In the News: Obesity epidemic in U.S. kids may have peaked

I was watching the news last night and saw a story on the childhood obesity epidemic. The good news is, the number of obese children may be on the decline. According to the story Obesity epidemic in U.S. kids may have peaked on MSNBC, "The percentage of American children who are overweight or obese appears to have leveled off after a 25-year increase, according to new figures that offer a glimmer of hope in an otherwise dismal battle."

Let me interject a little here. I am a "Gen X" child. I was born in 1975 and will be 33 years old this year. When I was a kid, we NEVER drank water, or even milk (unless it had Quick in it). Our staples were Kool-Aid (basically sugar water) and Johnnie Ryan soda pop. We bought our meat from the butcher 1/2 a cow at a time and stored it for the year in a deep freezer in the cellar. And I am from Niagara Falls NY, which has a high percentage of Italian's meaning excellent pizza and pasta. You get the idea.

This is why I am striving to be a good example for my daughter. While she is only 8 months old right now, soon enough she will be looking at me and what I do. Now, back to the story...

Although it is good news that there may be a leveling off of the obesity epidemic, doctors are quick to point out that it may just be a blip on the radar. "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.''

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.

We do have a long way to go but if we, as parents, do our best we can raise children who are not overweight and will lead healthier lives because of it. I am not going to kid Willow about eating right and exercising. My mom likes to talk about a "fat gene". I know it's stupid but I think she really believes it.