Obesity dimming those wedding bells

By KATHERINE HOBY and AGENCIES

Overweight girls are more likely to experience social and economic problems in adulthood than their slimmer peers, a study of obesity in adolescents has found.

The study, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that overweight girls tended to live below the poverty line, have lower education levels and lower incomes in later life.

They were also less likely to get married.

The study also found significant problems for overweight boys. Some of them are starting to develop Type 2 diabetes, which usually affects people over the age of 40.

Karen Church, of Weight Watchers New Zealand, said self-esteem was a central issue for many overweight people.

"In Western culture at least, fat is not in. If a person sees they are not desirable and someone else is chosen over them, their esteem is bound to suffer," she said.

"If they see themselves as not good enough they might settle for second best in life or for just anyone who shows them any attention."

Ms Church said obesity was a disability, a fact that many people did not recognise.

"It is debilitating, it is a disability. And any disability limits your choices," she said.

An obese person might expend a lot of energy dealing with issues related to his or her weight, she said. That meant less time and energy spent dealing with a career, family, or other issues. And others picked up on the mood.

"A person's first perception is sealed on looks, and sealed within a few seconds," she said.

"If that person has limited energy to devote to appearance, and a low self worth, they might appear slovenly or even lazy. It's just like kids who won't pick a fat child for their team because of the way they look."

Ms Church said society was not yet politically correct enough not to be prejudiced against the overweight.

"We still laugh at overweight people, and stare, and make jokes."

Dr Clare Collins, a lecturer in nutrition and dietetics at the University of Newcastle and dietician at John Hunter Children's Hospital, will run an Australian study on the issue.

Dr Collins believes the problems faced by overweight girls are a direct result of the public's perception of obesity.

"I guess it really illustrates society's prejudice against people who are overweight, because there was already information saying overweight people have low self-esteem compared with people who aren't overweight," Dr Collins said.

"With girls it is quite tragic."

Dr Collins said the biggest epidemic from adolescent obesity in boys had been Type 2 diabetes.

"That normally occurs over the age of 40, but is now appearing in people as young as 14 or 15."

The longer people have the disease, the more likely they are to develop the effects, so the fact that people are contracting the ailment at such a young age is a major concern, she said.

"The longer you have it, the more likely you are to have the effects, such as eye disease, kidney disease and small blood vessel disease," Dr Collins said.

According to the study, overweight boys are also twice as likely to get cancer or have a stroke before they reach 55, regardless of their adult weight.

However, there is hope.

Dr Collins said research showed that educating parents about exercise and dieting for their children was the crucial element to reducing the problem.

"We are actually taking parents in a group and trying to give them the skills to change the diets of the kids," Dr Collins said.

"If you intervene with the parents rather than the kids themselves you actually have more success."

* If you would like to talk to someone at Weight Watchers, call free on 0800-868-746.