, especially
when taking into account the link between obesity and chronic diseases.
“The blood pressure levels also were increasing, and that goes along
with what we know about the correlations between BMI and how it affects
chronic disease. We know that the younger children are when they are
diagnosed as being overweight or obese, the more likely it is that
they will get these chronic diseases at an earlier age,” she said.
She said that society sends mixed messages, with thinness being valued,
while at the same time food plays a central role in gatherings and
celebrations and the concept of what constitutes a normal portion
having increased dramatically during the last 20 years.
“Food is integral to our social gatherings and social bonding,” she
said.
However, eating too much is clearly only one part of the puzzle, with
increased levels of activity also being important in managing this
burgeoning problem, with government being in position to influence
the level of activity of its citizens.
“Planning for sidewalks, bike lanes and more public open spaces all
impacts on the levels of obesity, not just in children but in adults
as well. So it’s not simply about sending an obese or overweight child
to a dietician,” Ms Smith said.
The importance of activity, as well as the role government can play,
was also a focus for another panel member, paediatrician Dr. James
Robertson.
“I had a child that came in, he was about 7, and I was asked to see
him because he had attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, allegedly.
Whenever I have a child like this, my first question to the mother
is ‘Does this happen every day?’ and the answer to that was ‘No, it
doesn’t happen on Monday or Thursday’. Those are PE days,” Dr. Robertson
said.
He said that children needed to get exercise every day and that at
least some of this could be addressed through government legislation
in terms of the number of physical education days at school.
“I asked my two older children why they were taking PE GCSE when I
thought it was a Mickey Mouse subject, and they both replied to me,
one a girl, one a boy, that was the only way they could do any exercise,
and that’s why they were doing it,” he said.
However, Dr. Robertson was quick to point out that parents also need
to take responsibility for the activity levels of their children.
“I have the pleasure, or sometimes not, of looking in a lot of kids’
ears, and I reckon somewhere between 10 and 20 per cent of them have
sand in their ears. Why is it not 100 per cent? I go to the beach
and it’s empty,” he said.
All the speakers pointed out that prevention of obesity has to start
before birth, from as early as correct nutrition for pregnant mothers,
as well as the promotion of breastfeeding.
Feedback from the audience on what government could do to help combat
childhood obesity levels included extending the minimum mandated maternity
leave to six months in order to allow mothers to breastfeed their
children through one of the most critical phases of their development.
With the current maternity leave allotment, it was suggested that
many mothers rush to get their children on a bottle, while many workplaces
were not supportive when it came to mothers using breast pumps during
the day in order to keep from having to put their children onto formula.
Further education on using formula was also suggested as many parents
do not level off a scoop of formula with a knife, thereby providing
their babies with almost twice the number of calories per bottle and
thereby setting children on a path toward obesity.
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