CDC makes smart shift on child obesity

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has unveiled new metrics to monitor obesity in children. It’s a smart shift that can help motivate kids and parents, and provide a more accurate picture of this issue. Old growth charts used by health care providers were based on decades-old figures, and didn't go high enough to plot body mass index values for children with severe obesity.

The new charts also underscore that we have a health issue in this country. In 2017-2018, more than 4.5 million children and adolescents had severe obesity, according to the CDC. And obesity among the young has increased in the U.S., exploding in prevalence in the 1980s and 90s.

The pandemic, and the way it stopped events and pushed people inside and onto their computers, has only complicated matters.

Obesity has real consequences, including type 2 diabetes and heart disease. One estimate suggests it costs the country’s health care system close to $173 billion a year. It can create challenges for military recruitment. And it reveals the usual disparities of American life. It is much harder to stay healthy when you live too far from parks or are working too many hours to conveniently exercise. When healthy food options are distant or not affordable, health outcomes suffer.

Not only do we need good data to combat obesity, but also changes in various areas of life. Society can encourage healthier food options, including more fruits and vegetables, at school and at home. Kids must exercise more, and put away their screens for a little bit. All the while we must avoid unrealistic body expectations. Those are just as dangerous.

We just want healthy lifestyles to be available to all, at an early age.