Now is the time to help a million children overcome weight issues

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In the past 30 years, our children have doubled in size.

Some may argue that kids come in all shapes and sizes. However, it's an issue when kids are overweight or obese.

"Individuals (who) are overweight and bordering on obese are much more likely to acquire the chronic diseases that usually come later on in life," said Donald Juzwishin, CEO of the Health Council of Canada based in Toronto.

According to Juzwishin, the body mass ratio, or the size of the individual relative to their body mass, is the formula used to determine the healthiest weight for each person. If the individual's body mass ratio falls outside of their healthy range, they are considered to be overweight or obese.

"From 1978 to 2008, the number of children who are overweight or obese has doubled," he said. "So in 1978, only an eighth of children were either overweight or obese."

Juzwishin said in the past there wasn't the concern of children being obese because they had better diets and more exercise.

But according to a report released by the Health Council of Canada, called Their Future Is Now: Healthy Choices for Canada's Children and Youth, the number of children who are obese and their weight are rising.

"A quarter of children ages two to 17 were overweight or obese and that equals 25 per cent of children who are overweight," he said. "That translates into a million children who are overweight and another 500,000 (who) are obese."

Canada actually ranks fifth overall on the list of fattest countries and there are many reasons our kids are getting larger.

Juzwishin said one reason is that for the most part children would rather play video games, watch television or be on the computer than be outside. And simply put, the less physical activity a child participates in, the less calories burned and more weight gained.

"Weight has to do with consumption. It has to do with the quality of the food consumed and ... the amount of exercise that one gets," he said.

That being said, metabolism and the ability to burn off calories differs for each person but Juzwishin said everyone should follow Canada's Food Guide to ensure we are getting what we need. Then it's easier to determine the cause of weight gain. Is it the child's metabolic rate that is working slower or the type of food the child is or isn't consuming?

Some kids are involved in multiple activities so it's hard to eat healthy as parents choose fast food on the go. For lower-income parents, it's a matter of affordability.

"We see from the data that the socio-economically more privileged have children that are within the normal weight range more than the families that come from what might be economically-deprived environments," he said. "That's a reflection of perhaps not being able to have access to as nutritious foods."

It also could mean they also don't have the same access to sports or other physical activities. If they live in neighbourhoods that are prone to crime, many of these kids have less access to parks and other outdoor spaces.

"If the park is not a safe place to go and your children can't go there and play safely, than that's going to have an impact on the amount of activities your children are able to experience," Juzwishin said.

Juzwishin said less than half of Canadian youth are active enough to meet the Canada guidelines for healthy growth and development so it's not surprising the number of children who are overweight and obese has doubled.

Whatever the economic status of the child, often it's the lack of parental guidance and presence that is a cause of weight gain in children.

So the solution?

To keep weight down or off, kids must eat a balanced diet and exercise and it's the parents who can help.

Juzwishin said children's eating habits are developed based on modeling, example and instruction. When the family is together at home, it provides the perfect opportunity to guide kids to healthy eating. As kids become teens, the hope is that they have learned healthy eating and living habits.

"We want to see children developing the kinds of habits and discipline in their younger years that then carry on into their adult life so that they're not having to battle being overweight," he said.

Gaining weight is usually a continuum, Juzwishin said, and becoming overweight can lead to things such as the onset of Type 2 diabetes, joint problems, high cholesterol, sleep apnea and asthma in the person's teens and early adulthood.

In the present day, obesity can have psychological impacts on children such as self-esteem and social issues, which can lead to academic problems at school and possibly affect the rest of their lives.

"The opportunities for people like that (who) are suffering from those both physical and psychological impairments are going to be affecting their socio-economic status down the road," he said.

This means, Juzwishin said, the time to start combating and looking for solutions to the problem is now, before childhood obesity reaches even more alarming proportions.

"They are our future and our investment in ensuring they are as healthy as can be is so very important," he said.