Childhood obesity: A generation at risk

In her dreams, Danielle Puckett is thin, and life is better. She isn’t haunted by memories of relentless teasing, and she doesn’t struggle to lose weight, only to gain it back.

But reality invades the 18-year-old’s dreams, reminding her that she is 385 pounds and fighting high blood pressure, asthma, sleep apnea and low self-esteem. She usually wears sweatpants because size 32 jeans are hard to find.

“Some days I never want to get on a scale again,” said the 5-foot-4-inch Susquehanna Twp. resident. “It’s such a roller coaster of losing weight and gaining weight.”

As Danielle battles her weight, she struggles with the scars of childhood taunts — a daily occurrence that she says made her school life “a living hell” — and ongoing rude stares and remarks uttered within earshot when she walks through the mall.

“I think people don’t understand obesity. They think it’s my fault, and I should just lose weight. Well, it’s not that easy,” Danielle said. “I’d like to tell them, try putting yourself in my shoes and see how I feel.”

Childhood obesity has become a national hot-button issue, largely because its ramifications are so far reaching: An overweight child is 80 percent more likely to become an overweight or obese adult, which can lead to chronic, yet preventable, medical conditions that are costing $150 billion every year to treat.

Nationally, one in three children is overweight, and the number is increasing. New research from the National Institutes of Health reports that, among children age 10 to 17, the obesity rate grew from 14.8 percent in 2003 to 16.4 percent in 2007.

In Pennsylvania, it’s no different.

“The childhood obesity rates have tripled in this country in just 30 years, and Pennsylvania children are reflective of this national trend,” said state Secretary of Health Everette James. “If there’s something we can do across this state to impact our children, this is it. We’ll have a whole generation of healthier children to show for it.”

First Lady Michelle Obama is spearheading a campaign to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. She’s enlisting community leaders, teachers, doctors, schools and parents to join her in “Let’s Move,” an initiative designed to “give parents the support they need, provide healthier food in schools, help our kids to be more physically active, and make healthy, affordable food available in every part of our country.”

This is the first story in a four-part series examining the issue of childhood obesity. We’ll look at the importance of nutrition and exercise, and we’ll also see what schools are doing — some with grants from the state Department of Health’s Active Schools initiative or Highmark’s School Challenge — to get kids moving during the academic day.

However, through Danielle’s story, we’ll also see that obesity is much more than a national problem that’s impacting our health care system; it’s a deeply personal problem affecting our children’s emotional health. The root goes beyond poor nutrition or lack of exercise — it involves family dynamics, emotional struggles and generational habits.