Children’s Hospitals and Clinics checks up on Minnesota child obesity

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Children’s Hospitals and Clinics checks up on Minnesota child obesity

Posted by: Colleen Stoxen Updated: July 16, 2012 - 12:41 PM

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Children’s Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota partnered with the University of Minnesota State Health Access Data Assistance Center to assemble data to better understand how Minnesota is doing on some key indicators of children’s health.

Its July checkup report explored preventing childhood obesity. It noted that while the obesity rate has doubled among adults, it has tripled among children. One in six children age 2 to 19 is now obese, a rate three times higher than it was in 1980. Another one in six children is overweight, meaning that one of every three children in America is obese or overweight.

In Minnesota, 23.1 percent have weight problems. Among Minnesota adolescents ages 10-17, 11.1 percent are obese. Children who live in families below the poverty level or who are on public health insurance are far more likely to be obese than children who live in more financially secure homes or who are on private insurance. This disparity is even more pronounced in Minnesota than in other areas of the country.

Among the report's recommendations:

Tracking BMI from the age of two.
Promoting the benefits of breastfeeding exclusively until six months of age.
Reducing intake of saturated fat and sweetened beverages while increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables.
Limiting children's screen time to two hours a day.
Recognizing and acknowledging children’s weight problems.

Read the full report from Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota.