Mr. Condor:
The holidays, particularly Christmas, are thought to be a magical time for children. Parents tend to show their love by giving their children gifts, which often include such things as mind-numbing video games, and all their rich and gooey holiday favorite foods.
But while these gifts are all in the name of love, parents may just be loving their kids to death by contributing to a rising rate of gluttony among children. So says Dr. Christopher Still, director of the Center for Nutrition and Weight Management for the Geisinger Medical Center in Danville, Pa. - the major facility of the Geisinger Health System, which provides health services for approximately 2.5 millions patients in 38 counties of Pennsylvania.
I thought this might interest you since you are the personal fitness and health reporter there.
Dr. Still has treated many children among his patients at The Center for Nutrition and Management. He knows all too well how America's children have grown increasingly obese - a condition that sometimes intensifies at the holidays with the foods children eat, and the gifts they receive.
"If you look at the problem of childhood obesity nationally, it is growing at a faster rate that adult obesity," says Dr. Still, who reports that doctors are now diagnosing more children in having Type 2 diabetes - formerly rare in children. "Now 40 to 50 percent of diabetes in children is diagnosed as this type (2) - with children being overweight in 90-percent of those cases.
"There are two common denominators in this increased obesity - lack of physical activity and consumption of high-fat foods and more calories."
Dr. Still points to the "three N's" - Nickelodeon, Netscape and Nintendo - as main contributors to the physical activity. Since many children get new televisions, computers and software, and video games for Christmas, physical inactivity is often reinforced at the holidays - particularly since they are often accompanied by an extended break from school. All the while, kids snack from among the sweets and holiday foods made for that special time of year.
A member of the Pennsylvania Department of Health's task force that is looking into the rise of obesity in children, Dr. Still believes that children need to increase their physical activity - and their parents need to help them. If they really want to show them their love at Christmas, maybe they should give them a gift that gets them out of the house and active, while feeding them low-fat healthy holiday foods. It might be a matter of live and death - if not from Christmas present, certainly for Christmas future.
"Overweight children are more likely to suffer from hypertension, fatty liver, sleep disorders, and high cholesterol," says Still. "Just a modest amount of physical activity can have a tremendous medical benefit in helping to prevent and control those afflictions."
According to Still, that activity has to increase the heart rate and energy expenditure. Games requiring physical exertion and sports in general often accomplish these goals. But they have to be activities the kids like, otherwise the effect is lost if it's just one and done.
"If they are forced to do it, they are not going to continue," he says.
Instead, they may grab a cookie and go right back to the three N's - possibly choosing a future of bad health in the process.
If you'd like to contact Dr. Still, please call his office at 570-271-6439, although it may be best to set up an interview through Mark Davis, manager of media and community relations, by calling his office at 570-825-1070, or e-mailing him at [email protected].
Feel free to also call us at 814-867-1963, or e-mail me back if you have additional questions or needs. Dick Jones Communicationsassists Geisinger with its public affairs work.
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