September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month – an opportunity for sales reps to help their accounts ensure pediatric patients stay healthy.
There may not be a simple solution to the nation’s childhood obesity dilemma. But, one of the best places to start is by increasing public awareness. Physicians can be proactive by educating their younger patients on healthy lifestyle habits, and distributor sales reps can help them do so.
Knowing the facts
About 17 percent, or one of every five children, in the United States has obesity, and certain groups of children are more affected than others, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Childhood obesity is often influenced by:
- Sedentary lifestyles, such as too much television viewing and less than adequate physical activity.
- Lack of sleep.
- Easy access to inexpensive, high calorie snacks and beverages.
- Lack of access to healthier foods.
Not only do obese children tend to face more bullying and stigma, they are more likely to be obese in adulthood as well, leading to physical and mental health problems such as diabetes and increased risk of certain cancers.
Educating patients
Sales reps can encourage their accounts to promote a healthy lifestyle to all of their patients and their parents. The CDC believes that parents can play a key role in preventing their children from becoming overweight and obese, including the following:
- Maintain a healthy energy balance by ensuring children get adequate sleep, limit computer/TV screen time, take part in regular physical exercise and eat the right amount of calories.
- Substitute higher nutrient, lower calorie foods, such as fruits and vegetables, in place of foods with higher-calorie ingredients, such as sugars and solid fats.
- Ensure access to water as a no-calorie alternative to sugar-sweetened beverages.
- Become role models for their children by eating more fruits and vegetables at mealtimes and healthier snacks in between.
A complicated matter
Childhood obesity can lead to physical, social and emotional complications, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Physical complications:
- Type 2 diabetes. Obesity and a sedentary lifestyle increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, a chronic condition affecting the way the body uses glucose.
- Metabolic syndrome. Metabolic syndrome isn’t a disease itself, but a cluster of conditions that can place children at risk of developing heart disease, diabetes or other health problems. This cluster of conditions includes high blood pressure, high blood sugar, high triglycerides, low HDL cholesterol and excess abdominal fat.
- High cholesterol and high blood pressure. Children with poor diets can develop high blood pressure or high cholesterol. These factors can contribute to the buildup of plaques in the arteries, causing the arteries to narrow and harden. This can lead to a heart attack or stroke later in life.
- Children who are overweight or obese may be more likely to have asthma.
- Sleep disorders. Obstructive sleep apnea is a potentially serious disorder in which a child’s breathing repeatedly stops and starts when he or she sleeps.
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). This disorder, which usually is not associated with symptoms, causes fatty deposits to build up in the liver and can lead to scarring and liver damage.
- Early puberty or menstruation. Being obese can create hormone imbalances that may cause puberty to start earlier than expected.
Social and emotional complications:
- Low self-esteem and bullying. Children often tease or bully their overweight peers, who suffer a loss of self-esteem and an increased risk of depression as a result.
- Behavior and learning problems. Overweight children tend to have more anxiety and poorer social skills than do normal-weight children, leading to disruptive behavior or social withdrawal.
- Low self-esteem can create overwhelming feelings of hopelessness in some overweight children, leading to depression.
Source: The Mayo Clinic