No one should ever be judged, bullied, or teased about their weight, height, or any other physical characteristic -- or for any other reason for that matter! So please let an adult know if that is happening to you or to anyone you know.
But that doesn't mean that you don't need to know about the health problems that can be caused by being overweight. Right now, 15% of all children in the United States are overweight. At the rate those numbers are increasing, that will soon include one third of all children. If overweight children then become overweight adults, nearly 50 million Americans could have diabetes by 2050. Now that is a very scary thought!
And there are many other serious health risks that can also be caused by excess weight, such as amputations, blindness, kidney failure, and heart attacks from hypertension (high blood pressure) and high cholesterol levels. Plus, recent studies also tell us that new cases of asthma are 1½ to 2 times more likely among overweight children.
But are YOU overweight?
Typically, you are considered to be overweight if you weigh at least 10 percent more than your ideal body weight. Obesity is defined as being 30 pounds or more over your ideal body weight. But remember, many people think they are overweight when they are not! If 15% of children ARE overweight, then 85% are NOT, and that's important to remember since not eating enough can also cause serious health problems. So don't just assume that you weigh too much. If you think you may be overweight, talk to your parents and your doctor to find out what your ideal body weight really is and what you should do to get there.
What can YOU do if you need to lose weight or just want to stay "fit"?
Obesity can be caused by a combination of several things including your genes, environment, and behavior. But there are still steps you can take to reduce the problem...and your waistline! How?
By changing your environment!
The major "environmental" contributors are:
Eating behavior -- consuming too many excess calories and unhealthy foods;
Little or no exercise -- choosing television, computers, and the telephone instead of active play; and
Our "built" environment -- the fact that we now typically ride in cars instead of walking, take elevators instead of the stairs, etc.
So the solution is actually pretty simple. YOU can change your environment and reduce your weight simply by walking an extra mile every day and decreasing your calorie consumption by about five percent! So turn off the television, computer, or video games and have some physical fun instead.
