Contradicting Previous Announcements
That Obesity Among Kindergarteners Is Declining, New Research Shows
Severe Obesity Is on the Rise
December 31, 2014
Story
at-a-glance
-
In February, a study by the US Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention (CDC) declared that obesity
rates among two- to five-year olds declined by 43
percent between 2003 and 2012
-
A new study, looking at the same data but starting
in 1999, shows a very different picture. Over the
past 14 years, severe obesity among children has
actually increased
-
As of 2011, just over 17 percent of American
children between the ages of two and 19 were obese.
Nearly six percent of youths meet criteria for class
2 obesity (BMI of 35)
-
The American diet is primarily to blame for our
expanding waist lines and declining health. It
contains the same “nutritional balance” used for
decades to purposefully fatten up livestock
-
Dietary factors that have probably done the greatest
amount of damage include trans fats, high fructose
corn syrup, artificial sweeteners, growth-promoting
drugs in food animals, and agricultural chemicals
By Dr. Mercola
As recently as February, a study by the US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published in JAMA1
declared that
obesity rates among two- to five-year olds declined by 43
percent in the past decade, dropping from 14 percent in 2003 to
eight percent in 2012.
Obesity rates among other age groups were found to have
"stabilized." The findings were broadcast on all of the nation's
major news stations and in most major newspapers2,
3,
4 with many claiming "victory" in the fight against
childhood obesity. Alas, the celebration was short-lived.
Severe Obesity on the Rise Among American Youth
On April 7, another team of researchers published a report in
the journal JAMA Pediatrics,5,
6 showing a very different picture—despite the
fact that they used the same National Health and Nutrition
Examination Survey data as the CDC. The difference was that this
study included another four years' worth of data (1999 to 2012).
As reported by WebMD:7
"Contrary to a recent report with encouraging figures
on childhood obesity in the United States, a new study
presents a more sobering picture of the nation's pediatric
weight problem.
Severe obesity, which sets kids up for a lifetime of
health problems, has increased over the past 14 years, North
Carolina researchers found... Severely obese children are
the ones most likely to have type 2 diabetes as teens and
other problems such as heart disease later in life. They are
also the children who will require millions of dollars in
health care costs..."
As of 2011, just over 17 percent of American children between
the ages of two and 19 were obese, classified as having a body
mass index (BMI) exceeding that of 95 percent of same-sex peers
of the same age.
Nearly six percent of youths met criteria for class 2
obesity, classified as having a BMI greater than 120 percent of
the 95th percentile (or a BMI of 35). More than two percent of
children fell in the class 3 obesity category, indicating they
had a BMI of 40 or greater.
Such extreme obesity during youth can really set you up for a
lifetime of very serious health problems. WebMD quotes Dr. David
Katz, director of the Yale University Prevention Research
Center, saying:8
"'This paper will come as a sobering reality check
for any who believed the recent headlines about childhood
obesity rates plummeting,' he said. 'Severe obesity in
children is rising, he said, adding that this is a critical
piece of information.'"
What's Causing Rise in Severe Obesity Among the Very Young?
Clearly, the
anti-obesity campaign is NOT working, even though the US
government would love you to think their "efforts" are paying
off. The truth is that federal policies that stand to have the
greatest impact on human health have not been addressed
at all.
For example, the US government (and your tax dollars) still
subsidizes the growing of genetically engineered (GE) corn and
sugar beets, which fuels the production of cheap, processed junk
food that fatten up our youth and cause cascading health
problems, courtesy of the insulin resistance such a diet brings.
It's not rocket science to figure out that the American diet
is primarily to blame for our expanding waist lines and
declining health. It contains the same "nutritional balance"
used for decades to purposefully fatten up livestock. Why would
anyone think that sugar,
grains,
artificial sweeteners, hormones, and low-dose antibiotics
would suddenly produce different results when consumed by
humans?
As just one example, virtually all beef sold in American
grocery stores comes from cattle injected with hormones. Corn
fattens the cattle, but consumers don't like all that gristle
and fat, so hormones are used to make the animal produce more
lean muscle tissue.
This improves profits, as it increases the animals' growth by
about 10 percent. Ironically, it's the corn that makes the
cattle fat, so if we didn't feed them corn, we wouldn't have to
give them hormones to minimize fat production!
Processed food manufacturers also have a lot to answer for,
as they refuse to replace harmful ingredients with more natural
ones. The US diet is chockfull of
ingredients that have been banned in other countries due to
their health risks. The dietary factors that have probably done
the greatest amount of damage over the past decades include:
ALL of these have one thing in common, and that is that they
destroy your gut health by killing off beneficial gut bacteria,
thereby promoting obesity and metabolic dysfunction, along with
virtually every other disease known to man. Without beneficial
gut bacteria, most diseases—including mental or neurological
problems—will worsen.
