Obese Valley Children Suffer Adult Ailments | Children's Health and ...

From The Fresno Bee?..

High blood pressure, high cholesterol, heartburn ? these are not diseases of old age anymore.

Doctors in the central San Joaquin Valley are diagnosing children and adolescents in growing numbers with ailments usually seen in adults, and they say childhood obesity is behind the trend.

A 5-year-old weighing 110 pounds and a 10-year-old pushing 260 have the same medical problems as their grandparents: hypertension, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, joint problems, fatty liver disease, sleep apnea, asthma, gallstones and gastro-esophageal reflux.

?All of this is really tied to the growing problem that we are seeing in our younger people of just being too heavy for their frame and being overweight,? said Dr. Yvonne Juarez, chief of pediatrics at Kaiser Permanente-Fresno.

In many cities in the Valley, more than 40% of the children are overweight or obese, according to the Center for Health Policy Research at the University of California at Los Angeles. Statewide, 38% of children are overweight or obese.

Doctors have had to adapt practices for obese children with complicated illnesses who take more time at appointments and need more follow-up visits.

While the doctors can treat the medical conditions, they say they worry that the underlying reason for the illnesses often remains, and as long as children are obese, they face long-term risks for health problems.

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Source: http://www.lensaunders.com/wp/?p=2617

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