Isle Pediatricians Address a Heavy Topic: Childhood Obesity.
By Leanne Ta
Kanoa, age 5, starts his day with a bowl of sugary cereal. At school, he sits quietly at his desk until recess, when he whips out his new video game. After school, tired and hungry, he plops on the couch, snacking on potato chips while watching TV.
Kanoa may be fictional, but his behavior mimics that of millions of American children. Their poor nutrition and lack of physical activity put them at risk for pediatric obesity. America’s children are getting heavier, which means they are more likely to develop serious health problems like cardiovascular disease, depression and diabetes later in life.
And despite Hawaii’s reputation for being the health state, many of our keiki are headed for trouble. “Pediatric obesity is a tremendous problem in Hawaii,” says Oahu pediatrician Theresa Wee, M.D. “We’re seeing this in kids as young as toddlers, and even overweight babies.”
A 2000 survey by the Hawaii Department of Health (DOH) showed that among 4- and 5-year-olds, 14 percent were overweight and another 14 percent were at risk of being overweight. By age 9, more than a third of them were overweight or at risk of being overweight.
Wee and fellow pediatricians Melinda Ashton, M.D., and Janice Smolec, M.D., decided to take action. After receiving a grant from the HMSA Foundation, they teamed up to create handouts for parents, informing them of healthy habits to help cut their children’s risk of childhood obesity.
Health experts emphasize the tremendous role that parents play in regulating their children’s health. “Since children don’t have any say in the [family] shopping list, we need to educate parents to make wise decisions for their children,” Wee says. In addition, parents need to recognize that their children are bombarded by unhealthy messages about food in the media, says Wee. “What HMSA is doing with these handouts and with the eat healthy campaign is a small attempt to counteract that.”
There is no simple way to reduce pediatric obesity. Hawaii health experts, school administrators, and parents are tackling the problem on many different fronts. Hawaii schools have taken innovative steps – the installment of Dance Dance Revolution machines in secondary schools, for example – to increase the daily physical activity of children. And parents at King Kaumualii Elementary School on Kauai have implemented a policy that allows students to bring only healthy snacks to school.
Dave Randall, educational specialist with the Coordinated School Health Program, is optimistic about Hawaii’s plans to reduce childhood obesity. “It’s a multi-faceted problem that is going to take time to fix,” Randall says. “People need to value good health and nutrition, and society as a whole is moving in that direction.” Trends can be reversed, and “it’s never too late to start eating healthy.”
