Epidemic of Obesity: Ending the Food Fight by David Ludwig

"EPIDEMIC OF OBESITY ON RISE IN U.S." the headline reads. "PREVALENCE OF OBESITY AMONG BOYS AND GIRLS AGES 6-11 QUADRUPLES OF THE PAST 25 YEARS!"

The statistics are grim. Since 67 percent of children overweight between 11 and 14 years of age will remain overweight or obese throughout their adult years, their clocks are already ticking on the likelihood of cardiovascular disease, Type-B diabetes, and other diseases that formerly had their onset in late middle age, but now show up in children and young adults. The prediction is that the current generation of children and teens will be the first American generation to show a decline in life expectancy (not to mention being the death knell for Medicare!) For parents these warnings are ominous. But limiting food for children goes against all we hold dear!

Ending the Food Fight by David Ludwig offers help in the emotionally charged battleground between healthy living and the fast food, television, and Game Boy environment in which our children live. Ludwig, a specialist in endocrincology and professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, has recently (2007) published this book for parents dealing with the problem of childhood obesity. Director of the Boston Children's Hospital Optimal Weight for Life program (OWL), Dr. Ludwig has the latest studies and personal experience counseling young patients and their families to draw upon in this useful and upbeat book.

Dr. Ludwig agrees that there is no magic panacea for overweight in the modern world. He recognizes the role of individual biology in body composition, but firmly points out that our genes haven't altered since the World War II period, when overweight children were rare in America. The difference therefore lies in our behavior and environment. Lack of exercise required for daily living and the dearth of outdoor play, added to the ease of obtaining high calorie foods 24-7, have created a situation in which 12 percent of Caucasian and 20 percent of African American, Hispanic, and Native Americans are fat. With 60 percent of adults overweight or obese, some children rarely see a normal-sized person--except in television shows or advertisements for fast food!

As a first move toward weight control, Ludwig advocates a nine-week program which begins with a "great cleanout" in which the whole family gathers up what he calls "fake food," chips, cookies, microwaveable mac and cheese, etc., and throws it away. The family together shops for "real food," lean meats, whole grain breads and cereals, nuts, fruits, vegetables, healthy oils, and low- or non-fat dairy products. Ludwig leans toward avoidance of high-glycemic foods (white flour products, sugars, potatoes), especially in the initial phase, and insists that the all members of the family, however slim, eat the same foods. Quantities are not usually limited--within reason. The very choice to eat home-prepared meals of natural foods is frequently all it takes to see children grow gradually slimmer.

He also advocates building in outdoor playtime and substituting active family outings for television watching, video games, and eating out at fast food restaurants. Rather than insist on obese children actually losing pounds, he favors a lifestyle in which the child will maintain a steady weight as he or she grows out of obesity. He pays especial attention to the overweight teen, who, unlike young children, has to take charge of his or her eating and exercise program to make progress. Recipes and menu suggestions are appended, along with an extensive bibliography.

A recent book which is both informed by scholarship and written in a reader-friendly style, David Ludwig's Ending the Food Fight is a good place to start toward a longer and healthier life for all members of the family.

Much of the same information and advice can be found in the familiar bulleted style of the 2006 Conquering Childhood Obesity for Dummies which also advocates natural foods, avoiding fast food and fake food vending machines at school, empty calorie snacks, and sedentary lifestyles. Another substantial book published in 2006 is The Healthiest Kid in the Neighborhood by Dr. William Sears, et al.