Overweight and obesity are rapidly becoming common conditions for children. Approximately 10 percent of children between the ages of 2 and 5 and 15 percent of children between 6 and 19 are considered overweight.

Exactly how children become overweight or obese is a complex issue. Possible reasons can include lifestyle, genetic factors, or medical reasons. It is important to rule out genetic factors or medical conditions that may contribute to a child’s weight problem, which is just what the Weight Assessment Clinic at the University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital does. The clinic’s team assesses patients to determine if there is a medical reason for their weight problem or whether they have developed medical problems as a result of their weight problem. The clinic then refers patients to a variety of treatment programs to help them improve their health through weight control.

The majority of children seen in the Weight Assessment Clinic do not have a medical reason for their weight problem. Many overweight children begin their weight climb innocently with very small increases in caloric intake which eventually can cause them to gain weight on the same diet that may not result in weight gain in other children. This situation is very unfair, but very real. There are simply some children who cannot consume the usual amount of healthy calories without abnormal weight gain, unless they are willing to significantly increase their physical activity. This can happen even to active, athletic children. These children often suffer when they feel accused of “causing” their obesity, because they really have lived an overall healthy lifestyle.

Other overweight children are not much different from adults who are overweight: They often consume foods that are very convenient but not very nutritious. Eating large portions and engaging in fewer physical activities and more sedentary activities, such as playing video games and watching television, are also common culprits. Increased frequency of eating at restaurants and use of packaged foods also contribute to childhood weight problems. Packaged foods require parents to read and understand nutrition labels because as ingredients and portion sizes change, it becomes increasingly difficult to know what is really being consumed. Parents also have less knowledge about foods because processed foods are so complex and so far removed from their basic forms. Healthy foods are also more expensive than packaged foods, and there is far less media coverage promoting fruits and vegetables than promoting fast food.

Connecting with Parents and Children

Treating overweight and obese children can be a challenge because it often means changing the habits of an entire family. According to Kathy Clark, pediatric nurse practitioner, an important part of helping overweight and obese children is making a connection with both parents and children about the weight problem, because if one of them is not onboard, it is harder for the child to be successful.

The Weight Assessment Clinic provides a very sensible look at a very sensitive issue. According to Clark, “We want to help people turn back the clock, look at where the weight gain began, grieve over the challenge of weight gain, and then pick up and move on, taking action to turn the situation around. Sometimes people just want to know that somebody thought it through and didn’t just say ‘your child needs to eat less.’”