Childhood obesity are we taking this problem seriously?

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Childhood obesity is either a major problem or is already under control according to which report you read according to a recent report in Scotland one in five boys and one in ten girls in Scotland are obese.

But this is just the tip of the iceberg this same report also states that by 2020 the figure is anticipated to have increased to 50% or more which is likely to put a massive strain on health services in the future.

Medical experts blame the sedentary and almost couch potato like existence of children today who get little exercise in the home environment and most only exercise at school.

Video games and computers are seen to be major cause of the lack of exercise are seen to be major cause of the problem computer games such as WII fit have been introduced to appeal to familes looking to stay healthy be realistically a video game cannot replace regular exercise and sports .

It should not by any means be ignored that food industry are also responsible for targetting youngsters with their offerings and efforts by celebrities and government inititives to encourgage children to eat more healthily have met with strong oppostion both by children and parents.

Mcdonalds, Burger King, KFC and Pizza Hut all want a slice of the lucrative parents with children market and have resorted to various marketing methods to achieve this (some maybe less than the caring image they like to portray).

Although these companies have introduced healthy alternative options these are still rarely choosen by younger diners and parents are also doing little to reduce the trend.

However according to a report from Chicago it is claimed that for the first time in 25 years obesity levels have levelled out.

“That is a first encouraging finding in what has been unremittingly bad news,” said Dr. David Ludwig, director of an obesity clinic at Children’s Hospital Boston. “But it’s too soon to know if this really means we’re beginning to make meaningful inroads into this epidemic. It may simply be a statistical fluke.”

In 2003-04 and 2005-06, roughly 32 percent of children were overweight but not obese, 16 percent were obese and 11 percent were extremely obese, according to a study by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Those levels held steady after rising without interruption since 1980.

Also Dr. Reginald Washington, a children’s heart specialist in Denver and member of an American Academy of Pediatrics obesity committee, said “the country should be congratulated” if the rates have in fact peaked.

“There are a lot of people trying to do good things to try to stem the tide,” Washington said. Some schools are providing better meals and increasing physical education, and Americans in general “are more aware of the importance of fruits and vegetables,” he said.

On the other hand, he noted that he recently treated an obese young patient “who in three days did not have a single piece of fresh fruit.

“We still have a long ways to go,” he said. I think that maybe that could be somewhat of an understatement how about you?