(10/27/98)
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - American children need to skip television and get more exercise to reduce the record number of them who are overweight, health experts and government officials said Tuesday.
About one in five children in the United States are overweight, according to the U.S. Agriculture Department, which held a day-long conference on childhood obesity on Tuesday.
``We need to take this issue seriously,'' Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said, calling childhood obesity ``a quiet epidemic in America.''
``It is time we elevated this issue to its rightful place near the top of the public health agenda,'' he said.
About 17 percent of Mexican-American boys aged six to 11 are overweight, the highest percentage of any adolescent demographic group. Sixteen percent of African-American girls aged six to 19 are overweight, the government said.
Experts said the increasing time kids spend in front of the television is a major factor.
Not not only are kids sedentary and prone to snacking when they watch television and play video games, but they are also bombarded with advertisements for unhealthy food. About 80 percent of advertisements during children's programs are for food, Glickman said.
``And we're not talking broccoli and spinach,'' he said.
A study conducted by the American Heart Association in San Jose, Calif., showed that kids who cut down on TV reduced their body mass index -- used to calculate a person's ideal weight -- said Dr. Thomas Robinson, co-director of youth studies at Stanford University's Center for Research in Disease Prevention.
``We need to focus on behavior rather than traditional nutrition education,'' Robinson said. ``Children don't eat fat and calories, they eat food, which contains many fats and calories.''
In an ongoing Stanford study, parents are sent videos and letters about teaching their kids to eat better and exercise.
Researchers are also doing weekly ``taste tests'' at schools to introduce kids to different varieties of fruits and vegetables n an effort to turn them on to healthy eating.
``We even had one mini-riot at one school when we ran out of jicama,'' Robinson said, referring to the white, crunchy vegetable.
In a society where more than half the adult population are overweight, it is sometimes difficult for parents to set a positive example, Glickman said.
``As parents, we need to take a hard look in the mirror and ask ourselves: Are we setting the Homer Simpson example?'' Glickman asked, referring to the popular cartoon character with a large gut who often sits on the couch and eats junk food.
``If so, maybe we need to work on this as a family,'' he said.