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Heavy Fate Written By Lindsay Kehl for Simple Again It’s no secret that our beloved United States of America is feeling the impact of the excess weight that its residents are carrying around these days. The fact is, the number of overweight and obese people in the US has increased significantly over the past 30 years and continues to rise. Predictably, American children are affected just as much, if not more, than adults. Go figure – monkey see, monkey do. A study from the Obesity Society estimated that one in every five children in the US are overweight. An overweight child is faced not only with increased health risks, but also problems academically and socially. All adults, including parents and nonparents, need to take responsibility to ensure a better life for the youngest generation of Americans who will one day be running the nation. The list of increased health risks is endless for children. Whether it is short or long term, an overweight child is more prone to sickness or disease. The most commonly known physical health risks are type 2 diabetes, stroke, heart disease, colon cancer and early puberty, none of which a child should ever have to experience! If that doesn’t scare you enough, there are also mental health risks that are increased by an unhealthy amount of fat on a child. Many overweight children suffer from anxiety and depression, which can spill over and affect other facets of their life, socially and academically. A child of any size faced with anxiety and/or depression is likely to have trouble obtaining and maintaining social relationships. Those psychological problems make it hard enough for a child to come out of his or her shell and make new friends; however it gets more difficult when you add poor body image to the mix. These are potential everyday problems that overweight children face. It just doesn’t seem fair! To make matters worse, overweight kids on average score low on math and reading assessments. Imagine having all of these things working against you before you even enter the so called "real world". Continued on next page. Nutrition Quarterly · 2021 – Volume 4 5 Featured Articles