Problems multiply for overweight children

Health, education, insurance put at risk

According to the Children’s Defense Fund, among Black teenage girls, ages 12 to 19, more than 40 percent are overweight or at risk of being overweight.

The child advocacy group also notes that children who are overweight, or obese, are at greater risk for serious health problems. Overweight children are increasingly likely to suffer from illnesses that can affect their ability to live long, healthy, and productive lives. These include high blood pressure and high cholesterol (two serious risk factors for heart disease), type 2 diabetes, bone and joint problems, and breathing problems like asthma and sleep apnea.

Overweight children are also significantly more likely to become obese adults, setting them up for a
lifetime of increased health risks, such as heart disease, stroke and osteoarthritis that come from being overweight.

If childhood obesity trends continue, experts predict it could cut two to five years off the lifespan of the average child in America—making this the first generation to have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.

Additionally, there are various costs associated with obesity that people don’t typically consider. Take education, for instance. Researchers have found that obese children have lower self-esteem and self-confidence than their peers. Low self-esteem has been linked to having fewer friends, more depression, and poorer academic performance in school.

In one study, boys ages 9 to 16, who were chronically obese were significantly more likely to have depression than their peers who were not overweight or obese.

According to the Children’s Defense Fund website, obesity is associated with delayed skill acquisition in children as young as 2 to 3 years old. Even after controlling for numerous factors, overweight or obese children are more likely than children who are not overweight or obese to miss more than two weeks of school in a year and to repeat a grade in school.

In one study, obese children had rates of school absenteeism that were 20 percent greater than those of their non-obese classmates.

Kalvin C. Chinyere, M.D., affectionately know as “Dr. Kal,” says there is also a long-term financial cost associated with being overweight.

“Because childhood obesity can increase the risk of a person developing other health problems as an adult, many life insurance companies take this into consideration when calculating premiums, resulting in higher fees. In the past, underwriters wouldn’t bother to look too deeply into the background of a healthy person under the age of 40. But with so many formerly obese people developing serious problems later on in life, life insurance companies have changed their rules.”

Another study by C.S. Crandall of the Department of Psychology, University of Kansas, Lawrence, found that among high school seniors overweight females receive less financial support from their parents for college than do average-weight females, even after controlling for parental income, race/ethnicity, family size, and education.