Snouts in the trough? Battling obesity

Egerton Chang, Contributor

Ever notice how big (fat) politicians become once they are in power? Or out of power for that matter? I would suggest that if one were to check on the gain in weight of politicians, of whichever party, one would find that this is greater than the weight gain of the population in general in whatever period sampled. It would certainly appear so. Each and every one of us can quickly think of a name or conjure up an image to prove the point.

One would be hard-pressed to single out more than a handful from either party who could be used as examples to be used in the fight against obesity.

Obesity is growing into a major epidemic in the world and in Jamaica in particular.

In 2009, the obesity level rose to 26.7 per cent of the general population in the United States. Moreover, the rates are probably underestimated because they are based on a phone survey in which 400,000 participants were asked their weight and height instead of having it measured by someone else, and people have a notorious tendency to describe themselves as taller and lighter than they really are.

Black women had the highest obesity rate: 41.9 per cent. Over all, blacks and Hispanics were more likely than whites to be obese, and the more education people had, the less likely they were to be heavy. This is an ominous trend.

A 5'4" person is obese if he/she weighs 174 pounds, as is a 5'10" person who weighs 209 pounds or more. Both would have a body-mass index, or BMI, of 30; scores of 30 or over are defined as obese.

BMIs can be immediately calculated on any number of internet sites - just type in "body mass index". A table indicating the lowest weight considered obese follows:

HEIGHT WEIGHT (lbs) (BMI =30)

4 ft. 10 in. 143

4 ft. 11 in. 148

5 ft. 0 in. 153

5 ft. 1 in. 158

5 ft. 2 in. 164

5 ft. 3 in. 169

5 ft. 4 in. 174

5 ft. 5 in. 180

5 ft. 6 in. 186

5 ft. 7 in. 191

5 ft. 8 in. 197

5 ft. 9 in. 203

5 ft. 10 in. 209

5 ft. 11 in. 215

6 ft. 0 in. 221

Note: Anyone weighing equal or more than the weight indicated for his/her height is considered obese.

JAMAICAN children affected

Almost one-fifth of Jamaican children, three and four years old, are clinically obese, an unpublished study has revealed. The study, conducted in 2007 by the University of the West Indies, revealed that 17 per cent of the children in this age range were overweight.

According to the Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey 2006 (Ministry of Health), one out of every four Jamaican adolescents between the ages of 15 and 19 years is overweight. This finding is also supported by the monthly clinic summary report from hospitals and clinics across the island which shows that 6.7 per cent of children below the age of five are overweight.

Compounding the problem, the British Medical Journal recently reported that children don't tend to outgrow their "baby" fat. Researchers found that children who were overweight at 11 were just as likely to be overweight at 16.

Concurrently, paediatricians and childhood-obesity researchers are reporting more frequent cases of obesity-related diseases such as type 2 diabetes, asthma, and hypertension, which had been rare in the past. These can lead to coronary heart disease, stroke, gall bladder disease, and some forms of cancer while being problems in and of themselves.

Dr Jacqueline E. Campbell, a family physician whose special interest is pharmacology, in an article entitled 'Obesity Epidemic in Children', states:

"There are many contributing factors. These include too many soft drinks and junk foods available at home and school; less opportunity for active play inside school and at home; and too much TV. More meals are eaten outside the home, there is easy availability of inexpensive fast food with larger portion sizes, and aggressive TV advertising of junk foods.

"The solution is quite simple: exercise more and eat less. Early parenting decisions set the stage, for better or worse. Breastfeeding reduces the child's risk for obesity later in life."

Dr Campbell suggests:

• "Be a good role model. Parents who watch more TV have children who watch more TV, and children eat the way their parents eat. If you dine on chicken nuggets (or hamburgers) and French fries, your child is likely to do the same.
  
• "Don't keep unhealthy foods in the house. If there are no soft drinks, potato chips or white bread available, your child can't snack on them. (And neither can you!)."
  
• "Let them know that no matter what, they are our children and we love them (including future politicians), no matter their size or BMI."

I will add: Get rid of the other white 'drug' - granulated sugar. Eating less (and the right foods) is the prevention; exercise is the cure.

CHANG'S SIMPLE SOLUTION

Cut out all sugars in everything you drink. Do not sweeten coffee or tea. Drink water or diet drinks. (When I was young, I was taught that Jamaican water from the tap was one of the best in the world - no need for bottled water). Use artificial sweeteners if you must. Cut all alcohol. This is guaranteed to reduce your intake by over 500 calories per day, even eating all you normally eat.

It does not matter whether you are a man or a woman, or how much you weigh, slashing 500 calories per day will result in a loss of one pound per week - all other things being equal. Cutting 250 calories per day equals half pound per week loss. Any little bit will help. If you increase your activity level from sedentary to light exercise, or from light to moderately active, you can increase this rate of loss.

It would be good if the politicians from both sides would set an example in this war against obesity, instead of providing the images conjured up as prime examples of having their snouts in the trough.

Egerton Chang is a businessman who may be contacted at e_rider69@hotmail.com with the name(s) that came to mind earlier. Feedback may be sent to columns@gleanerjm.com