Obesity epidemic alarms doctors

By AINSLEY THOMSON

New Zealand is facing an obesity epidemic, with one in seven of pre-teen children grossly overweight.

Over-protective and inactive parents can take some of the blame and need to stop the problem getting worse, experts say.

Childhood obesity leads to serious health problems, including Type 2 diabetes - previously seen only in adults - high blood pressure, and hip and joint problems. Diabetes alone is predicted to cost taxpayers more than $1 billion a year by 2021.

A study of 2200 Auckland primary school children two years ago found 14 per cent were obese. The problem was even worse in Pacific Island children - one in four was obese, making them one of the fattest ethnic groups in the world.

And since then the figure has increased, says one of the study's authors, Auckland University Associate Professor of Paediatrics Dr Wayne Cutfield.

"We see children weighing between 130kg and 150kg who are intermediate school age."

All Black wing Jonah Lomu weighs about 118kg while prop Kees Meeuws is about 117kg.

Dr Cutfield attributed severe childhood obesity to a decrease in physical activity as children spend more time watching television and playing computer games, as well as to parents' attitudes.

"Children don't walk to school any more and they don't ride their bikes. They get taken to school. And that is because of concerns about safety on the way to school."

Dr Cutfield, who is also director of endocrinology at Starship children's hospital, said he thought parents should be stricter about how much television children watched.

"I would like to see parents encouraged to be more physically active with their children. It's about getting outdoors, getting out of the car and out of the house."

Auckland weight consultant Dr Anne-Thea McGill said children were not to blame for their weight problems because their sedentary lifestyle was all they knew. But parents had to learn some hard lessons.

"They say, 'Oh, it's just puppy fat, it'll drop off.' Generally it doesn't."

Parents should be active themselves, encouraging children to go with them when they exercised, she said.

But dietitian and Dietetic Association spokeswoman Lyn Gillanders said many families were in a no-win situation because they feared for their children's safety if they let them loose outside. "Do you keep your kids indoors and safe, or let them out and worry every minute?"

Many parents were not home when their children got home from school and had little choice but to let the television play babysitter, she said.

Some parents knew their children were not getting enough exercise because they were afraid to send them outside to play.

Fulltime Auckland mother Anne Collins said she encouraged her two sons to play outside but always liked to know where they were.

"When I was a kid we used to swim in the local river or bike to the park and we'd be away for hours," she said. "It was never a problem.

"Now kids are not safe with all the strangers around and the awful traffic. I'm torn between wanting my kids to get out into the New Zealand backyard and wondering if they will be safe walking down the street."

Parents Centre public relations manager Judith Stanley-Dyer agreed that parents should look for any opportunity to be active with their children.

As well as educating children on "stranger danger" and the importance of keeping safe near roads, parents must give them the confidence to take calculated risks.

"Being safe doesn't just mean protecting children from danger, it is about taking calculated risks."

- Additional reporting: Katherine Hoby