Childhood Obesity

• Inadequate intake of fruits and fish by teenagers may stunt the growth of their lungs and promote pulmonary fibrosis later in life.
• We know that genetic factors play several roles in the developmentof obesity.  Now comes the finding that early infection with a common virus (adenovirus) may contribute to obesity.  It appears that human stem cells exposed to this virus become fat cells; and that a higher % of fat people are infected with this agent.  Does this really mean that “The Devil Made Me Do It?”  No.  As with all other “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune…” that affect our lives, we play the cards in our hands.
• “Report Says Overweight Children Face Widespread Stigma, Unhappy Lives”.  “The quality of life for kids who are obese is comparable to the quality oflife of kids who have cancer.”  (by Rebecca M. Puhl, Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity, in The Day (www.theday.com), Friday, July 13, 2007, pC5).  This is a serious challenge for parents, obese or otherwise, to monitor their children’s eating habits as much as they attend to their immunizations, dental care and doctor visits.  And for pre-teen and teen girls, I believe that the introduction of the use of oral contraceptives during those early years has produced an epidemic of gross obesity in this group.

GS