May 8, 2002
		Obese Kids Suffering Adult Diseases According to the results of an intensive federal study released on May 1, an epidemic of obesity is causing a sharp increase in the number of children diagnosed with obesity-related illnesses, including diseases doctors once saw almost exclusively in overweight adults Obesity rates have nearly doubled in the last two decades among children and adolescents, and experts are pointing to the usual culprits: too much high-calorie food in big portions, and a sedentary lifestyle. Researchers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDCP) are warning that the effects of obesity on children is even more dire than previously thought, being a predictor of a costly wave of devastating diseases as they grow into adulthood. "As overweight children become overweight adults, the diseases associated with obesity and health care costs are likely to increase even more," the CDCP's Dr. William Dietz and Guijing Wang reported in Pediatrics, a journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. "Clearly, both primary and secondary prevention of childhood obesity are required to address this epidemic," the researchers said. The study, which was conducted over 20 years and included 70,000 children, found that the rates of hospital-diagnosed Type 2 diabetes in children, previously thought to only affect older adults, nearly doubled. Similarly, rates of gallbladder disease tripled and sleep apnea increased fivefold in children The cost of treating childhood diet-related diseases in U.S. hospitals more than tripled from $35 million annually in 1979 - 1981 to $127 million annually during 1997 - 1999. It has been estimated by the U.S. surgeon general that 61 percent of adults are overweight or obese, which are factors in 300,000 deaths each year. The estimated economic cost of obesity in this country was about $17 billion in 2000. "This study adds to the evidence that poor dietary habits and physically-inactive lifestyles among young people carry many health risks and impose a severe economic burden on our society," said Tommy Thompson, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services. In addition to obesity being linked to diabetes, sleep apnea and gallbladder disease in children, CDCP researchers also found high rates of asthma, behavior disorders, depression and other psychological problems among obese children. "It's like we're dealing with adult-type pathologies in children," said Dr. Elizabeth Baumann, and University of Chicago diabetes expert. "It creates a tidal wave effect for a lot of other problems at a very early age, which is upsetting and startling to a lot of people." "Americans in general need to modify their eating habits, cut back on fast foods, get rid of super-sized everything and increase their physical activity," said Mary Kreiter, a pediatric endocrinologist at Rush-Presbitarian-St.Lukes Medical Center in Chicago. Another danger with children developing Type 2 diabetes is that it is very insidious and hard to detect if it is not overtly screened for, said Dr. Baumann. "And then several years down the road they may have severe problems - eye disease, kidney disease, hypertension and other problems," Dr. Baumann said. "It's really bad and it's very hard to reverse."