{"id":1157,"date":"2015-11-06T15:32:59","date_gmt":"2015-11-06T20:32:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/new.greatflorida.com\/blog\/?p=1157"},"modified":"2026-04-16T21:21:50","modified_gmt":"2026-04-17T01:21:50","slug":"floridas-kids-fat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.greatflorida.com\/blog\/2015\/floridas-kids-fat\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Making Florida\u2019s Kids Fat?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Childhood obesity is a problem not only for children in Florida but one in three kids in the United States is overweight.<\/p>\n

Recently, a group of researchers from Duke-National University of Singapore analyzed children\u2019s food diaries, changes in Body Mass Index (BMI), weight, height and physical activity. Their findings show children who gained the most weight over the course of three years ate more butter and margarine, breaded fish and chicken, processed meat, French fries, milk, sweets and sugary beverages.<\/p>\n

The authors singled out one food in particular, potato chips. \u201cPotato chips are the most obesity-promoting foods for youths to consume.\u201d Foods associated with staying at a healthy weight included, whole grains and high fiber breakfast cereals.\"eating-chips_0\"<\/p>\n

\u201cChildhood obesity is threatening the future of our children,\u201d said Dustyn Shroff<\/a>, Vice President of GreatFlorida Insurance<\/a>, Florida\u2019s largest independent healthcare insurance agency<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0\u201cI think parents are sometimes in denial over the serious health threat this poses to our children. It is the responsibility of the parents to make sure our children are healthy, so we can provide them with a positive future.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a> (AAP) childhood obesity can lead to diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. Children can also suffer from poor self-esteem and depression.<\/p>\n

So how do you know if your child is overweight? Not all children carrying extra weight are considered overweight or obese. \u00a0The Mayo Clinic<\/a>\u00a0reports you cannot just look at a person and make this evaluation.\u00a0 Some children have larger than average body frames. They can carry different amount of body fat during various stages of development.<\/p>\n

The Centers for Disease and Prevention <\/a>(CDC) defines an overweight child as one who has a BMI at 85 percentile or above. A child with a 95 percentile BMI or higher is considered obese. \u00a0A BMI is age and sex-specific for children and teens. \u201cBMI is calculated by dividing a person\u2019s weight in kilograms by the square of height in meters.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lifestyle choices are usually the cause for overweight children. It is important that parents and family members model healthy habits. The AAP recommends the following habits to guarantee your children are healthy.<\/p>\n