Fighting Childhood Obesity

Does the health of our children matter?

Childhood obesity has reached epidemic proportions in America. Obesity rates have more than doubled in children and quadrupled in adolescents in America in the past 30 years. [1]  Type-2 diabetes, which was previously referred to as ‘adult-onset diabetes’ is now a much more common problem in patients of younger ages, with children being diagnosed with the metabolic disease.  Today, there are over 200,000 children in the US who have Type-2 diabetes.[2]  This number, however, is a large underestimate since it does not include children who have not been diagnosed or those with pre-diabetes, which would make the numbers even more staggering.

girl&daddy

Does the health of our children matter?

Absolutely.

Whether it is as parents, doctors, coaches, friends or communities, we all know that the health of our children should be at the core of our priorities. How does it make you feel that our children are the first generation with a shorter life span than their parents?  We at IMUA feel called to action, as do so many others who realize the enormity of the problem.

Last month, Seattle Seahawks football player, Michael Bennett, envisioned and sponsored the OCEAN Health Festival which IMUA doctors, Dr Ignacio and Dr Gesik, were proud to be a part of. The week-long event included cooking demonstrations by Sam Choy, nutrition education and family health and activity fair. The aim of this unifying event was to ‘provide families the opportunity to obtain valuable information on how to make better choices that will lead to positive health changes and a healthier lifestyle for Hawaii’s keiki.’ [3]

Dr Gesik, Sam Choy and Dr Ignacio

Dr Gesik, Sam Choy and Dr Ignacio led cooking demonstrations during the OCEAN Health Festival

This was a wonderful event that brought our community together, united in the mission to help educate our children that health starts at home, and in the small choices that we make every day. Centered on health as a lifestyle, food as fuel, and activity as play, the message of the OCEAN festival is one that shows that we as a community can help our keiki have a healthier and happier tomorrow.

If you’re wondering how to get your kids more excited about healthy eating– don’t miss our next blog post Seven Surprisingly Simple Tips to get your Kids to eat Healthier.’

 



[2] http://www.diabetes.org/diabetes-basics/statistics/

[3] As per Michael Bennett, NFL star.

Share this post:
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
WhatsApp
Telegram
Email
Pinterest
Reddit