Study: dangers of childhood obesity

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - We've heard a lot about the dangers of childhood obesity. And now, a new study is shedding light on the long-term effects.

A child who is at risk down the road may not even look overweight now.

It's easy to comprehend how children who are obese will face health problems due to their weight, and now we have proof of how deadly it can be. This week's New England Journal of Medicine reports on a long term study of almost 5,000 children. Those who were obese were more than twice as likely to die before age 55, the age used to define "early death."

Dr. Terra Quattrin is Chair of Pediatrics at U.B. and Pediatrician in Chief at Children's Hospital. She's an expert on childhood obesity and she points out that children at high risk may not look overweight.

"And to me, what was also staggering was that 34 percent of these deaths were before age 34, so we're talking very young individuals. The only way to tell if a child is on his way or her way to becoming overweight is to calculate the body mass index," said Dr. Quattrin.

Unlike adults, the healthy range of body mass index for children changes with their age. The earlier you know about a problem, the more likely you are to be able to do something.

Dr. Quattrin explains, "And they should make changes before they look overweight, before they're picked on in school."

We can prevent a child from becoming an obese adult. The child on the left in this picture is enrolled in Buffalo's Healthy Tots Program.

"She doesn't look overweight, but she still has a body mass index above the 85th percentile so this is the message. She's beautiful, all children are beautiful, it's not a question of looks, it's a question of health and wellness," said Dr. Quattrin.

Normal looking children age three to five with a high body mass index are four times as likely to become obese adults, so find out your kid's body mass index. If you have a concern, talk with your pediatrician. For more information about the Buffalo Healthy Tots program, call 878-7609.

There are several simple things that help. Give a kid fruit instead of high-calorie fruit juices; switch to low-fat milk; ask the folks at day care to cut back on high-calorie snacks. Those all add up.