Obesity throughout America has become a lethal epidemic in the last few decades. A person is considered obese if their BMI (Body Mass Index) is 30% fat or higher. Someone is considered overweight if their BMI is 25% fat or higher. Currently about 64.5% of Americans are overweight and 30.5% are obese. That doesn’t mean that 95% of Americans are overweight, the 30.5% of obese Americans are included in the 64.5%. Regardless these numbers are higher than any other nation in the world. Now the question, does Skyline have the same percentages as the rest of America?

According to the Dean of the Physical Education Department, Andreas Wolf, “since 1983 there has been a consistent increase in fat percentages in students.”

This trend has been pretty consistent with the national average. So Skyline is not any worse than the rest of the nation but we’re not any better either.

Of course there are slues of health problems that accompany being overweight or obese. These health problems include Type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, high blood pressure, osteoarthritis, certain types of cancers and even carpal tunnel syndrome. There are many more but the list is too long to fit in this paper. Not only is obesity just unhealthy, it can be fatal. On December 18, 2001 the surgeon general reported that obesity might surpass tobacco as the primary cause of preventable fatalities in the U.S.

When this announcement was made over 300,000 people were dying a year from this highly preventable disease.

Of course people don’t just turn obese out of the blue; it is a gradual process. Most obese people began their path of being overweight as children.

“Childhood obesity is the largest looming obesity problem in this country right now,” said Claire Muller-Moseley, nutritionist professor. “And in Sam Mateo County we have the largest number of obese children in the Bay Area.”

While many of the health problems that come form being obese won’t manifest themselves until a person turns middle age people don’t take into consideration that “Its what you’re doing now that’s going to effect you later” as Moseley warns.

Considering the lifestyles of many of today’s youth it is apparent how many of America’s children are getting so fat and staying that way. As Wolf reminisces, when his generation was young they spent most of their time playing outside and being active on a continuous basis. Today’s kids spend most of their time sitting in front of the TV or computer and eating junk food.

Worf explains, “As children become overweight and obese, it is harder for them to get into physical activities. . . . and when they are bad at a activity when their young they will tend to shy away from that activity when their older.”

So as a child who gets overweight early on gets older it becomes that more difficult to loose the weight and many will continue to gain weight. Kids aren’t necessarily the ones to point fingers at for their own weight problems; with parents’ busy schedules many would find it more convenient to order a pizza or get some fast food for dinner rather than cook a nutritious meal. Also many parents would rather have their children stay inside the house due to fear of their kid getting hurt, kidnapped or in trouble.

Of course obesity is a reversible and preventable malady. One thing to remember if your worried about the extra weight you’ve been putting on or if you feel your health is at risk from being overweight is “simply portion control” a practice Professor Moseley strongly advocates. She feels that if Americans just took control of how much they eat and how much fat content they consume lives could be saved and people lives would be healthier.

The other cure for this epidemic is staying active. While students who have been enrolling in physical fitness classes in Skyline have been getting consistently heavier, since 1983 students in these programs have “lost a combined three tons of fat which is the equivalent of a gray whale” states Wolf. Even students enrolled in a seemingly inactive program like archery have dropped their blood pressure drastically and have even lost small amounts of weight.

While the obesity epidemic is getting worse throughout the nation and Skyline students are in the same boat as the rest of America, there are options for the student body. By staying active and eating in moderation, Skyline students won’t become another obesity statistic.

For more information and statistics on this subject you can visit www.unitedhealthfoundation.org and www.obesity.org.