As America's population becomes more and more overweight, people may develop a distorted perception of what is deemed a healthy weight. This is precisely what USA Today reported on when revealing the results from a recent study performed at Columbia University Medical Center in New York.
Researchers asked 111 women and 111 children questions about their age, income and body size, and also measured their height and weight. They were asked to identify their body shapes based on silhouettes representing underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity. Researchers found that many overweight mothers and their offspring were not as svelte as they thought:
-- 82 percent of obese mothers and 43 percent of overweight mothers underestimated their weight.
-- 86 percent of overweight or obese children underestimated their weight, while only 15 percent of normal-sized kids did.
-- 48 percent of mothers of obese or overweight children thought their children's weight was normal.
-- 13 percent of normal-weight mothers underestimated their weight.
These findings imply that those who are most affected by obesity are either unaware or underestimate their true weight. The study data show the need for health care providers to educate patients about the dangers of excess body weight. Strategies to overcome the obesity epidemic will need to address body image misperception.
Parents may not have "weight management" on their minds as they look at their active, yet overweight kids. This is why at Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, parents are educated on identifying overweight children. This is extremely important as overweight children are at risk of developing serious health problems once reserved for adults, like Type II diabetes and heart disease. Early intervention is key, before a child's nutritional and exercise habits are set and when it's easier for them to lose weight.
Follow Joanna Dolgoff, M.D. on Twitter: www.twitter.com/joannadolgoffmd
Our emphasis on none of this and none of that for childhood nutrition is a mistake. It is normal for children to be chubby between the ages of 8 to 11. Their bodies are preparing for a growth spurt. My own son was 5' 11" at age 11. He got that way because I offered him a variety of foods with the old fashioned "balanced meal" in mind and let him eat anything he wanted. He is healthy as an adult and has beautiful, strong teeth.
Furthermore, I do wish that doctors would concentrate more on the germ causes of disease and less on food as a cause of diseases. For example, what germs are involved in the process of hardening of the arteries? "you got some splanin to do Lucy".
This is news?! And I don't mean in the "Why do we care about this celebrity?" way but in the "Reporting that the sun is hot." way.
At least an hour of outside play every day.
Regular bedtimes and 9 hours of sleep per nite.
Children that follow this type of lifestyle are rarely obese.
Turning this around will require more than half-hearted efforts to point out that we have a problem with being overweight. To counter this corporate effort to fatten us, we need to organize and mobilize, foment resistance to being exploited and fight back. Please read my book, 'The Anderson Method', and see my work at www.TheAndersonMethod.com . The obesity epidemic can and must be reversed.