Last month, while watching the 2008 Olympic coverage from Beijing on The Today Show, I viewed a very interesting segment by medical correspondent Dr. Nancy Snyderman. She was discussing the rising trend of childhood obesity in China. According to Dr. Snyderman, in the past 10 years, China has seen a 156% increase in overweight children. This figure is second only to the US. How should we stop this trend of rising obesity rates? In 2001, a writer for the World Health Organization coined a new term describing this new epidemic. By combining the words global and obesity the word GLOBESITY was born, and yet little has changed in the seven years since its inception. What was once only an issue seen in western countries has spread to almost all reaches of the globe. You can now find US restaurant chains around the world. This situation, coupled with less activity for our children, is leading to a potentially shortened lifespan. A 2006 Center for Disease Control and Prevention study determined that 32% of all American kids were overweight, and of that number, 16% were classified as obese. Here in the States, where fast food and video games often take precedence over home-cooked meals and long family walks, there is a huge push by local, national, and international communities to get this pandemic under control. The statistics are staggering, and if this trend does not swing back in the other direction, sadly our children may never experience growing old with grace. Type II Diabetes, once a disease primarily seen in adults age 40 and older, is now being diagnosed in children as young as 10. This does not even account for the number of children diagnosed with high cholesterol levels, high blood pressure, liver disease, etc. While childhood obesity is a big concern, we can’t ignore the trend within the adult population either. In 2004, a study by the International Obesity Task Force determined that world wide 1.7 BILLION people needed to lose weight and of that number 312 million were considered obese. These are mind-boggling statistics when you think how far we have come to defeat diseases such as polio and small pox. Those diseases were spread by germs, yet we are choosing to undo all that modern medicine can offer by putting our poor choices ahead of embracing a healthy lifestyle. How do you think we should battle "Globesity"? Is it a personal battle or should governments and other outside bodies intervene? |
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