Energy gap factors into child obesity
Posted 12/3/2006 9:05 PM ET
By Danny Johnston, AP
Damon Diamond, 2, of Bryant, Ark., is examined by Dr. Samiya Razzaq at an Arkansas Children's Hospital clinic in Little Rock. One-third of children and teens are overweight or obese, which puts them at risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems.
By Nanci Hellmich, USA TODAY
Many children are gaining too much weight because they are overeating or under-exercising by about 110 to 165 calories a day, a study reports Monday in the journal Pediatrics.
This could help explain the nation's struggle with childhood obesity. One-third of children and teenagers — about 25 million young people — are overweight or obese, which puts them at risk of developing diabetes, high cholesterol and other health problems.
Researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health analyzed government height and weight data on 5,000 children, ages 2 to 7, from 1988 to 1994 and compared them with data 10 years later on adolescents 12 to 17. They also examined weight gain in teens in two other studies. Using mathematical equations, they estimated the energy gap between the number of calories children consumed and the number they need. Findings:
•On average, some kids have a calorie gap of 110 to 165 calories a day, meaning they are eating too much or not being active enough.
•Obese children, who are an average 58 pounds overweight, are eating 700 to 1,000 calories more a day than they would need if they maintained a healthful weight.
The numbers are high because substantially more calories are required when they are resting and moving because of their larger body mass, says researcher Steven Gortmaker, a Harvard sociologist.
Another Gortmaker study shows that obese children are getting about 350 calories a day from sugary beverages. He suggests that children:
•Drink fewer sugar-sweetened beverages such as sodas and juice drinks. "Kids don't need this sugar water," he says.
•Eat less fast food. Research shows that when kids eat at fast-food restaurants they consume about 126 more calories that day.
•Watch less TV so they have more time to be active and aren't bombarded by food commercials.
William Dietz of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says the study suggests that preventing weight gain in children who aren't overweight may be "a fairly modest investment. Eating one less large cookie a day or drinking one less sugary beverage may be the difference between weight gain and weight maintenance."
Teens who are overweight will need to keep reducing calories as they lose weight because their bodies will hit different plateaus and need fewer calories, he says.
Childhood Obesity and the energy gap
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