Health Risks of Obesity in Children
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data from 1999-2002, 16 percent of children and teens aged 6 to 19 are overweight - nearly triple the amount from 1980. The International Obesity Task Force study predicts that by 2010, about half of the kids in North and South America will be overweight. That is almost double the current rate of about one-third of the population. The study also finds that obesity rates of all children in the European Union will rise from the current rate, 25 percent, to 38 percent. The rate of obesity is also expected to rise in the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
These experts from the Comprehensive Weight Management Center at Cincinnati Children's are helping to combat this global pediatric problem:
Stavra Xanthakos, MD -- Treatment and prevention of pediatric obesity
Christopher Bolling, MD -- Outpatient management and prevention of obesity
Holly Ippisch, MD -- Cardiology affects of obesity in children and adolescents, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea
Shelly Kirk, PhD -- Nutritious ways to combat obesity in children and adolescents
Randal Claytor, PhD -- Using fitness to eliminate the extra weight on children and adolescents
Helmut Roehrig, PhD -- Psychological affects of obesity on family dynamics of children and adolescents
Thomas Inge, MD, PhD -- Surgery to reduce chronic health risks related to obesity in children and adolescents (including bariatric and lap band procedures)
Meg Zeller, PhD -- Psychosocial correlates of pediatric obesity that are potential barriers to weight management.
