Contents:

The U. S. Surgeon General says that 300,000 Americans die prematurely every year from causes related to obesity (822 per day).

• Surveys released ranked AIDS, cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and then obesity as "serious concerns."
• TRUTH: Obesity kills more people than AIDS and often underlies heart disease and diabetes.
  

This is a battle that must be won!

According to a National Institute Of Health Press Release, January 5, 2004, "U.S. teens are more likely to be overweight than are teens from 14 other industrialized nations, according to survey information collected in 1997 and 1998 by two agencies of the Department of Health and Human Services as well as institutions in 13 European countries and in Israel. The study appeared in the January issue of "The Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine."

1st, 2nd, & 3rd in percentage of overweigh children as reported in the study:

Countries represented in the study were Austria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Flemish Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Ireland, Israel, Portugal, Slovakia, Sweden, and the United States. Of all the countries that took part in the study, Lithuania had the lowest proportion of overweight, at 1.8 percent in 13-year-old boys, 2.6 percent in 13-year-old girls, .08 percent in 15-year-old boys, and 2.1 percent in 15-year-old girls.

June 15, 2002, medical experts on ABC News concerned about obesity among youth stated, "First, there was Generation X. Then came Generation Y. Now, a new American generation has emerged: Generation XXL."

The statistics on youth obesity reported by the U.S. Surgeon General are alarming:

• In 1999, 13% of children aged 6 to 11 years and 14% of adolescents aged 12 to 19 years in the United States were overweight.
• The prevalence of youth obesity has nearly tripled for adolescents in the past 2 decades.
• Risk factors for heart disease, such as high cholesterol and high blood pressure, occur with increased frequency in overweight children and adolescents compared to children with a healthy weight.
• Type II diabetes, previously considered an adult disease, has increased dramatically in children and adolescents. Overweight and obesity are conditions closely linked to Type II diabetes.
• Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults.
• Overweight adolescents' chances of becoming obese increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese.
• The most immediate consequence of being overweight as perceived by the children themselves is social discrimination. This is associated with poor self-esteem and depression.

Other statistics from the U.S. Surgeon General pertaining to adult and youth obesity indicate:

• 61% of adults in the United States were overweight or obese (BMI > 25)* in 1999.
• The increases in overweight and obesity cut across all ages, racial and ethnic groups, and both genders.
• 300,000 deaths each year in the United States are associated with obesity.
• Overweight and obesity are associated with heart disease, certain types of cancer, Type II diabetes, stroke, arthritis, breathing problems, and psychological disorders, such as depression.
• The economic cost of obesity in the United States was approximately $117 billion in 2000.
• In women, overweight and obesity levels are higher among members of racial and ethnic minority populations than in non-Hispanic white women.
• In men, Mexican-Americans have a higher prevalence of overweight and obesity levels than non-Hispanic whites or non-Hispanic blacks. The prevalence of overweight and obesity levels in non-Hispanic white men is greater than in non-Hispanic black men.
• 69% of non-Hispanic black women are overweight or obese compared to 58% of non-Hispanic black men.
• 62% of non-Hispanic white men are overweight or obese compared to 47% of non-Hispanic white women. However, when looking at obesity alone
  (BMI > 30)*, slightly more non-Hispanic white women are obese compared to non-Hispanic white men (23%; 21%).
• For all racial and ethnic groups combined, women of lower socioeconomic status (income < 130 percent of poverty threshold) are approximately 50% more likely to be obese than those of higher socioeconomic status.
• Mexican-American boys tend to have a higher prevalence of overweight levels than non-Hispanic black or non-Hispanic white boys.
• Non-Hispanic black girls tend to have a higher prevalence of overweight levels than Mexican-American or non-Hispanic white girls.
• Non-Hispanic white adolescents from lower income families experience a greater prevalence of overweight levels than those from higher income families.
  

• The conditions of overweight and obesity result from an imbalance involving excessive calorie consumption and/or inadequate physical activity.
• For each individual, body weight is the result of a combination of genetic, metabolic, behavioral, environmental, cultural, and socioeconomic influences.
• Behavioral and environmental factors are large contributors to overweight and obesity and provide the greatest opportunity for actions and interventions designed for prevention and treatment.

Understanding Obesity in Youth

Youth Obesity Reaches All-Time High

• An overweight condition in children and adolescents is generally caused by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns, or a combination of the two, with genetics and lifestyle both playing important roles in determining a child's weight.
• Our society has become very sedentary. Television, computer and video games all contribute to children's inactive lifestyles.
• 43% of adolescents watch more than 2 hours of television each day.
• Children, especially girls, become less active as they move through adolescence.

