Type 2 diabetes, back and joint problems, depression and high blood pressure -- these are conditions we're seeing more of each day in our clinics. Not surprised? Consider this: We provide care exclusively to children.
Once it was rare to see a child with these conditions; now, due to increasing obesity, it is becoming distressingly common, affecting even elementary students.
The obesity epidemic is arguably the great public health threat of our times. It harms our health and well-being, health care system, economy and society at large. Unfortunately, the worst is yet to come: health officials expect rising childhood obesity rates will mean that nearly half of all adults will be obese by 2030.
Last week, Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota issued a report that looks at how Minnesota children fare in the battle against obesity. We found that the prevalence of obese or overweight kids has risen to the point that one of every four Minnesota kids now has weight issues. There are a number of factors behind this alarming trend:
-- Only one in five Minnesota kids eat the recommended five fruits and vegetables per day;
-- More than one in three Minnesota kids miss out on regular family meals that are shown to set healthy eating habits;
-- Less than half of Minnesota children meet physical activity guidelines; and
-- Minnesota kids get too much screen time and not enough sleep, both leading to unhealthy weight gain.
Added to these baseline
For those who work with kids, this information may not be that surprising. The problem is clear; the solution is not so simple. However, we have discovered an emerging body of evidence that indicates the best opportunity to beat obesity may be before our kids ever enter school. This conclusion is gaining acceptance among health experts, including the Institute of Medicine and the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity. According to one obesity expert, Boyd Swinburn with the World Health Organization, "the die is cast by the age of 5." That's an alarming statement. While it should not be used as a rationale to abandon obesity prevention efforts among older children or adults, it clearly reinforces the importance of early interventions.
Our review affirms many of the actions known to be effective but brings added urgency to efforts to reach children at a younger age. Beyond the basic better diet and exercise recommendations, these other interventions include better prenatal counseling, more breastfeeding and soothing tactics for babies, earlier body mass index screening and counseling.
As pointed out in our report, the responsibility for addressing this epidemic does not and cannot fall to any one group. Stemming the tide relies on health care providers like us and prenatal care providers, public health interests, schools, community groups and families. While acknowledging initiatives already under way, we hope this report triggers more discussion and collaboration to focus and maximize efforts.
At Children's, we are exploring ways to tackle this issue starting with our own clinics and patients. Along with the Minnesota chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics, we spearheaded the formation of a coalition of community organizations and state and local agencies called "Vida Sana Minneapolis" (Healthy Living Minneapolis) to address childhood obesity in the Latino community in Minneapolis. In just a few months, we've gathered valuable information to help us address the unique needs of this community and earlier this month we held a kickoff Vida Sana community forum that provided education, guidance and an exercise challenge.
We place high expectations on ourselves as pediatric providers but we cannot do it alone. To match the scale of the challenge, we need to identify more opportunities in clinical, family, school and community settings to get our kids off to the best start.
Solving childhood obesity takes more than a report. It takes the attention and resources of our whole community. We plan to play an active role in bringing our community together to explore new and more collaborative work, and we hope other health care leaders across the state will continue to join us. We must come together. Our kids are counting on us.
Alan L. Goldbloom, MD, is president and CEO of Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.