Obesity in 7th graders increasing. What can parents do? – The Times Herald

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2010, file photo, a waist is measured during an obesity prevention study at Rush University Medical Center in Chicago. The bathroom scale may show a good number but how much of that weight is fat, not muscle? New studies are adding to the evidence that the scale doesn't always tell the whole story when it comes to weight-related health risks. (AP Photo/M. Spencer Green, File) ORG XMIT: WX110(Photo: M. Spencer Green, AP)

Over the past few years, St. Clair County has seen an increase in seventh grade students considered obese. During that time, the same group of students saw their rates of physical activity fall.

Port Huron based endocrinologistDr. Gaurav Bhalla said he is bothered by the trend.

"It made me kind of think it's just starting from this age and then it's just because those kids grow older, they have more diseases and more problems," Bhalla said.

Bhalla has been seeing longer wait times for patients seeking help with diabetes. It can sometimes take two or three months to get in for an appointment, Bhalla said.

Kids often follow their parents' behaviors in nutrition, so setting a positive example for one's children can play an important role in their health down the line, Bhalla said. Eating better and refraining from electronics around kids is one way to do this, he said.

Figures from the Michigan Profile for Healthy Youthrates of obesity have risen among St. Clair County seventh grade students while rates of physical activity have declined. Ninth and eleventh graders have more mixed results, but have some indicators above state and national averages.

During the 2013-2014 school year, 11.5 percent of county seventh students counted were considered obese, rising to 15.6 percent in 2017-2018. Over the same period of time, the amount of students found to be overweight came down from 17.6 percent to 15.9 percent.

Rates of physical activity have also fallen for seventh graders. In 2013-2014, 64 percent of seventhgraders were physically active for at least 60 minutes at least 5 days per week. By 2017-2018, it fell to 56.8 percent.

St. Clair County had an adult obesity rate of about33percent and an additional 31.2 percent considered overweight but not obese, according to 2016 Community Health Needs Assessment.

The results found that obesity spans socio-economic groups, but adults with college degrees or who make $75,000 or more are the least likely to be obese.

Count your calories and get moving.

"You have to know how many calories you are taking in before you can really alter that,"Dr. Annette Mercatante, the health departments medical health officer, wrote in an email."Regular physical activity is really the only factor under your control to burn more calories. Its important to start slow, make exercise enjoyable, and stay on routine."

Bhalla said it can be a good idea to seek professional help rather than trying to go it alone. Diet and exercise are the two biggest factors, Bhalla said, adding asking one's doctor can be an important first step.

"A lot of times, people get referred to thedietitian only when they ask for it," Bhalla said. "Just because sometimes, with all the medical issues they are having, it just never comes up that we could send this person to a dietitian."

Bhalla said both Lake Huron Medical Center and McLaren Port Huron both have good dietitian programs.

"That typically is covered by insurance only if they have diabetes, unfortunately," he said.

He recommended people to make a plan to exercise a certain amount each week and to take it seriously. Even if one's own goals aren't met every week, having the expectation in place can have an effect.

"Next week at least you have some guilt playing on your mind, and you will at least do something about it," he said. "But if you don't have a plan, you won't even think that you've done anything wrong."

Obesity can easily spill over into other aspects of health. Carrying an unhealthy level of body weight can put pressure on weak points through the body, worsening existing conditions and creating new problems.

For example, Bhalla said an orthopedist may refer a patient in need of a joint replacement to a weight loss program before proceeding.

"They are concerned the replacement is going to fail again because of the person's weight," Bhalla said.

Unhealthy body weight can make breathing more difficult, exacerbating conditions like asthma. It can also be a cause for heart disease.

"A lot of diseases start from obesity," Bhalla said.

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Jeremy Ervin covers environment, education and more. Contact him at (810) 989-6276 or jervin@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter@ErvinJeremy.

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Obesity in 7th graders increasing. What can parents do? - The Times Herald