Obesity and being overweight

Globally, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults, and at least 300 million of them suffer from obesity. Both have reached epidemic proportions worldwide and both are major contributors to the global burden of chronic diseases and disabilities.

Obesity rates have skyrocketed since the 1980′s, up to three-fold in certain areas of the U.S. along with other industrialized nations, but it is also increasing exponentially in developing nations.

Why is driving the obesity and overweight epidemic?

The obesity epidemic reflects profound changes in society and in the behavioral patterns of society over recent decades. While genes are important in determining the proclivity of weight gain, it is dictated mostly by the energy balance between calorie intake and physical activity. Economic growth, modernization, urbanization, and globalization of the food industry is a major driving force behind the overweight and obesity epidemic. At the same time, there has been a movement towards less physically demanding work complemented by the use of automated transportation, time-consuming telecommunications technology in the home, and the pursuit of more leisurely past times. All of the above are factors in combating obesity and being overweight.

How bad is the problem?

Currently, there are more than 1 billion overweight adults. 300 million of them are clinically obese. Obesity levels range from below 5% in China, Japan, and some African nations, to over 75% in urban Samoa. But even in the lower spectrum of obesity, such as China, some cities boast obesity rates of over 20%.

Childhood obesity is also a driving factor. Worldwide, up to 22 million children under five are overweight. In the USA, according to the Surgeon General, the number of overweight children has doubled and the number of overweight adolescents has tripled since 1980.

Obesity accounts for 2-6% of total health care costs in several developed countries. The true costs are probably much greater as not all obesity-related conditions are calculated.

What can we do about it?

Prevention, weight loss and weight maintenance are the most important long-term strategies for fighting obesity. Other key elements include:

1. Creating a supportive environment through public policies and personal goals that promote the intake of a variety of low-fat, high-fiber foods, and opportunities for physical activity. (No more sitting on the bench for an entire phys-ed class.)

2. Promoting healthy behaviors to encourage, motivate, and enable individuals to lose weight, namely, through a better diet.

3. Mounting a clinical response to the existing burden of obesity and associated conditions by lawmakers and health care providers to ensure effective support and prevention for those most prone to becoming overweight.

School Kids

It’s no question that American children are fatter today than they have ever been. It’s also a no-brainer that childhood obesity and overweight problems will costs us billions of dollars in the future. So why is the overweight issue being ignored by lawmakers at the federal and state levels? Although schools must follow federal standards for nutritional value in school lunches, new reports have found that school lunches need more fruits, veggies and a limit on calories to help prevent childhood obesity and overweight issues. Oftentimes, a school lunch’s nutritional value doesn’t even match up with the government’s own guidelines, despite the fact that the federal government subsidizes lunch and breakfast for needy kids in nearly every public school and many private ones.

The school lunch has seen its ups and downs. As food quality has gone down, childhood obesity and overweight problems have risen.

Under the Eisenhower and Nixon administrations, the budget for the National School Lunch Program was increased significantly, perhaps in an attempt to curb childhood malnourishment from depression-era children, but under the Reagan administration the school lunch budget was slashed by nearly $1.5 billion using revised nutritional guidelines that infamously attempted to classify ketchup as a vegetable.

However, today, according to Virginia Stallings of the Institute of Medicine, “Today, overweight children outnumber undernourished children, and childhood obesity is often referred to as an epidemic in both the medical and community settings.”

It’s clear we need a change.

As childhood obesity rates climb, attention is being directed towards school lunches as a possible solution to the problem. For millions of U.S. students, the school lunch, and sometimes breakfast, has been a staple since 1943. Children spend most of their childhood in school, so shouldn’t this be the first place we look to combat the overweight and childhood obesity epidemic?

In the 1980′s and 1990′s, there was a huge influx of school districts bringing in sugary soft drinks and snacks in exchange for a cut of the profit. In addition, McDonald’s, Pizza Hut, and Taco Bell are also cashing in on the opportunity to cater to a student population who are tired of bland pasta, meat patties, French fries, or overcooked vegetables. They are now available in more than half the schools in the U.S. It’s no surprise that rates of children who are overweight, suffering from childhood obesity, and diabetes are skyrocketing.

“We’re killing our kids,” said Texas Education Commissioner Susan Combs.

A report by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine concluded that there were two essential categories for children’s nutrition in schools:

-Childhood obesity and chronic disease prevention
-Nutrition and healthy eating initiatives

It also compiled the following criteria to help reduce childhood obesity and overweight issues:

-Does the district meet USDA requirements?
-Are their vegetarian alternatives?
-Are their healthy egg-free or dairy-free alternatives?
-Is there a variety of healthy egg-free or dairy-free alternatives?

Nutritional value is also measured.

-Do lunches offer essential vitamins and minerals and adequate fiber?
-Do lunches offer nondairy beverages which can help meet the nutritional needs of children with lactose intolerance or milk allergies.
-Do schools offer fruits and vegetables, which are high in fiber and nutrients and low in fat and calories?

Schools are also measured on whether they provide nutrition education, both in the cafeteria and classroom and innovation in the cafeteria. Examples of innovation would be cooking classes, farm-to-school programs, and taste-testing promotions for healthier foods.

Some critics argue that even if you provide vegetables and fruits, many children won’t eat them unless they’ve been over-steamed, which drains nutrients, or are fruits in sugary syrups. They also argue that you can’t simply force it onto their plates because it will just end up in the garbage. But that’s where the education portion comes in. Teaching children about the dangers of being overweight and being afflicted with childhood obesity, and letting them come to terms with it if they are, is an essential step in the right direction. Apathy is not the key.

However, the fact of the matter is, childhood obesity and overweight rates have skyrocketed almost threefold since the 80′s, and diseases associated with old age, such as diabetes or high blood pressure and cholesterol, are also following suit. Could these health issues, including hyperactivity because of increased blood sugar levels, have anything to do with decreasing academic performance, especially among young boys, because children are more likely to eat unhealthily and not get enough exercise? Probably.