If it's everywhere, we just don't see it.

I know this story all too well. “As (being) overweight and obesity have become more common, those who are carrying unhealthy extra pounds are increasingly likely to see their weight as normal, and are therefore unlikely to feel the need to shed some of those pounds.” That’s from a Health Magazine article about obesity in the US. Like many women, I jumped from being “normal sized” to being “plus-sized” after giving birth. (And I’ve stayed plus-size because that was the last time I ever jumped.) For most of my 20′s, I hovered near the top of the normal-sized ladder, wearing a 12 or 14. (The only exception being the summer I got married, when I was in a size 6. My wedding, apparently, was a low point.)

I didn’t gain tons of weight while I was pregnant, but since I was so close to the tipping point as it was, I didn’t have to pull a Kate Hudson and gain 75 pounds to wind up an 18. My life was quite full after my daughter was born, and when Americans run out of time, we often eliminate those activities that are best for us. I was too busy and tired to go to the gym or to workout. I was too stressed by work and my relationship to worry about trying to lose weight. (Of course working out relieves stress, but that argument wasn’t convenient at the time.) I did walk and carry my daughter’s stroller up and down the subway stairs, but I wasn’t getting enough physical activity to make a difference. I had become fat. It snuck up on me, like a cheesecake in the night.

According to Health, “Roughly two-thirds of adults and one-third of children in the U.S. are now overweight or obese.” But perhaps more importantly, we’re ignoring the fact that we’re out of shape. “The latest evidence for this trend was presented Wednesday at an American Heart Association conference in Atlanta, where Columbia University researchers reported the preliminary results of a study that found that overweight mothers and children tend to underestimate their own — and each other’s — weight.” Continue reading »

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Wait. How many carbs are in that?

By now, virtually everyone knows that childhood obesity is a growing epidemic in America. In fact, the rate of obesity in children has doubled over the past two decades. Accordingly, many parents are playing a more active role than ever before when it comes to their children’s diet.

But how early is too early to get involved? At what point do concerned parents turn into obsessive ones? More specifically, is it okay for parents to subject their chubby babies to diets? It certainly sounds extreme, but that’s exactly what doctors say more and more parents are doing.

A story which aired on Good Morning America suggests that some parents are going to such extremes because of their previous weight issues. Dr. Jatinder Bhatia says, “I have seen parents putting their infant and 1 year-old on diets because of history in one parent or another.” Continue reading »

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Eating disorders among kids are on the rise.

According to a new report from the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, eating disorders among children in the U.S. have risen steadily over the last few decades.  Currently, it is estimated that 0.5 percent of adolescent girls suffer from anorexia while 1 to 2 percent have bulimia.  And while the number of boys who suffer from eating disorders is less than girls, that number appears to be on the rise as well.

Interestingly, this increase in the number children with eating disorders has occurred at the exact same time that childhood obesity rates have exploded.  While eating disorders get some press, childhood obesity gets a lot more.

Never before have we been so focused on our kids’ weight than we are right now.  From First Lady Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move” campaign to schools sending home fat notes to parents, our children’s weight has become a national topic of conversation.

Could there be a connection?

Study author Dr. David Rosen, a professor of pediatrics, internal medicine and psychiatry at University of Michigan, believes there may be.  He says that many of his young patients trace the beginnings of their disordered eating to being told by a physician to lose a few pounds.

Continue reading »

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A new survey from the American Psychological Association tells us that overweight kids aren’t happy. In fact, they’re pretty stressed out.

The APA surveyed both adults and young people.  The kids’ survey was conducted online and included 1,136 children age 8-17. Of those who identified themselves as overweight or obese according to their BMIs, 31 %  reported “worrying about their lives” compared with 14 % of their peers whose weight is more typical.

Before I go on with the statistics, I want to point out that I had a hard time describing the weight of kids who aren’t overweight.  In the Time story I first read about this report, those kids are described as being “healthy weight.”  But if you’re an overweight kid, would the comparison to kids with “healthy” weights stress you out?

Continue reading »

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Earlier this week, I wrote about a retail store in the UK that recently introduced a line of plus-sized clothing for kids as young as three.  In describing this larger toddler attire, I used various adjectives including  “expanded,” “husky” and “fat.”   While plenty of commenters took issue with my views in general, at least one took issue with my choice of words.  Isn’t it rude, she asked, to call people, especially children, fat?

For the record, I was calling the clothes fat, not the kids who wear them.  But I get her point and think her question is a good one.  Is fat really a bad word?  And if so, why should this be? Continue reading »

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Plus-sized clothing for children is nothing new.  Even when I was a young girl back in the 1970′s, larger sizes for bigger kids could be found in their own special section of most department stores.   They called them ‘husky’ and the selection was quite limited. A husky boy could choose from a few different pants and shirts and a big girl might find a dress or two in her size.

Things have changed.  These days, the selection of plus-sized children’s clothing has grown to the point that in many stores, it equals the offering of standard-sized clothing.  And now, these expanded sizes aren’t just available for school-aged kids.  In the UK, a large retail store recently began selling an entire line of plus-sized clothing for kids as young as three.  That’s right, plus-sized clothing for toddlers. Continue reading »

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Good news, fellow families: the soda industry will spend “whatever it takes” to protect us from a tax on our favorite bottled sugar delivery systems. So that we won’t have to pony up an extra penny per ounce on nondiet sodas, energy drinks and artificial juices, companies like Coke and Pepsi will pour as much cash as they can muster into lobbying and advertising efforts in the District of Columbia–the latest place to consider such a tax, which the industry has already defeated in New York and Philadelphia.

It’s tough to imagine any better use for those funds, now that we’ve defeated obesity and provided a healthy lunch for all school kids–and especially since we’re all so in need of cheap extra calories. Who could possibly argue with the industry’s opposition to a tax that might reduce the gallon of sweetened beverages the average American drinks every week?
Continue reading »

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