Foods That Destroy Gut Health Also Promote Weight Gain and Poor
Health
Your gastrointestinal tract houses some 100 trillion
bacteria—about two to three pounds worth. In all, the bacteria
in your body actually outnumber your cells by about 10 to one.
Researchers have discovered that microbes of all kinds play
instrumental roles in countless areas of your health—both
physical and mental. For example, beneficial bacteria,
also known as probiotics, have been shown to:
Beneficial bacteria also control the growth of
disease-causing bacteria by competing for nutrition and
attachment sites in your colon. This is of immense importance,
as pathogenic bacteria and other less beneficial microbes can
wreak havoc with your health if they gain the upper hand. It can
also affect your weight.
One hypothesis states that your gut bacteria may in fact be
in control of your appetite. Recent research9
suggests there's a positive-feedback loop between the foods you
crave and the composition of the microbiota in your gut that
depend on those nutrients for their survival.
Microbes that thrive on sugar, for example, can signal your
brain to eat more sweets. Other studies10,
11 have shown that certain bacteria found in your gut
can produce insulin resistance and weight gain by triggering
chronic low-grade inflammation in your body. Food processing,
pasteurization, and sterilization also have a detrimental effect
on your microbiome. For all of these reasons, and more, I always
recommend a diet rich in whole, unprocessed foods along
with cultured or fermented foods.
Coca-Cola Vows to Rev Up Marketing Efforts in Face of Declining
Soda Sales
Sweetened beverages are probably among the worst culprits.
Whether sweetened with sugar, HFCS, naturally-occurring
fructose, or artificial sweeteners, sweetened beverages of all
kinds cause obesity and related health problems, including
diabetes, heart and liver disease, just to name a few. Ditching
ALL of these types of beverages can go a long way toward
reducing your risk for chronic health problems and weight gain.
Fortunately, soda consumption has now dropped to its lowest
point since 1995,12
with diet sodas taking the greatest hit. Sales of carbonated
beverages in general fell three percent in 2013, while diet Coke
and diet Pepsi both dropped by nearly seven percent. Emerging
market sales, such as those in India and China, have also
slowed. Sadly, Coca-Cola Company is not about to give
up their relentless pursuit of raising soda-chugging
consumers—health ramifications be damned. As reported by Daily
Finance:13
"The Atlanta-based company said it would intensify
its cost-cutting to produce another $1 billion in savings by
2016, much of which would be reinvested into marketing. 'We
know our business responds to marketing,' CEO Muhtar Kent
said in a call with reporters... Although Coca-Cola and
PepsiCo are tapping emerging markets for growth and sell a
wide array of beverages, pressure is mounting for the two
companies to figure out how to get soda sales moving in the
right direction at home... [Kent] expressed confidence that
soda in North America can still grow and just needs improved
marketing, innovation and on-the-ground sales execution."
Kent was also quoted by the Wall Street Journal,14
saying that: "'Coca-Cola remains magical. We need to work
even harder to enhance the romance of the brand in every corner
of the world,'' Mr. Kent told investors in February. He
regularly refers to flagship Coke as the company's 'oxygen' and
'lifeblood.'"
Turning Childhood Into an Illness
As recently discussed on KevinMD.com,15
childhood itself is being turned into an illness, courtesy of
corruption and collusion between the food industry, Big Pharma,
and politicians. As noted by psychiatrist Dr. Allen Frances in
his article, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has
tripled in two decades, and autism now affects an estimated one
in 50 children between the ages of six and 17, according to the
most recent CDC data.16
The causes for all these behavioral problems have been debated
for years. But according to Dr. Frances, one of the primary
factors driving such trends is our own refusal to do what's
necessary for health. He writes:
"Don't believe the statistics: They are wildly
exaggerated. Our kids are... too often mislabeled for
behaviors that used to be considered part of normal
variation. We are turning childhood into an illness. The
surest proof of misplaced diagnostic exuberance comes
directly from the classroom.
Research shows that the youngest kids in class are
much more likely than the oldest to be diagnosed as having
ADHD, and to receive stimulant treatment. It is shameful
that simple immaturity due to being younger is now
mislabeled as mental illness and mistreated with a pill...
What makes more sense: Promiscuous use of pills or smaller
class sizes and more facilities for physical activity that
allow kids to blow off steam?"
I certainly believe that more kids than ever before are
suffering neurological harm from a grossly inadequate diet, lack
of exercise, and an onslaught of environmental toxins. But Dr.
Frances makes a good point: improved diagnosis and increased use
of medication is NOT the answer. It in no way, shape, or form
addresses any of the root causes. If our government was really
intent on providing better health for children, they'd face
reality and address the root causes head on. But they choose not
to. Probably because it would require a major transformation of
the entire food system, for starters. It would also require
reverting back to more traditional school systems that includes
plenty of physical education.
