http://www.tennessean.com
April 16, 2007
The Vanderbilt doctor painted an ugly picture, one the entire nation should not only be concerned about but working harder to find ways to fight. It's a picture of childhood obesity, which one physician recently called an epidemic that is going to cost this country in morbidity and mortality, as well as in economic terms.
"I spend two days a week in clinic seeing kids that are overweight,'' said Dr. Gregory Plemmons, a pediatrician at Monroe Carell Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt. "I've seen a 100-pound 5-year-old, and at that age a child should weigh around 40 pounds. I've also seen several 300-400-pound teenagers. Not only has the average kid put on weight during the last 30 years, but what we called a chunky kid then is now extremely heavy.''