Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Childhood Obesity Affects Sleep
The New York Times recently reported that a recent study shows that children who are obese suffer from sleep disorders that affect their breathing. Research done by Edward O. Bixler, professor of psychiatry at Penn State, was published in the journal Sleep.
According to the article, researchers studied 700 children and looked at their body mass index, sleep patterns, and breathing function. They found that the body mass index and waist circumference were associated with snoring and breathing problems while asleep.
Child obesity facts
A recent child obesity conference held at University of California-Berkeley presented federal data that shows the number of obese children in the U.S. has doubled for children aged 6-11 years, and tripled among children aged 12-19 years.
According to the University of Berkeley press release, researchers found that 72% of school districts in California had fast food and soda advertising on high school campuses. They also found that the consumption of soft drinks has increased by 500% in the last 50 years.
In these difficult economic times, more families are being challenged to feed their families healthy foods such as fresh fruits and vegetables, which are more expensive. Fewer resources are available to families and food banks because of devastating budget cuts.
Childhood obesity is expensive. A study presented at the conference showed that physical inactivity and childhood obesity relating to medical costs and lost productivity led to a cost of $21.7 billion to the state of California in 2000.
Hazards of childhood obesity
Research shows that obese children are more likely to develop hazardous health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and Type 2 diabetes.
Obese children and adolescents are also more likely to become obese adults. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one study found that approximately 80% of children who were overweight at aged 10–15 years were obese adults at age 25 years. Studies also show that if the child is obese before age 8, the obesity as adults is likely to be more severe.
What is BMI?
The body mass index (BMI) is a measurement used to determine if a child’s weight is appropriate for the age, sex, and height. The CDC uses a BMI 2000 CDC Growth Charts for the United States and an expert committee to determine healthy weight that is specifically for children aged 2-19, and specifically for the appropriate sex of the child.
The CDC defines obesity using BMI:
- Overweight is defined as a BMI at or above the 85th percentile and lower than the 95th percentile.
- Obesity is defined as a BMI at or above the 95th percentile for children of the same age and sex.
Preventing childhood obesity:
Parents can help their children and prevent childhood obesity by following these recommendations by the CDC:
- promote healthier lifestyles
- promote healthier eating by providing vegetables, fruits, whole grain products
- cut back on sugar and calories
- promote school wellness policies
- provide low-fat dairy products
- use lean meats, poultry, fish, lentils, and beans
- encourage children to drink water
- keep children physically active with walking, running, soccer, swimming, dancing
- limit children’s time playing video games and watching TV
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