Childhood obesity a national shame
Pediatric recommendation for more bariatric surgery should be wake-up call
The American Academy of Pediatrics recommended recently that more teenagers should have access to bariatric surgery because childhood obesity “is an epidemic within and epidemic” and other approaches are not working.
It’s a tragedy that the AAP has had to make this recommendation, which some may consider extreme but appears to be a last resort to help curb a growing problem. I'm not a doctor and won’t quibble, though teens should understand that bariatric surgery has lifelong consequences and possible complications.
I do, however, think that this recommendation should shock us into evaluating how we raise our kids across the nation and in Cowlitz County, where child obesity rates are well above the state average.
Our society often unjustly stigmatizes obesity, attributing it to laziness, poor decision-making and lack of self-control. Culpability for this epidemic, however, is far reaching and rests with all of us, including farmers, politicians, parents, advertisers, corporate board members and stockholders, and fans and athletes of professional sports.
“Rates of obesity in America’s youth have almost tripled in the last quarter century. Approximately 20% of American youth are overweight, with obesity rates in preschool age children increasing at alarming speed,” the AAP reports.
There are many causes.
Too many kids are sedentary, fixed in front of computer terminals, cell phones or game stations instead of playing and exercising. American teens on average spend about seven hours a day on screen media for entertainment, and tweens spend nearly five hours, according to a report by Common Sense Media, a nonprofit that helps kids, parents and schools navigate media. These tallies don’t include screen time for school and homework.
Screen time greater than two hours daily is associated with increased rates of obesity, Studies show that teens who spend five hours or more watching TV are five times five times more likely to become overweight.
TV advertising is especially persuasive and contributes to child obesity, according to the American Psychological Association.
“Research has found that children who watch more than three hours of television a day are 50 percent more likely to be obese than children who watch fewer than two hours. … The food and beverage industry has resolved to self-regulate marketing to children, but this has not resulted in significant improvement in the marketing of healthier food.”
TV advertising for sporting events may be especially influential for young athletes and sports fans. So many commercials are for calorie- and cholesterol-laden, fast food dishes that are “heart attacks on a plate.” Many run alongside images of athletes in top physical condition, imparting a subliminal but unhealthy message that it’s ok to eat lots of fat if you exercise.
Americans are hooked on salt and sugar, a consequence of farm subsidies that encourage the planting of commodity crops — corn, wheat and soybeans — that are used to make fatty processed foods. Plantings of vegetables and other healthier foods are diminished.
Federal subsidies thus drive down the price of fast food, leaving fresh produce more expensive and less accessible to low-income areas, according to the Bedrosian Center, part of the USC Sol Price School of Public Policy.
Many households of course cannot afford or don’t have time to prepare nutritious meals due to the pressures of work, the need to work long hours and low wages.
Employment, income, family, social support and community safety are significant factors in health outcomes. So obesity is disproportionately common among low-income people. It’s no surprise, then, that an economically struggling community like Cowlitz County has a problem with overweight youth.
A 2021 survey found that 25 percent of Cowlitz 10th graders are obese, significantly higher than the state average — 16 percent. About 22 percent of Cowlitz 8th graders were obese, five points above the state average. Overweight children grow into overweight adults, and this is one reason why the county ranks near the bottom of the state in adult health outcomes.
Decades ago, Cowlitz County was a prosperous community with a humming manufacturing economy. The closure and downsizing of the paper, lumber, fishing and aluminum industries and shuttering of the Trojan Nuclear plant near Rainier have contributed to declining household income, which on average is nearly 25 percent less than the state’s. About 17 percent of the county’s population now lives below the federal poverty level.
These industrial and business upheavals have had consequences for our kids. According to a 2019-22 community health assessment by PeaceHealth St. John Medical Center, almost a quarter of Cowlitz County’s children are “food insecure.” This is defined as having inadequate access to food for an active, healthy lifestyle.
Put simply, our unhealthy economy produces unhealthy kids.
It would be good for the people who oppose virtually any industrial project here to remember that they are literally taking healthy food out of kids’ mouths.
Remember this if you oppose raising the federal minimum wage, which has remained unchanged at $7.25 a hour since 2009.
Remember this if you are a corporate board member or stockholder demanding greater profit at the expense of workers and communities.
The poor are not starving; they are starved for healthy food. Studies show low-income people eat fast food far more often than other socioeconomic groups. They do so out of necessity, not choice.
“The connection between poverty, obesity, and fast food is undeniable,” according to the Bedrosian Center.
In a free society, there are no easy remedy for this problem. But at the very least, we should remember one thing before we judge overweight kids: A lot of America is working against them
Kids need outside. Public spaces, the Commons. Kick them out of the house. Encourage dirt, wet, wild. They'll love it.
The article includes many solid points but it also raises the question of what are parents and close family members doing to address this epidemic. The industrial food chain is made possible by the large federal subsidies that keep the raw materials (in particular "corn-based" food) that the manufacturers use to make cheap processed foods that are high in calories and fat-laden. The manufacturers' staff of chemists and marketing are "dialed-in" and know how to market this as a meal or healthy option. They have been successful as evidence by the proliferation of fast food restaurants and aisle filled processed foods. The investors have been rewarded in this food chain have been rewarded and lobbyists are readily available to step in to quash any option that threatens the market share and "choice". The problem here is that most people--and they know it--do not read labels or understand they are making poor choices. People are stressed. Planting a garden and becoming educated on food choices takes effort and time. We need to make time to avoid propagating an unhealthy lifestyle. We need to learn to cook, exercise and eat until we are fine. With respect to the latter, more is not good. Cutting back on soda and alcohol is part of what is needed to restore an equilibrium and lead a more healthy life. Counties with available land, can open up spaces and promote gardening as an option. The latter in partnership with medical providers and insurance companies can help ameliorate this crisis. In short, we need to invest in educating ourselves and making an effort, rather that continue as though nothing is happening. As for lobbyists and the manufacturers, they are cunning and people need to recognizes that the proverbial deck is stacked.