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By Vivian Richardson, Ivanhoe Health Correspondent
ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Unhealthy diets, not enough exercise, and too much television it's all leading to an increased number of children suffering chronic conditions like diabetes and asthma. The whole country will feel the strain, as the health problems stretch health care and social welfare systems, according to Harvard researchers.
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While rates of obesity, asthma and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have increased in the last 30 years, James Perrin, M.D., of the Center for Child and Adolescent Health Policy, MassGeneral Hospital for Children in Boston, told Ivanhoe there are ways to reverse the trends.
"It seems to us if we're going to try to make some real changes in this, it's going to have to be prevention," Dr. Perrin said. The most promising ways to do this are "to change children's diets, improve their exercise and activities, and to limit their exposure to media, especially without adult supervision."
After reviewing numerous studies, Dr. Perrin and his colleagues reported rates of obesity in children and adolescents have more than tripled -- from 5 percent in the 1970s to 18 percent today. Asthma has more than doubled to nearly 9 percent. Now, nearly 6 percent of school-aged children have been diagnosed with ADHD, which is nearly double the previous rate. Overall, nearly 18 percent of children and adolescents in the United States have some kind of chronic health condition.
Dr. Perrin explained there is a genetic basis for these three conditions, though genes along cannot account for the increase. Rather, the societal and environmental changes over the last three decades are mostly to blame. Children are watching more television and playing more video games and spending less time playing outside. And the ubiquitous nature of fast food, junk food and sugary drinks gives harried parents a fast, albeit unhealthy, way to feed hungry families.
If the current trends continue, Dr. Perrin and his colleagues predict today's children will be tomorrow's diabetes and heart disease patients. Additionally, all of the chronic conditions seeing increases can limit a person's educational and employment success.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Interview with James Perrin, M.D., The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2007;297:2755-2759
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