• Increased intake of unhealthy food
  -Super-sized portions lead to super-sized children with super-sized problems.
• Decreased physical activity
  -Video, computer games and TV have replaced bikes, jump-ropes and skates.
  -School physical education and athletic programs have been reduced or cancelled.

Issue Brief from the NGA Center for Best Practices. (pdf-file)

Enemy Encampments - OUR SCHOOLS!!

• School cafeterias serve food higher in fat and lower in nutrition than at any time in the past.
• School lunches offer the "mall type" food courts populated by popular fast food establishments.
• Soda and candy are conveniently available from vending machines

Enemy Encampments - OUR COMMUNITY!

• Fast food restaurants on every corner with "super-size" menus.
• Sporting and other events offer concessions with fattening foods.
• Holidays, celebrations, and social gatherings include poor food choices and, often, high volumes of food.

Enemy Encampments - OUR COMMUNITY!

• Schools, clubs, & organizations use the selling of unhealthy foods as fund-raisers.
• Our mini-marts have very few nutritional foods to choose from.

Enemy Encampments - OUR HOMES!

• Parents often provide fast food meals because of convenience and busy schedules
• Parents feel that it is not safe for their children to be outside - so children are inside with the television, video games, or computer.
• Unhealthy snacks are readily available in the home.
• Children are often rewarded with unhealthy foods.

Enemy Encampments - OUR HOMES!

• Children are living in homes with parents with poor eating habits and who are not physically active.
• Children follow the examples set by parents and adults
  - Those raised in families with healthy eating habits eat healthy.
  - Those with active parents are more active.

Dr. Debby Mitchell is the coordinator of the new Sports & Fitness undergraduate degree offered at University of Central Florida which began January, 2003. The UCF Physical Education program also offers a masters degree with an emphasis on coaching or health and fitness. She is also forming the National Sports and Fitness Consortium in partnership with the National Training Center, Disney Wide World of Sports, ORMC Hospital, and other partners in the Clermont area in central Florida. mitchell@mail.ucf.edu http://reach.ucf.edu/~nsfi

Dr. Michael Kehoe is a faculty member at the University of Central Florida. His background is in Sports Administration and he is coordinating the implementation of the new degree program and consortium at the University of Central Florida. mkehoe@mail.ucf.edu

A Statement for Healthcare Professionals From the Committee on Atherosclerosis and Hypertension in the Young of the Council on Cardiovascular Disease in the Young and the Nutrition Committee, American Heart Association. Available: http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/94/12/3383

Carrière, Gisèle. "Parent and Child Factors Associated with Youth Obesity". The Daily. 3 Nov. 2003. 15 Feb. 2004. Available: http://www.statcan.ca/Daily/English/031103/d031103a.htm

Issue Brief from the NGA Center for Best Practices. Available: http://www.nga.org/cda/files/022603PREVENTING.pdf

McKinney, Merritt. "Start Early to Prevent Obesity Study". 24 Dec. 2003. Health News. 19
Jan. 2004. Available: http://www.reutershealth.com/en/index.html

National Institutes Of Health, Press Release (2004) "U.S. teens more overweight than 14 other countries." Available: http://nature.berkeley.edu/pipermail/prc-obesity-network-cwh/2004-January/000005.html

Obesity in Youth". American Obesity Association. 18 Dec. 2003. 13 Jan. 2004. Available: http://www.
obesity.org/subs/fastfacts/obesity_youth.shtml>.

The Surgeon General's Call To Action To Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity. Available: http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/topics/obesity/calltoaction/fact_adolescents.htm

Yoshida, Rochelle. "Youth Obesity Reaches All-Time High". ISSA Announces a National
Solution. PRWeb. 19 Jan. 2004. Available: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2003/10/prweb85805.php

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1. Why is obesity more prevalent in the United States than other countries?

2. What lessons can be learned from other counties?

3. What obesity prevention programs are working in the U.S. and elsewhere?

4. What will happen to quality of life, life expectancy, health care costs, and lost of productivity in the work force if the trend in obesity continues to increase?

First copy the above questions ( you'll paste them into the reply form of the discussion forum) and then ...

Just click onto this link

September 2004 - Dr. John Ferguson will start with a new article.

Have a good discussion, 

co-ordinator 

Guy Van Damme