According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, (CDC) childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years.
The percentage of children aged 6–11 years in the United States who were obese increased from 7% in 1980 to nearly 18% in 2012. Similarly, the percentage of adolescents aged 12–19 years who were obese increased from 5% to nearly 21% over the same period. In 2012, more than one third of children and adolescents were overweight or obese.
Childhood obesity can have both immediate and long-term effects on health and well-being.
Listen as Dr.Francisco Cervantes, pediatirician and a member of the Medical Staff at Doctors Hospital of Laredo, discusses this epidemic of childhood obesity and how parents can help their children make better food choices, be more active which will give them the best foundation for which to lead a healthier life.
Selected Podcast
The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity
Featured Speaker:
Francisco Cervantes, MD
Dr. Francisco Cervantes is a pediatrician and a member of the Medical Staff at Doctors Hospital of Laredo. Transcription:
The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity
Melanie Cole (Host): According to the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. My guest today is Dr. Francisco Cervantes. He’s a pediatrician and a member of the medical staff at Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. Welcome to the show, Dr. Cervantes. What is the state, as you see it, of childhood obesity? What are we seeing happening to our children today?
Dr. Francisco Cervantes (Guest): Okay, what we are talking about here in Laredo, Texas, is mostly Mexican-American population chiefly, and we have a big problem with obesity. By the time the kids finish high school, 2 out of 3 are overweight. That’s a big number, which goes along with the numbers of 2 out of 3 Americans in the United States in general, adults who are overweight. So, that’s a big problem and all of the problems that come with being overweight. We see children here, we have a walk-in clinic, and we check the height and the weight. In general, we see they grow and they change height and weight with the years. A general rule is if your weight percentage is higher than your height percentage, very likely you are either at risk of being overweight, or overweight. So, it places you into the higher bio-mass index for your weight, and once you’re in a risk area or in an overweight area, you are exposed to problems like higher fatty liver, hypertension, cholesterol problems, which mainly produces in low, good cholesterol, the HDL, the high-density. And the other one is triglycerides. Once you lower HDL or high triglycerides, you are at risk of diabetes, eventually. If you are overweight within 10-20 years, you may develop diabetes, the risk you are exposing yourself. And so, we have kids who are, at three years, they are overweight, or one year, so by three or four years, we have one of three kids who are overweight, so that’s a very big problem. And the problem gets worse when they enter school and stay there. It doesn’t get any better after they get to school despite the physical education programs and the change in diet in school, they get a lot of starch. We are a very highly diabetic population. The kids I see here in the office, 80% of them have a close relative with diabetes. 10-20% of them have either one of the parents with diabetes, and 1-2%, both parents with diabetes. We’re talking about young parents especially between 20-40 years of age. So, it’s a big problem, diabetes, it’s a main concern for the future in the United States in children and adults and we are also looking at the size of the liver and the size of the kidneys get bigger and the hypertension starts from every age. We wrote paper on hypertension and diabetic patients at three or four years of age. So, we are committed to detect, to work with them and every visit to remind them that they are overweight and they need to do something; they need to exercise they need to change diet; they need to cut the carbohydrates since with clinic in 2001, we knew the problem was the carbohydrates. We do eat a lot of carbohydrates in our diets. Very little veggies, and very little red meat. So, we eat starch or fat, in other words.
Melanie: So, Dr. Cervantes, when you’re working with a high population of Hispanics, and you see that the parents are also overweight, how do you work with them as a family to get the whole family to eat healthy, because it would seem that the only way you can get the children to be more active, to eat healthier foods, and to make better choices, is to get the parents to do the same. How do you do that?
