Chillicothe Gazette
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
Parents, take heed.
A panel of experts from the American Medical Association and government agencies have released guidelines for the treatment and prevention of childhood obesity. The guidelines are published in the most recent issue of Pediatrics.
About 17 percent of America's kids are obese - three times the number seen in 1970, when most of their parents were kids. The childhood obesity epidemic has exploded to such extremes that more kids are experiencing high blood pressure, diabetes and other weight-related issues.
The panel suggested that weight be tracked with a health care provider yearly as a measure of prevention and for those already markedly overweight or obese, in shorter increments. Also, doctors should counsel kids and families on weight issues, take family histories of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The panel also advised they check cholesterol of overweight children.