We hear the statistics about overweight and obese kids. We hear about the dangers - that childhood obesity can even be life-threatening. But we don't believe it until we hear a tragic story in which the very worst actually happened. The worst happened to Bonnie Zertuche, who lost her 4-year-old to complications caused by obesity.

"The jovial youngster stood 3-foot-6-inches tall. He weighed 120 pounds... Rolando went into cardiac arrest in a Corpus Christi hospital... The cardiac arrest sent him to San Antonio. There, the youngster went into a coma."

Bonnie says her son was born heavy. Obesity runs in her family, she says. But had she known it would cost her son his life, she would have been more persistent about changing his exercise and eating habits.

Labels: cardiovascular_disease, death, health_care

Though obesity rates for kids haven't been released yet, the rates for adults show promise. Based on surveys and physical examinations of about 4,400 adults, it appears that obesity rates are beginning to plateau. That's good news considering the fact that rates have steadily increased since the 1908s.

"In generalizing the results to the U.S. population, researchers calculated a margin of error that swallows up the differences between years. In other words, the increases were not considered statistically significant."

The new report compared four years' worth of data.

Read more at LATimes.com.

Labels: health_care, healthy_living, obesity_rates

A recent article in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that most cases of hypertension in children and teens are going undiagnosed. Hypertension has become more prevalent due to the dramatic rise in childhood obesity.

"The study reported that of 507 children and adolescents with hypertension, just 131 had a diagnosis of that condition or high blood pressure in the medical records. The study also found that if a pediatrician did not recognize the problem, it would be years before it was diagnosed and treated, resulting in unnecessary end-organ damage."

Because children who are overweight or obese are especially at risk for high blood pressure, it should be checked at every doctor's office visit.

Labels: health_care, heart_disease, hypertension

A committee that was convened in 2005 to develop comprehensive recommendations for fighting childhood obesity released its recommendations today. The Expert Committee on the Assessment, Prevention and Treatment of Child and Adolescent Overweight and Obesity was originally convened by the American Medical Association.

"The committee began meeting in early 2005 to study scientific data on the assessment, prevention and treatment of overweight and obese children. The committee then created 22 recommendations for health care professionals..."

Recommendations include a yearly assessment of weight status in all children - including body mass index, regular assessment of dietary patterns, and levels of physical activity. Read more online.

Labels: health_care, research, studies