Dr. Cervantes: We approach the problem. We let them know that they are overweight. It is worse when both parents are overweight. It’s a little bit better when one of the parents is overweight, but we’re talking here that people are pre-diabetic and we have it. So, you have to confront the problem directly to the family that they cut down on the carbohydrates, do more exercise, and try to eat more veggies. It is hard. It is hard when we see them every day. The good thing is, we see them on periodic visits, periodic yearly exams, and we see them again and again, and we tell them. We do lab work, and we follow them, and we watch for them fatty liver; we watch for alcoholic and non-alcoholic hepatitis, which is very common, and the cholesterol. We have a lot of kids on medication for low HDL and high triglycerides and it’s really not a cholesterol problem. The problem is the HDL and the triglycerides which we have to put them on medication, and it works. It works. We follow these kids for 15 years, and when we compare initial and the BMI at the follow up, at least they are not worse, so something is good for the families. Eventually, some of them, they lose weight. Some of them, at least they don’t gain any more weight, or they stay the same BMI and we try to keep them informed on what the changes are with the blood pressure. So, that’s what we do. We remind them, keep track of the progress we have and stay with them.
Melanie: So, do you think that the cultural food is part of the issue, that it’s a high carbohydrate diet and that it’s hard to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables? And then, also, Dr. Cervantes, touch on activity. Kids today play a lot of video games. And the screen time--you’re a pediatrician—and the screen time has totally changed from what it used to be. So, first talk about the cultural foods, and how that can be changed and what you tell parents and then, also, the activity level of children, and changing the screen time requirements, so that they get out and they are more active.
Dr. Cervantes: Okay, Laredo has a peculiar situation. It’s mostly Mexican-American population, okay, which has high propensity for diabetes. It’s very hard. There are very few places to exercise. Even schools don’t have the whole year, physical education programs. So, we encourage them to exercise. We advise them about the carbohydrates, excessive carbohydrates, and that’s the only thing we can do. They are supposed to be preparing food which is good, but we don’t see the change with different diets and food and they just change the carbohydrates. There’s not really much we can do about the food they get a school, but we remind them. Every time you see them, you remind them and it pays off because at least they are not worse and we have the numbers to prove it, that just by staying on top of them, it makes a difference. It’s not the same as if you see an overweight kid and you don’t say anything and you don’t do anything or you don’t do any lab work. And, so, you have to do it. You have to approach the problem, and you have to tell them, you know, the kid is overweight, especially when they stop growing, it gets worse. So, you tell them, you know, “Watch out! Watch out! And, keep on watching your weight and exercise.” Exercise is for everybody. We didn’t come here to rest, okay?
Melanie: Good point.
Dr. Cervantes: If you don’t do anything, you’re not going to stay sitting in a chair the rest of your days, so you need to move. You need to do something and no matter how old you are and especially in young kids. They need exercise. Either swimming or walking. We don’t ask them to run or jump fences – just walk. They need to walk at least half an hour and to find the best time. And, stay away from carbohydrates and that’s the only thing we can do. We do eat a lot of carbohydrates. We’re very susceptible to diabetes. So, we tell them: watch your weight, watch your exercise, and watch what you eat. Cereal. In the afternoon. If you have cereal in the morning, that’s it. It’s breakfast. You don’t continue eating cereal, because it’s carbohydrates. The same with milk, the same with juice, the same with soda. Two sodas make you diabetic, eventually. Two sodas a day will make you diabetic. It’s a fact.
Melanie: It’s really great information. In just the last few minutes, Dr. Cervantes, what should parents with children that are over the recommended healthy BMI think about? What do you tell them every day?
Dr. Cervantes: When you see them, these kids come also from slim parents, and they’re active. They swim, they cross country, and you tell them, “Even though you are exercising, stay away from pizza.” I’m sorry. I have to say it. Eat the top of the pizza, okay? So, eat the meat of the pizza and stay away from cheese, especially spicy cheese, because we have a lot of gall bladder problem, too. We also have a propensity to have gallbladder problems. So, you eat spicy cheese, you have gastritis and you develop cholecystitis and you end up with surgery that you didn’t need to have – in every age. We have kids here with gall bladder surgery at 12 years of age or six years of age because of the spicy cheese. So, it’s just another problem that we have.
Melanie: And, why should they come to Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo for their care?
