Air date: January 29, 2012

Host: Eric Metcalf

Email
Share this segment
Download MP3

The statistics are easy to see: One out of three kids in America is now overweight or obese. But a new study finds that this issue may not be getting enough discussion in pediatricians’ offices. Researchers looked at a decade’s worth of national surveys on nearly 5,000 kids. All were at least a little overweight.

"What we found is that most parents of overweight and obese children reported never having been told that their child was overweight. That percentage did improve from the late 1990s to 2008, but even in recent years, over 70 percent of parents of overweight children report never having been told, and just about 1/3 of parents of very obese children report having never been told."

That was lead researcher Eliana Perrin, an associate professor of pediatrics at UNC, Chapel Hill. But pediatricians discuss more upsetting problems than this every day. Why is a kid’s weight such a, uh, heavy topic?

"We’ve done some prior research showing that a pediatrician’s perception of his or her own weight may make this harder or easier depending on how they look at themselves. And then there’s the worry that parents will take offense at what we say. So basically pediatricians fear the conversation isn’t going to go well or that they don’t know how to help."

She’s found some ways to make the talk easier. You can apply the old Garfield saying:

"I’m not overweight, I’m undertall."

Which means that kids have that magical ability to grow several feet taller. Parents and doctors can plan some changes, such as more exercise and nutritious food and less TV, to help the kids grow into a healthier weight.

And instead of the dreaded word "obese," Dr. Perrin prefers,

"Overweight or unhealthy weight. It brings together the connection of weight and health, and really that’s what this is all about."

This conversation could help a lot of kids these days, if the grownups can work up the nerve to discuss it.

To learn more about childhood obes … er … unhealthy weight, follow Sound Medicine on Facebook and Twitter.

I’m Eric Metcalf, and instead of losing 10 pounds this spring, I’d rather grow to 6’2”.

Additional Resources:

• More about Dr. Perrin's research at UNC Chapel Hill.