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The Terrible Dangers of Childhood Obesity
An Excerpt from The Highly Healthy Child
By Dr. Walt Larimore
I was with Sarah when she took her last breath. She didn't die from a car accident, a drowning or a gunshot wound. She died from obesity.
I first saw Sarah for her 3-year-old well-child visit. She was already overweight. Her baby bottle was filled with a soft drink. Through the years I cajoled, coaxed, pleaded with, beseeched, implored, encouraged and appealed to her parents and family to change their ways. They did not.
Sarah's first hospitalization for diabetes occurred when she was only 8 years old. High blood pressure began at age 10. Her family's lack of attention to these problems led to asthma, heart problems and scores of hospitalizations. Finally, at age 14, Sarah's body gave out. Her last admission was for a diabetic coma that led to a massive heart attack and death. When she died, I cried.
Being overweight or obese is a serious threat to a child's health. Childhood obesity – and the physical, emotional, relational and spiritual disease it brings – is now epidemic. Although Sarah's case is extreme, as many as one in three children in the United States today may be overweight or obese! In 1970, only about 4 percent of 6- to 11-year-olds were obese. By 2000, the rate had increased to more than 15 percent.
Being overweight or obese during childhood or adolescence dramatically increases the risk of obesity during adulthood. This increased risk is due to poor eating or exercise habits developed during childhood, metabolic and hormonal changes caused by being overweight or obese and eating abnormalities based on the poor self-esteem and depression often associated with obesity.