Teach Your Kids the Basic Tenets of Optimal Health
While the situation appears bleak when viewed from the
perspective of what the "authorities" are doing (or not doing),
I urge you to consider your own role. YOU have the power to make
the needed alterations within your own family. Leading by
example is also one of the most effective teaching tools there
is, which will set your children up to be better equipped to
maneuver an increasingly toxic world as they themselves become
parents.
First and foremost, I believe we need to teach children what
"real food" actually is. Remember, wholesome food is "live" and
typically raw food, and the hallmark of live food is the fact
that it will wilt and decompose. If you're unsure about how to
get your family on the right track, my
optimized nutrition plan offers a step-by-step guide to
feeding your family right. You can find even more help in the
book I wrote on the subject, called
Generation XL: Raising Healthy, Intelligent Kids in a
High-Tech, Junk-Food World. As a quick overview, here
are some of the most important lifestyle strategies you can
teach your child that will serve him or her well for the rest of
their life:
- Proper food choices: For a
comprehensive guide, see my free
optimized nutrition plan. Generally speaking though,
you'll want to focus your diet on whole, ideally organic,
unprocessed, or minimally processed foods. For the
best nutrition and health benefits, you will want to eat a
good portion of your
food raw.
Avoid refined
sugar and processed fructose in particular. All forms of
sugar have toxic effects when consumed in excess, and drive
multiple disease processes in your body, not the least of
which is insulin resistance, a major cause of chronic
disease and accelerated aging. I believe the two primary
keys for successful weight management are severely
restricting carbohydrates (sugars, fructose, and grains) in
your diet, and increasing
healthy fat consumption. This will optimize insulin and
leptin levels, which is key for maintaining a healthy weight
and optimal health. Sources of healthy fats include:
Olives and
olive oil |
Coconuts and
coconut oil |
Butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk |
Raw nuts, particularly macadamia |
Organic pastured egg yolks |
Avocados |
Grass-fed meats |
Palm oil |
Unheated organic nut oils |
- Regular exercise: Along with
core-strengthening exercises,
strength training, and stretching, I highly recommend
doing
Peak Fitness exercises two or three times a week. This
is where you raise your heart rate up to your anaerobic
threshold for 20 to 30 seconds, followed by a 90-second
recovery period. High-intensity interval-type training
boosts
human growth hormone (HGH) production, which is
essential for optimal health, strength, and vigor. HGH also
helps boost weight loss.
- Stress reduction: Your emotional state
plays a role in nearly every physical disease -- from heart
disease and depression, to arthritis and cancer. Meditation,
prayer, social support, and exercise are all viable options
that can help you maintain emotional and mental equilibrium.
I also strongly believe in using simple tools such as the
Emotional Freedom
Technique (EFT) to address deeper, oftentimes hidden,
emotional problems.
- Drink plenty of
clean pure water.
- Maintain a healthy gut: About 80
percent of your immune system resides in your gut, and
research is stacking up showing that probiotics—beneficial
bacteria—affect your health in a myriad of ways; it can even
influence your ability to
lose weight. A healthy diet is the ideal way to maintain
a healthy gut, and regularly consuming traditionally
fermented foods is the easiest, most cost-effective way
to ensure optimal gut flora.
- Optimize your vitamin D levels:
Research has shown that increasing your
vitamin D levels can reduce your risk of death from ALL
causes. Sun exposure is the best way to optimize your
vitamin D levels as your body has built-in "fail-safe"
mechanisms that prevent detrimental side effects from
occurring. For more information on how to safely and
effectively optimize your vitamin D levels, please see my
previous article, "How
Vitamin D Performance Testing Can Help You Optimize Your
Health."
If you opt for oral vitamin D supplements, make sure you
use D3, not prescription D2, as the latter may do more harm
than good. Also, if you take supplemental vitamin D,
you're creating an increased demand for K2—not K1 that
is typically in vegetables as it will not work synergize
with vitamin D. Vitamin K2 deficiency is actually what
produces the symptoms of vitamin D toxicity, which includes
inappropriate calcification that can lead to hardening of
your arteries.Together, vitamin D and K2 help strengthen
your bones and improve your heart health.
- Avoid as many chemicals, toxins, and pollutants
as possible: This includes tossing out your
toxic household cleaners, soaps, personal hygiene
products, air fresheners, bug sprays, lawn pesticides, and
insecticides, just to name a few, and replacing them with
non-toxic alternatives.
- Get plenty of
high-quality sleep:
Regularly catching only a few hours of sleep can hinder
metabolism and hormone production in a way that is similar
to the effects of aging and the early stages of diabetes.
Chronic sleep loss may speed the onset or increase the
severity of age-related conditions such as type 2 diabetes,
high blood pressure, obesity, and memory loss.
Copyright 1997- 2014 Dr. Joseph Mercola. All Rights Reserved.
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/12/31/childhood-obesity.aspx
|