staying healthy in the fast laneThe Threat to our Children
Our youth are also experiencing an epidemic of obesity and
overweight issues. In total, there has been a tripling of the obe-
sity rate in children since the 1970s. In the age groups of six- to
eleven- and twelve- to nineteen-year-olds there has been almost a
quadrupling of the obesity rates since the mid-1960s.^10
These startling obesity and overweight rates, in conjunction
with reduced physical activity, explain the even more alarming
trends we are starting to recognize, such as an increasing preva-
lence of type 2 diabetes—a disease of adults—in our youth. And
that’s just diabetes. The big picture is that the overweight epidem-
ic is putting our youth in the position to develop the same chronic
diseases that plague our adult population. The only difference is
that they will be getting these diseases at an earlier age than we
have ever seen and with more severe consequences. That means
living with these diseases longer and costing us a lot more in time,
money, and reduced function and productivity.^11 This is the first
time ever in American history that children may have a shorter life
expectancy than their parents.^12
Why Have Overweight Issues Dramatically
Risen in our Young Children and Teens?
The reasons are pretty much common sense. For one thing,
children eat like their parents, who are getting fatter, not thinner.
Also, parents are busier, which means less oversight, less patience,
less energy, and more dietary shortcuts and junk foods eaten in or
out of the house. The calorie-dense processed foods that are avail-
able to adults are also available to kids. In addition to the excess
calorie exposure that occurs with their parents, kids today are not
getting enough physical activity. They spend more time engaging
in sedentary technology-based entertainment. Children today are
more stressed out than ever before (just like their parents).