Apr 7, 2009 7:53 pm US/Eastern
Go! New York Report: Alarming Child Obesity Study
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
Obesity is the No. 1 health threat to Americans. It contributes to almost all of our top killers and debilitating illnesses.
But now the problem is starting earlier than many could have imagined.
By the time our youngsters reach preschool, 20 percent of them are obese and many more are considered seriously overweight.
The problem starts nearly at birth and while fatty diets and lack of exercise are most to blame race can predict your risk.
The obesity epidemic is starting younger than ever. An alarming new study says 1 in 5 American 4-year-olds is obese.
"Their weight is in the 95th percentile of weight for all children," Dr. Louis Aronne said. "This is really remarkable. This is a tripling in the number of children with obesity since the 1980s."
Overall, more than 500,000 preschoolers are obese and race plays a role:
* 13 percent of Asian children were obese, along with 16 percent of whites, almost 21 percent of blacks, 22 percent of Hispanics and 31 percent of American Indians.
"If this were any other disorder than obesity there would be a national call to arms," Dr. Aronne said.
The study did not examine the reason for the racial disparities, but several obesity risk factors tend to be more common among minorities, including poverty, less educated parents, and diets high in fat and calories.
"People of limited means have fattening food, starchy sweet fatty foods that tend to break down the weight regulating system and allow you to gain more weight and so what we need to do is to make healthy food more affordable," Aronne said.
Obesity starting out so young is an ominous predictor for the health of the next generation.
The rate of heart disease, high blood pressure, cancers, joint disease and other weight-related illnesses will likely skyrocket.
"We're seeing the possibility that the next generation of Americans is going to live a shorter lifespan than the current generation of Americans and I don't think it could be any clearer than what we're seeing right now from this study," Dr. Aronne said.
The first step in tackling childhood obesity is for parents to acknowledge that their child is overweight. Then, make sure not to assume your child will outgrow the baby fat. Statistics show obese toddlers are at the greatest risk of becoming obese adults.
If you'd like to find out if your child is overweight there's a tool for you to do that
here.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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