The Briefing Room

General Category => Health/Education => Topic started by: rangerrebew on June 23, 2017, 12:15:03 pm

Title: All kids should be screened for obesity
Post by: rangerrebew on June 23, 2017, 12:15:03 pm

All kids should be screened for obesity


June 23, 2017

Earlier this week, an influential group of experts in preventive care affirmed that children age 6 and older should be screened for obesity and referred to intensive treatment when necessary.

While the Affordable Care Act requires that nearly all plans cover such treatment, most kids don't have access to programs featuring exercise, nutrition and counseling, according to an editorial published in JAMA Internal Medicine.

http://www.news-medical.net/news/20170623/All-kids-should-be-screened-for-obesity.aspx
Title: Re: All kids should be screened for obesity
Post by: EC on June 23, 2017, 12:27:42 pm
I'll do the screening for free.

"Yep, he's a fat bastard. Next."
Title: Re: All kids should be screened for obesity
Post by: Applewood on June 23, 2017, 12:56:57 pm
...most kids don't have access to programs featuring exercise, nutrition and counseling,...

That is utter BS.  Schools have physical education classes.  In fact, they probably devote more resources to PE and sports than they do to teaching history, geography and science.  In my day, I had PE 4 days a week and Health classes 1 day a week.  In health class we learned nutrition, among other things.

And where are the parents?  Seems to me the parents should be able to give their children proper nutritious meals, restrict the amount of food they eat, and take away the video games so the kids go out and play.  This is another case of parents abdicating their parental responsibilities and looking to government to raise their kids.
Title: Re: All kids should be screened for obesity
Post by: Mom MD on June 23, 2017, 01:04:35 pm
The other problem is the BMI which is the most common tool to assess obesity does not work at the extremes of the scale.  My daughter who was a ballerina and wore a size 0 in high school screened as overweight.  Ridiculous, but muscle mass is not differentiated from fat mass on the bmi, and thin athletic young people will often screen as overweight
Title: Re: All kids should be screened for obesity
Post by: Silver Pines on June 23, 2017, 07:49:12 pm
I'll do the screening for free.

"Yep, he's a fat bastard. Next."

@EC

 :silly:

I was going to say...screened?