Childhood obesity is a GROWING threat

As you many know, I was an obese child and adolescent. And I still have the psychological scars to prove it.

That’s why the first book I ever wrote was, Feed Your Kids Well. (Click here to learn more.)

My goal was, and still is to this day, to help nurture kids with food from a young age, so they don’t have to endure what I did.

Of course, I was criticized for thinking it was even a problem, and laughed at by those who thought, there’s no way we can restrict what children eat!

But childhood obesity is NOT a laughing matter. Rather, it’s an increasingly growing problem… one that we can’t afford to ignore any longer.

Startling statistics

Did you know that severe obesity among preschool-aged children is steadily increasing in the U.S.?

In 2020, an estimated 2 percent of children between the ages of two and four are severely obese, an increase from 1.8 percent in 2016. Not to mention, current estimates suggest close to 13 percent of 2- to 5-year-olds are obese.

(Perhaps if people listened to me 25 years ago—and if an American broadcaster didn’t ridicule me on national television—these statistics would look different. But, enough about me…)

Maybe these numbers don’t sound any alarms for you. But consider this…

Two percent is nearly 17 million!

Not only that, but ask yourself this: WHY do we have ANY obese children at that age? We are quite literally setting up these innocent children for failure.

We MUST reverse this trend

These new statistics put an end to my hope that childhood obesity is finally declining. (We saw a small decrease from 2010 to 2016.)

Instead, the researchers noted that these new childhood obesity figures reflect those of the general population…

See, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), upwards of 20 percent of children and teens and over 42 percent of adults are obese.

Keep in mind that this study looked at severe obesity, which is defined as being well above the 95^th percentile for combined height-weight ratios…

We MUST start asking ourselves—as parents, caregivers, grandparents, etc.—what will happen to these kids if we don’t REVERSE this trend?

After all, being SO overweight at such a young age is a steep challenge, one that can feel nearly impossible to reverse.

Not to mention, the health dangers.

Here’s a glimpse: Compared to moderately obese children, those with severe obesity “are at a greater risk of various health complications, including cardiovascular disease, metabolic syndrome, Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, and premature death,” the study authors wrote.

Is that really what we want for our younger generations?

So, starting TODAY, and forevermore, PLEASE show the young children in your life what constitutes a healthy meal. Perhaps order yourself a copy of my book and start from there.

Junk food isn’t a meal. Help them create a HEALTHY relationship with food—heck, perhaps you can start cooking and learning together!

Source:

“More Kids Under Age 4 Have Severe Obesity: Study.” WebMD, 12/18/2023. (webmd.com/children/news/20231218/more-kids-under-4-severe-obesity-study)