Inactivity Plays Leading Role In Teenage Obesity

By Shannon Hicks

It is more than poor eating habits that is making today’s children and teenagers overweight.

A growing trend of inactivity can also be factored into the lives of many youth. Dr Lisa Sutherland, a nutrition researcher at University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, says that research suggests “a lack of physical activity, not excessive caloric intake, is responsible for the growing rate of adolescent obesity.”

Dr Sutherland found that, from 1980 to 2000, obesity increased ten percent, physical activity decreased 13 percent, and caloric intake rose one percent among US adolescents. Dr Sutherland used national data resources to compare the trends within these areas. In presenting her findings in April during Experimental Biology ’02 in San Diego, Calif., Dr Sutherland said she felt these percentages show teens have been getting heavier primarily because they burned fewer calories.

The study showed that teens ate an average of 2,290 calories daily, but while 42 percent reported doing at least 30 minutes of physical activity on a typical day in 1980, only 29 percent did so in 2000.

“If caloric intake is flat and physical activity is declining, there is a cause and effect relationship there,” Dr Sutherland said.

Today’s world is not making it any easier for children and teenagers to be motivated to go outdoors or even maintain an active lifestyle within their home. The growing electronics that make lives so much easier –– computers, video games, even cell phones that can be kept in a pocket or purse and do not require any walking to answer or make a call –– all contribute to another generation of children getting less and less physical activity.

A Newtown pediatrician agrees emphatically with Dr Sutherland’s findings.

“In my experience, children are overweight more due to a sedentary lifestyle –– that is, playing hours of video games, watching TV, being on the computer and/or the Internet –– than overeating,” says Dr Richard Auerbach of [DWD1] Mount Pleasant Pediatrics. “The combination virtually guarantees becoming overweight.”

In some cases, children going through a growth spurt may gain a few more pounds. Many boys, for instance, will gain several pounds during the hormonal changes leading into puberty, but then drop that weight as they enter the adolescent growth period. It is important for parents and their children to know that is normal, and that they should not get upset over this small weight gain and go into eating patterns and depression that could affect the rest of a boy’s life.

“In a growing child or teen, weight maintenance –– or even a decreased rate of weight gain during puberty –– may be all that is needed,” Dr Auerbach pointed out. “A child can, in essence, grow into their weight.”

It is the children and teens who carry too much weight at all times that should cause concern.

In a recent edition of her syndicated column “Parent To Parent,” journalist (and mother) Betsy Flagler addressed the problems of overweight children. High on her list of factors that increase a child’s chances of being overweight was the common “too much TV and computer time,” where, Ms Flagler wrote, “sedentary virtual soccer inside wins out over calorie-burning games outside.”

Ms Flagler said youth eat too many supersized fast food meals coupled with soda, instead of well-balanced meals at home. Children, like adults, can eat because of stress, boredom, anxiety, or for comfort, not necessarily hunger.

Ms Flagler also mentioned perhaps one of the toughest hurdles to overcome: A family history of obesity.

“If you’re overweight and inactive,” she wrote to the parents who read her column, “your kids are more likely to be the same way.”

Dr Auerbach agrees.

“Family history plays a huge role. No one can change their genes,” he said. “There is still hope, however. Becoming physically active and eating better will help.

“For most, though, the entire family needs to be committed to changing eating habits and exercising more,” he continued. “You can’t have a bag of potato chips in the house for an overweight dad and expect the child to pass it up.”

Because the job of grocery shopping for the family traditionally falls on the parents, Dr Auerbach suggests parents begin to help their children by purchasing less junk food in the first place. He also has simple suggestions for parents to get their children moving: Become a more active family. Go for a walk after dinner. Turn off the television. Encourage kids to go outside. Get them involved in a sport or after-school activity of any sort.

“I try to get an overweight teen to commit to an exercise routine,” Dr Auerbach said. All it takes is a 30-minute chunk of time five days a week. Half an hour a day of brisk walking, running, biking (“with a helmet,” emphasizes the doctor), or swimming will work wonders.

“They need to put this routine into their schedule like they do their homework,” Dr Auerbach explained. “I tell them that if they can remember to brush their teeth twice a day –– which is often a difficult task for some –– then they can remember to do their half-hour walk once a day. Biking to their friends’ house to play after school doesn’t count.

“Once I get a teenager or child committed to maintaining or losing weight, I get them committed to an exercise routine.... starting today!” said Dr Auerbach. “I quiz them on what they need to do. Most kids know what to do –– eat less, exercise more –– they just don’t know how to start.”

Specifics include an exercise routine such as the 30 minutes/five times a week outlined above; eating less fat and more protein, and keeping carbohydrate intake moderate; look at the caloric density of foods; trying smaller, frequent meals but not skipping meals (because your body will actually hold on to calories); drinking more water, and decreasing soda and juice intake; eating slowly; eating to satisfy hunger, not to make yourself feel “full”; and trying skim milk or one percent milk instead of whole milk or even two percent.

 Combining more exercise with alterations to a teen’s diet, as well as feeding habits on behalf of parents for the younger patients, can generally accomplish weight loss or at least maintenance, Dr Auerbach said.

“I get them to commit to doing this for four weeks, and then I bring them back for a weight check to prove to them that they can at least maintain their weight,” he said. “Most don’t think there is any hope, so why bother trying?

“Once they see they can do it, it makes it easier to continue their healthier ways.”