picturetank.com
Français Anglais Retour Retour

Growing in width (childhood obesity)

Lourdes Segade

Anna, Gabriel, Alejandro and Marta do not know each other –only Marta and Alejandro, who are sister and brother. Despite this fact they have lots of things in common starting by the obviousness of their overweight or, in the case of the two boys, their obesity. These four children are amongst the 26,3% of obese or overweight children and youngsters in Spain (between 2 and 24 years old), according to the Spanish Ministry of Health and Consumption. And they are also part of the 35% of obese children in the world. It is not rare to find parents who think that their fat children will get thinner when they grow up. They do not know that obesity is a chronic disease and that there's no effective treatment for kids but the change of habits. Plus these parents are not aware that obesity is not a matter of image but that also can move on towards heart diseases, liver diseases or the most common thing in children: diabetes. Three of the kids in this reportage were contacted through doctor Joan Bel, children's endocrinologist at the pediatrics service of the University Hospital Germans Tries i pujol, in Badalona (Barcelona, Spain). Specially Gabriel and Alejandro are under strict medical control in order to avoid complications of their obesity since they are about to develop sugar intolerance. 'More than 95% of the cases are environmental and that means that changes of habits in the last 10 years have been unquestionably harmful for physical fit', says Dr. Bel. He affirms that feeding is deficient by excess and that there's a lack of physical activity. 'It is not necessary to eat a lot to get obese or overweight', Dr. Bel continues, 'just a little bit more than we need every day'. Going with these kids to the doctor shows a true intention of changing habits. But they cannot do it by themselves if families do not give example and once they are at home things do not seem to be so easy. Rewards under the shape of candy or confectionery, time spent playing video-games and little vegetables for lunch or dinner make it difficult to think of a happy end for these kids. 'I go to the swimming pool in order to lose some weight', Gabriel says proudly. But he surely consumes more calories than he burns. Also Alejandro is proud to say that he plays basketball, 'and I sweat a lot', he assures. So does Ana, who practices Kenpo, a martial art that helps her keep agile and coordinated. Ana is not yet an obese girl. Not even a very fat one. But her mother is worried about the possibility of raising an obese girl, like her sister was. Ana's aunt had to have an operation in order to prevent serious medical problems. She weighted 150 kilos. Ana follows a diet and plays sports and that makes her feel good. Though as any kid sometimes she eats candy and prohibited food and drinks. The four kids that appear in this reportage are under medical treatment and are aware of their problem. 'When I was younger some friends would pick on me because I was fatty. Now there are some of my friends who are also fat so they do not say anything to me. But I want to appear in this reportage to let them know that i will achieve it, that at the end I will lose weight', Alejandro explains. Something similar happens to Gabriel, another of the protagonists, who tells about his aim: 'I follow a diet and I feel much better. I go little by little but I will keep on struggling until i am as slim as a rake. I am thrilled about the idea of appearing in this photos because I can help to struggle some other kids who are overweight'. These kids have taken a way that can keep them away from some risks when they grow old. They have been lucky to count with their parents' help, the doctor's and some teachers'. But there are still lots of other children who without that help are increasing day after day the chances of being obese adults, with the dangers that come along with the disease. ------------------------------------- En 1998 l’OMS a déclaré l’obésité cause sanitaire mondiale. L’Europe n’est pas épargnée: l’Espagne se situe en seconde position, derrière l’Angleterre, des pays de la communauté où l’obésité infantile progresse de façon alarmante. « L’obésité progresse rapidement et la prise de poids de l’Europe a des conséquences dévastatrices pour la santé publique et un coût économique considérable », s’inquiète Markos Kyprianou, le commissaire européen en charge de la santé et de la protection des consommateurs. In 1998, the WHO (World Health Organization) declared obesity as a Global Epidemy. It is advancing all over the world. Only the poorest nations are, yet, far from a tendency that is starting to extend itself to countries like Argentina, where beside a kid starving there is another one with morbid obesity. Spain does not scape from this epidemy. In the European ranking of children obesity, this country is in the second place, right after England, and followed by Italy, Malt and Greece. 16% of Spanish children are obese or overweighted, over-doubling the rates they had fifteen years ago. If it continues growing with this rythm it will soon get to the almost 20% of the US. Maybe that day we will realize that being fatty does not necessarily mean being healthy, like our grandmas thought. And the danger of being late to be aware of the problem is that today’s fatty boys and girls can easily be tomorrow’s obese if they do not change some of their habits.



top
Retour Retour