The number of young children at risk of being overweight is on the rise. Is your child one of them? And if so, what can you do to help?

In my 14 years as a practicing pediatrician, I've seen the trend clearly. Kids in this country are getting heavier. In my practice, I have an eight-month-old who can barely squeeze into her infant car seat, an eight-year-old who weighs over 125 pounds, and pre-teens who tops 250 pounds. I feel dismayed, alarmed, and, like many busy primary care docs, overwhelmed. And there are plenty of statistics to back me up.

A Review of Statistics

The government has been gathering good data with its National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys since 1971. From the early '70s to 2000, the proportion of overweight children tripled in the United States, going from about five percent to 15 percent. For some sub-populations, the numbers are much worse. Another 15 percent of our children are considered "at risk for overweight," based on a calculation of their body mass indices. BMI is considered a valid measure of adiposity, or body fat, in children older than two years. A child's BMI varies over the growing years; at certain times children are naturally leaner, at others, heavier. BMI curves have been created to take these changes into account. A child who has a BMI greater than 85 percent of his same-aged peers is considered "at risk for overweight." And a BMI of greater than 95 percent qualifies as overweight. (For adults, a BMI of over 30 defines obesity.)

Overweight children not only have an increased risk of becoming overweight adults, but the short- and long-term health consequences are impressive. Obese children are at greater risk for all of the following conditions: sleep problems (including sleep apnea, which can interfere with learning), snoring, a "bowing" of the lower legs, gallbladder disease, high blood pressure, adult heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, earlier puberty, depression, social isolation, eating disorders, and more.