Experts agree that lack of access to nutritious food in certain areas, the impacts of poor eating habits during the pandemic and intense weight-related stigma are worsening childhood obesity challenges.
An epidemic largely tied to poor eating and exercise habits is affecting one in five U.S. children and sending many of those youth on the pathway to future health problems and even premature death, federal data and U.S. health officials conclude.
People are also reading… In that same sampling, childhood obesity was most prevalent in Mississippi, where 23.4% of children in grades 9-12 were categorized as obese. “We saw unprecedented levels of weight gain in children — specifically in the first six to nine months of the lockdowns in 2020,” said Dr. Kavitha Selvaraj, medical director of the Wellness and Weight Management Program at Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Selvaraj is also a certified member of the American Board of Obesity Medicine.
It’s an insidious problem with roots in a variety of causes, and experts say solutions — both within the home and at the government level — are not easily reached. “Hunger, diet-related disease and the disparities surrounding them impact millions of Americans, and the COVID-19 pandemic put a spotlight on the urgency of addressing these issues,” said Susan Rice, the president’s adviser for domestic policy. “No one should have to wonder where their next meal will come from.”
Felicia Anderson, as the regional educator for the Lincoln University Cooperative Extension in Sikeston, Missouri, has been serving the southeast corner of the state, known as the bootheel, with some of the highest rates of poverty and poorest health outcomes for 20 years. Families in low-income urban centers and rural areas may find themselves living in “food deserts,” a designation assigned by the distance from a grocery store. Limited access to a supermarket makes it harder for some families to access healthy food.
Sugary drinks also contribute to the obesity problem in North Carolina, according to Dr. Suzanne Lazorick, a professor of pediatrics and public health at East Carolina University. Her church, Tabernacle of Zion, has partnered with a program at Virginia Tech to address childhood obesity through building community support, which research suggests is crucial to success.
“We see an unfortunate number of eating disorders, which kind of gets missed in patients with elevated weight,” she said. “People think that elevated weight and eating disorders are two separate categories when there is actually a massive overlap.” Sarah Smith, the farm to school coordinator at the Nebraska Department of Education, said recent policy victories have led to increased interest in the program.
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