Dr. Cervantes: We do send them for lab work. We do send them for detection of fatty liver and the liver size, and gallbladder findings, and we feel confident that it’s a very reliable laboratory that we’ve been working with for the last ten years and we can reproduce the information and you know that it’s very, very precise and I’m very happy with the laboratory.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today, Dr. Cervates. You’re listening to Doctor’s Hospital Health News with Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. For more information, you can go to www.doctorshosplaredo.com. That’s www.doctorshosplaredo.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.
The Epidemic of Childhood Obesity
Melanie Cole (Host): According to the Centers for Disease Control, the CDC, childhood obesity has more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in the past 30 years. My guest today is Dr. Francisco Cervantes. He’s a pediatrician and a member of the medical staff at Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. Welcome to the show, Dr. Cervantes. What is the state, as you see it, of childhood obesity? What are we seeing happening to our children today?
Dr. Francisco Cervantes (Guest): Okay, what we are talking about here in Laredo, Texas, is mostly Mexican-American population chiefly, and we have a big problem with obesity. By the time the kids finish high school, 2 out of 3 are overweight. That’s a big number, which goes along with the numbers of 2 out of 3 Americans in the United States in general, adults who are overweight. So, that’s a big problem and all of the problems that come with being overweight. We see children here, we have a walk-in clinic, and we check the height and the weight. In general, we see they grow and they change height and weight with the years. A general rule is if your weight percentage is higher than your height percentage, very likely you are either at risk of being overweight, or overweight. So, it places you into the higher bio-mass index for your weight, and once you’re in a risk area or in an overweight area, you are exposed to problems like higher fatty liver, hypertension, cholesterol problems, which mainly produces in low, good cholesterol, the HDL, the high-density. And the other one is triglycerides. Once you lower HDL or high triglycerides, you are at risk of diabetes, eventually. If you are overweight within 10-20 years, you may develop diabetes, the risk you are exposing yourself. And so, we have kids who are, at three years, they are overweight, or one year, so by three or four years, we have one of three kids who are overweight, so that’s a very big problem. And the problem gets worse when they enter school and stay there. It doesn’t get any better after they get to school despite the physical education programs and the change in diet in school, they get a lot of starch. We are a very highly diabetic population. The kids I see here in the office, 80% of them have a close relative with diabetes. 10-20% of them have either one of the parents with diabetes, and 1-2%, both parents with diabetes. We’re talking about young parents especially between 20-40 years of age. So, it’s a big problem, diabetes, it’s a main concern for the future in the United States in children and adults and we are also looking at the size of the liver and the size of the kidneys get bigger and the hypertension starts from every age. We wrote paper on hypertension and diabetic patients at three or four years of age. So, we are committed to detect, to work with them and every visit to remind them that they are overweight and they need to do something; they need to exercise they need to change diet; they need to cut the carbohydrates since with clinic in 2001, we knew the problem was the carbohydrates. We do eat a lot of carbohydrates in our diets. Very little veggies, and very little red meat. So, we eat starch or fat, in other words.
Melanie: So, Dr. Cervantes, when you’re working with a high population of Hispanics, and you see that the parents are also overweight, how do you work with them as a family to get the whole family to eat healthy, because it would seem that the only way you can get the children to be more active, to eat healthier foods, and to make better choices, is to get the parents to do the same. How do you do that?
Dr. Cervantes: We approach the problem. We let them know that they are overweight. It is worse when both parents are overweight. It’s a little bit better when one of the parents is overweight, but we’re talking here that people are pre-diabetic and we have it. So, you have to confront the problem directly to the family that they cut down on the carbohydrates, do more exercise, and try to eat more veggies. It is hard. It is hard when we see them every day. The good thing is, we see them on periodic visits, periodic yearly exams, and we see them again and again, and we tell them. We do lab work, and we follow them, and we watch for them fatty liver; we watch for alcoholic and non-alcoholic hepatitis, which is very common, and the cholesterol. We have a lot of kids on medication for low HDL and high triglycerides and it’s really not a cholesterol problem. The problem is the HDL and the triglycerides which we have to put them on medication, and it works. It works. We follow these kids for 15 years, and when we compare initial and the BMI at the follow up, at least they are not worse, so something is good for the families. Eventually, some of them, they lose weight. Some of them, at least they don’t gain any more weight, or they stay the same BMI and we try to keep them informed on what the changes are with the blood pressure. So, that’s what we do. We remind them, keep track of the progress we have and stay with them.
