DALLAS IN THE MIDDLE OF EPIDEMICOF DEADLY CHILDHOOD OBESITY

On October 4, 2006, Jonathan Hernandez was running sprints across the T.W. Browne Middle School gym in Dallas, Texas. His teacher was pushing his class to run these drills in only twenty seconds. The laps around the gym are so strenuous that Browne students call them “suicides.”

Suddenly Jonathan collapsed and fell to the floor.

Despite CPR from his teachers and the efforts of ambulance EMTs and Emergency Room doctors, Jonathan was pronounced dead at Methodist Dallas Medical Center.

Jonathan was thirteen years old.

He was 5 feet 7 inches and weighed 240 pounds.

The entire city of Dallas mourned Jonathan. His grieving parents questioned the wisdom of Jonathan’s participation in “suicides,” especially because they had filed medical forms with the school that stated he tended to faint during strenuous exercise.

Just a few days later, however, editorial writers at The Baylor Lariat, the newspaper of Baylor University, produced a strong editorial saying, “it is inexcusable to point blame at the school.” They used the moment to warn the Dallas population that “parents must take responsibility for their children’s body weight and health problems associated with obesity… Parents should take a strong initiative to set an example for their children when it comes to healthy eating habits and regular exercise routines.”

Dallas is at the forefront of cities with overweight children, and Baylor University has been a leader in the struggle to help them for years. For example, the Viva la Familiar Project at Baylor College of Medicine is an ongoing, five-year study to find out how and why local children tend to be overweight.

Nancy Butte, director of the project, said her team is trying to find out whether obesity is genetic, especially among Hispanic children. The team is also looking into how eating and exercise habits affect a child’s weight.

Most experts, including Dr. Henry McGill of the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research, believe the current obesity epidemic among children is more about lifestyle choices, rather than genetics.

Speaking on Texas public radio, Dr. McGill said that since the epidemic is less than twenty years old, the causes must be environmental.

“Genes haven’t changed that much in the last fifty years,” he said.

There is no doubt that too many children are overweight, that more and more children are becoming overweight, and that Dallas is at the top of the list of American cities for the problem. According to statistics from the U.S. Health and Human Resources Department, 36% of Dallas children and teens are overweight or at risk for it. This compares to 30% of children and teens nationally. There are an estimated 600,000 overweight or obese children within Dallas’s six-county area.

Because there are so many overweight children and adults, Americans have forgotten what normal weight looks like. Parents in particular may believe that their “chubby” child is perfectly healthy. They underestimate the health risks of being overweight. Serious health changes may be taking place inside the child’s body that can lead to liver damage, diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma, adult obesity, and heart disease. Fat children also suffer socially. There is evidence that they are bullied more often, participate less in group activities, and feel lonelier than children of normal weight.

Dr. McGill works with teenagers whose cholesterol levels are so high that they are in danger of heart attacks. Dr. Robert Ferry, a professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas, works with children as young as four years who have blood sugar levels formerly found only in adult diabetics. Many doctors today believe that this may be the first generation of Americans with life expectancies shorter than those of their parents.

What is Dallas doing to help overweight children?

State and local governments are funding programs to help overweight children in Dallas. Schools are serving nutritious meals with fewer “junk foods,” adding more physical education classes, and mandatory school screening for diabetes.

The Children’s Medical Center of Dallas, funded with by a $1.25 million grant from Dean Foods, is working with fourteen families in a pilot program. Those participating in the “LEAN FAMILIES” project receive counseling from nutritionists, physical therapists, social workers, doctors and nurses to help them lose weight.

However, government efforts can only go so far. Ultimately, the solution to this serious health epidemic is within the homes of Dallas families.

What can parents do to help their overweight children?

If you are overweight yourself, you can join your child in a regime of healthier eating and more exercise. Learn how to read nutritional labels on foods. Try cutting down on snacks and eating three balanced meals together as a family. Limit television and computer screen time, and increase your child’s physical activity.

If your child is seriously overweight, consult with your doctor, but remember that medical procedures such as stomach-stapling surgery or diet pills are not for children. Your doctor may recommend that you seek professional intervention in an age-appropriate program, such as a weight-loss camp or LEAN FAMILIES. Do not send your child to an old-fashioned “fat camp.” Find programs that use scientifically proven methods of behavior modification, family involvement, nutritional education, and healthy diet.

References

“Body-Weight Perceptions and Selected Weight-Management Goals and Practices of High School Students,” the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, posted at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/00015514.htm

Cleveland Clinic Department of Obesity, “Weight Loss: Obesity in Children,” posted at
WebMD http://tvguide.webmd.com/content/article/48/2731_1647

Marvel, Bill. “LEAN FAMILIES,” The Dallas Morning News, June 19, 2006.

The Obesity Epidemic and Dallas Children,” posted at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/phn/pdf/Dallas%202003%20YRBS.pdf

Obesity May Shorten Americans' Life Expectancy,” Journal of American Medical Association, March 23, 2005.

Psychological Impact of Obesity on School-Aged Children, ProtectTexas, Department of Public Health, see http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/phn/data.shtm

Physiological Impact of Obesity on School-Aged Children, ProtectTexas, Department of Public Health, see http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/phn/data.shtm

Science Friday, Texas Public Radio, October 1, 2004, posted at http://www.sciencefriday.com/pages/2004/Oct/hour2_100104.html

Staff Editorial, The Baylor Lariat, Baylor University, October 10, 2006, posted at http://www.baylor.edu/lariat/news.php?action=story&story=42321

Van, Holly. “Family Seeks Answers in Boy’s Death,” The Dallas Morning News, October 6, 2006.

Weil, Elizabeth. “Heavy Questions,” The New York Times Magazine, January 2, 2005.