The Wall Street Journal published a story concerning obesity treatments a children. We’re not talking 8 year olds, but 2 and 3 year olds. Yep, the obesity mindset is being bred into health care workers to the point they are looking at babies.
The classic model of relying on the BMI is used, which we’ve covered before as BMI is a lie.
Now, I am all for understanding and appreciating that a certain percentage of babies might be obese. Seriously, there are metabolic disorders and such that can cause real, serious medical issues. But look at the numbers.
The WSJ has a graph to look at. Take a peek at it, but here is what you need to know is in 1974 the number of overweight children 2-5 was at 5%. By 2006 it was up to 12%. The WSJ uses data from the CDC, but it doesn’t take into consideration:
- The definition of obese has changed between 1973 and 2006.
- The number of subjects used for the data hasn’t remained consistent.
Going past the datasets the program is, well, a little on the obvious side. Healthy Kids, Healthy Weight is another program of common sense and rehashing of available information that is probably little more than a grant grab. On the positive side, Loree Vick stars in a professional video that acts as an informerical for the program. They even include a toll free number.
I’m all for intervention to avoid obesity later in life. There are a few things that cause concern:
- There is such a thing as too young.
- The parents should be held accountable for what they are doing.
- The same old common sense programs should be labeled as such.
Obesity and children is a logical extension of money making rampant in the obesity solutions market. I wonder how far they’ll take it.
