Making Fitness a Family Issue

Setting You and Your Children on the Path to Health

By Virginia Gilbert

"Most people think overweight kids eat too much," says Dr. Alan Greene, a California-based pediatrician and author who answers parents' pediatric questions on his Web site, DrGreene.com. "Actually, they may not be eating more than normal-weight kids, but their metabolism can't get away with it."

Although certain hormonal imbalances and genetic conditions can cause a child to put on pounds, the great majority of overweight preteens are heavy because of an imbalance between activity and diet. Unfortunately, some studies show that 60 percent of overweight children carry those extra pounds into adulthood.

"The more fat cells a kid enters into adulthood with, the more he'll struggle to lose weight as a grown-up," Dr. Greene says.

The National Institutes of Health reports that obesity in American preteens has reached epidemic proportions; an estimated one in five children is overweight. What's more alarming, this number has increased by 50 percent in the last two decades.

Dr. Greene attributes this national problem to kids' sedentary lifestyles and fast-food habits. But before you restrict your child's calories or put her on an exercise program, consult your pediatrician. Your doctor will determine if your child is too heavy by calculating her body mass index (BMI), the ratio of an individual's height to weight. For children, a healthy BMI falls somewhere between 17 and 23. A child with a BMI of 24 to 30 is considered obese, and any child with a BMI of more than 30 is considered severely obese.

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