U.S. child obesity still increasing and hitting poor harder

By Alexandra Mayer-Hohdahl Jul 1, 2005, 6:12 GMT

Washington - Marc Manoli deals regularly with young teenagers weighing more than 225 kilogrammes - no longer an oddity in a country where according to the American Obesity Association, approximately 30 per cent of children and adolescents are overweight.

Manoli runs Camp Kingsmont, a weight-loss summer camp in the northeastern state of Massachusetts. He charges approximately 1,000 dollars to help overweight children slim down.

But children in the United States are getting heavier, especially those from families at the other end of the financial spectrum who are often unable to afford healthy food, let alone summer camps for their children.

"It does seem that there is a trend toward children weighing more and being less active," Manoli said.

Bad nutrition and too little physical activity are often to blame. A recent study by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) found that approximately one third of the total daily calories consumed by children in the study came from snack foods, desserts and pizza.

U.S. federal health agencies are sounding the alarm and are designing weight-loss programmes for pre-teenagers and teens. In early June, the National Institute of Health targeted parents in a new 2.6 million dollar national education campaign.

"There is a void in getting critical information out to parents on how they can be role models for their children," said Karen Donato, coordinator of the NHLBI's obesity education initiative. "They can begin to turn the tide (of childhood obesity). Parents need to make this happen."

The "We Can!" initiative (for Ways to Enhance Children's Activity & Nutrition) urges parents to reduce portion sizes, cut high-calorie foods from their family's diet and get their children to spend less time in front of the televisions and computers. The campaign says children should have at least 60 minutes of physical activity every day.

The ultimate goal of the campaign is to avoid some of the health problems that plague overweight children, Donato said. They not only tend to remain overweight as adults, but also are more prone to asthma, diabetes and heart disease, according to the American Obesity Association.

Donato conceded that many families struggling financially might not be able to afford weight-loss initiatives. In fact, studies show that poor households are more prone to obesity because foods with high sugar, fat and calorie contents are cheaper than healthier alternatives.

To increase exposure to the "We Can!" initiative, the campaign is available in Spanish. The NHLBI, one of the campaign's sponsors, has also been working with Black Entertainment Television Foundation to reach African-American communities.

"We're putting it out there for anybody who can gain from it," Donato said.