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Nearly one in five children ages 10 to 17 are obese in Kentucky. At 19.3 percent, that's the third-highest rate in the nation, according to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation report released last week.
Childhood obesity translates into dramatic consequences in adulthood, including severe bodily ailments and massive medical costs.
If children are obese, they are likely to be obese during adulthood, too, and as a result of high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, asthma, orthopedic issues, sleep apnea and obesity-related cancers like gallbladder gold liver cancers. Obese also has a higher risk for depression, social isolation and other mental health problems.
Dr. Jacqueline Dawson Dowe, director of both heart failure and women's cardiac health at The Medical Center at Bowling Green and vice president of Western Kentucky Heart and Lung Research Foundation and Education Trust.
But prevention must begin early.
In 2017, scientists discovered that about 57 percent of today's children at age 35, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
For 2-year-old children with severe obesity, the chance that they will not be obese by the age of 35 is only 21 percent. For 19-year-old children with severe obesity, the chance is 6 percent, according to the study.
Other studies have produced similar results. Analysis published this year in the American Academy of Pediatrics' journal suggests that these projections may even underestimate the magnitude of the problem.
The epidemic's cause has been known for some time. Poor diets, excessive sedentary time, physical inactivity, stress, sleep deprivation, and perinatal factors (ie, mother obese during pregnancy) can be factors. The epidemic's challengers are also known as the government subsidizing junk food, exposure to fast food marketing.
"There's no quick fix for this, it's a national level," said Dowe.
In addition to confronting corporations and federal policy, states have the ability to take action. The report provides information on how to meet the needs of the school, how to get the most out of school meals, how to meet the standard of nutrition, and how to get rid of meals. States should also refrain from adopting preemption policies that limit the ability of local communities to improve the health of their residents.
And then there are the parents. "People have to take responsibility for their actions," said Dowe. "The first thing to do is recognize that there's a problem."
Providing plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables (i.e. kale, asparagus, and broccoli) Although healthy eating can be more expensive, it is less expensive than paying for the effects of diabetes, high blood pressure or a heart attack.
Phone apps are an easy, free way to track what you're eating and how many steps you're getting each day. And, "instead of watching television, go outside and play," Dowe said. "That does not cost a cent."
Left unabated, disproportionately affected, disproportionately affected racial minorities and economically disadvantaged citizens.
The report uses state-by-state data from the 2016 and 2017 National Survey of Children's Health. Since officials redesigned the survey two years ago, the data will be considered the baseline moving forward. Data will now be collected annually.
A limitation of the report is that the National Survey of Children's Health requires parents to self-report instead of measuring – so there is a risk that parents could underreport their children's weights.
The national childhood obesity rate is 15.8 percent. Mississippi had the highest rate of 26.1 percent, and Utah had the lowest rate of 8.7 percent. Nine of the 10 states with the highest obesity rates in the South.
Racially, rates ranged from 22.5 percent for black youth, 20.6 percent for Hispanic youth, 12.5 percent for white youth, and 6.4 percent for Asian youth.
In Kentucky, rates ranged from 45 percent for black youth to 33 percent for youth and 15 percent for white youth. (State-specific data on Asian youth was not included.)
But, "everyone is in the process of paying for the consequences of being obese," said Dowe.
Each year, the US spends $ 14 billion on child obesity and between $ 147 billion and $ 210 billion on adult obesity, according to the report. (Others estimate higher.) The McKinsey Global Institute reported that the U.S. spent $ 633 billion on obesity in 2012.)
"The report said," Helping children maintain a healthy weight in the early years of the world, "said the report.
– Follow Caroline Eggers on Twitter @eggersdailynews or visit bgdailynews.com.
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