Melanie: So, do you think that the cultural food is part of the issue, that it’s a high carbohydrate diet and that it’s hard to incorporate fresh fruits and vegetables? And then, also, Dr. Cervantes, touch on activity. Kids today play a lot of video games. And the screen time--you’re a pediatrician—and the screen time has totally changed from what it used to be. So, first talk about the cultural foods, and how that can be changed and what you tell parents and then, also, the activity level of children, and changing the screen time requirements, so that they get out and they are more active.
Dr. Cervantes: Okay, Laredo has a peculiar situation. It’s mostly Mexican-American population, okay, which has high propensity for diabetes. It’s very hard. There are very few places to exercise. Even schools don’t have the whole year, physical education programs. So, we encourage them to exercise. We advise them about the carbohydrates, excessive carbohydrates, and that’s the only thing we can do. They are supposed to be preparing food which is good, but we don’t see the change with different diets and food and they just change the carbohydrates. There’s not really much we can do about the food they get a school, but we remind them. Every time you see them, you remind them and it pays off because at least they are not worse and we have the numbers to prove it, that just by staying on top of them, it makes a difference. It’s not the same as if you see an overweight kid and you don’t say anything and you don’t do anything or you don’t do any lab work. And, so, you have to do it. You have to approach the problem, and you have to tell them, you know, the kid is overweight, especially when they stop growing, it gets worse. So, you tell them, you know, “Watch out! Watch out! And, keep on watching your weight and exercise.” Exercise is for everybody. We didn’t come here to rest, okay?
Melanie: Good point.
Dr. Cervantes: If you don’t do anything, you’re not going to stay sitting in a chair the rest of your days, so you need to move. You need to do something and no matter how old you are and especially in young kids. They need exercise. Either swimming or walking. We don’t ask them to run or jump fences – just walk. They need to walk at least half an hour and to find the best time. And, stay away from carbohydrates and that’s the only thing we can do. We do eat a lot of carbohydrates. We’re very susceptible to diabetes. So, we tell them: watch your weight, watch your exercise, and watch what you eat. Cereal. In the afternoon. If you have cereal in the morning, that’s it. It’s breakfast. You don’t continue eating cereal, because it’s carbohydrates. The same with milk, the same with juice, the same with soda. Two sodas make you diabetic, eventually. Two sodas a day will make you diabetic. It’s a fact.
Melanie: It’s really great information. In just the last few minutes, Dr. Cervantes, what should parents with children that are over the recommended healthy BMI think about? What do you tell them every day?
Dr. Cervantes: When you see them, these kids come also from slim parents, and they’re active. They swim, they cross country, and you tell them, “Even though you are exercising, stay away from pizza.” I’m sorry. I have to say it. Eat the top of the pizza, okay? So, eat the meat of the pizza and stay away from cheese, especially spicy cheese, because we have a lot of gall bladder problem, too. We also have a propensity to have gallbladder problems. So, you eat spicy cheese, you have gastritis and you develop cholecystitis and you end up with surgery that you didn’t need to have – in every age. We have kids here with gall bladder surgery at 12 years of age or six years of age because of the spicy cheese. So, it’s just another problem that we have.
Melanie: And, why should they come to Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo for their care?
Dr. Cervantes: We do send them for lab work. We do send them for detection of fatty liver and the liver size, and gallbladder findings, and we feel confident that it’s a very reliable laboratory that we’ve been working with for the last ten years and we can reproduce the information and you know that it’s very, very precise and I’m very happy with the laboratory.
Melanie: Thank you so much for being with us today, Dr. Cervates. You’re listening to Doctor’s Hospital Health News with Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. For more information, you can go to www.doctorshosplaredo.com. That’s www.doctorshosplaredo.com. Physicians are independent practitioners who are not employees or agents of Doctor’s Hospital of Laredo. The hospital shall not be liable for actions or treatments provided by physicians. This is Melanie Cole. Thanks so much for listening.