Chubby Choices
Chubby infants are absolutely adorable. I enjoy shaking their chubby cheeks and bellies until they laugh. However, when I see a chubby kiddo above the age of 2, like visibly obese with a double chin, I speak my mind like “HELLO!?!? Mommy, your kid (and probably you too) are FaaaAAT.” Alright, I’m playing pediatrician in the emergency room right now for a med school rotation, so I’m not mean like that. I truly care about the patients and their parents, both in their health and their feelings.
“Sweetheart, you’re beautiful, but I’m concerned that you are overweight and are at risk for scary diseases. Have you started on a plan to lose weight with your pediatrician?”
Maher EJ et al reveal in Pediatrics that 12% of children starting kindergarten in their study of more than 15000 subjects are obese. A major protective factor was prior participation in nonparent daycare, so being with their parents is a risk factor for obesity. Parents are the culprits in the crime of childhood obesity. The mechanism of how that happens is my theory: by not being good role models in their dietary and activity behaviors and by showering their children with “love” (overfeeding with milk and healthy food or just plain bad food such as soda, candy, and cake).
If the patient is old enough, (more than seven), I’ll tell them with the above line. Regardless of age, however, I’ll then follow that by turning to the parent(s) and repeating myself that children need to eat more than five fruits and vegetables a day and need to be active, not watching too much tv or playing video games. Otherwise they will be die inside out.
Yeah, I use pretty strong words because I want to shake those culprits up. Only then may I have a slimmer of a ray of hope at getting the parents to consider changing. I know that I’m in the emergency department to take care of urgent matters, I’m not a miracle-maker. However, as studies show that suggestion by health care providers can affect patient intentions to increase fruit and vegetable intake and to stop smoking, I use every opportunity to grill into the patient and parent’s minds that their fat culture needs to change. I say it with a smile, lots of heart, and lots of experience in healthy heart choices.
