Health Matters With TSET: Childhood Obesity

Childhood obesity rates are climbing in Oklahoma, leaving the futures of many children at risk, according to health experts.

Health coach Dottie Small spoke to Dr. Rachel Franklin, a family medicine physician, about what can be done to reverse the trend.

She said childhood obesity rates in children are rising due to poor diets, inactivity, and other factors.

Data shows that approximately one-third of children in Oklahoma, aged 10 to 17, are considered overweight or obese.

Recent data from the State Department of Health suggests the problem is worsening, particularly among older children.

"About one in three children is overweight or has obesity, and that's unfortunately growing," Franklin said. "We've been doing a little bit better in children, ages 2 to 5 in preventing the onset of overweight or obesity, but unfortunately, in the older children, 10 years old and above, we continue to get worse."

If current trends persist, the State Department of Health says Oklahoma will have the highest proportion of children with overweight or obesity in the country by 2030.

Franklin attributed the growing numbers to various factors, emphasizing that childhood obesity is a complex issue with many contributing causes.

Genetics, access to healthy foods, exercise, and the consumption of sugary drinks are among the top factors.

"Overweight and obesity is a very complex subject, and there are many causes," Franklin said. "They begin with the child's genetic background. As the child gets older, it is more a matter of is the child getting access to healthy lifestyle behaviors, healthy foods, lots of exercise, avoiding sugary beverages."

Franklin said the responsibility for reversing these trends lies with the adults in children’s lives, including parents, schools, and community leaders.

"Children can't control their circumstances," Franklin said. "They also don't know what's good for them and not good for them, and that's up to the adults around them, not only their direct caregivers, but their school systems and the community leaders that are creating the environment within which these children are growing up, have a core responsibility to make sure that the environment within which that child grows up is fit for them to develop as healthy adults."

She emphasized that healthy living habits should be encouraged at home and school.

"Everything from parents not providing the sugared beverages, to encouraging physical activity, to schools providing healthy foods as the only alternative to mealtime, all the way to city councils and legislatures setting up the community in such a way that a child can safely go to a park to play—all of these things we as a society create determine how that child grows up."

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