Many agree that obesity is a significant problem in many Western and some developing countries. According to the 11th European Congress on Obesity, this problem affects more than 300 million people. There are four terms used to quantify weight: underweight, normal, overweight and obese. A person is considered to be obese if he weighs more than 20 percent above the expected weight for his age, height and body shape. A morbidly obese person weighs 100 pounds above his or her expected weight.
In a 2002 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association, an estimated 30 percent of the general population in the United States is obese. This problem is also prevalent in young people between the ages of six and 19 because the study also indicates that 15 percent of the people within this age range are seriously overweight. Even within the two to five age range, 10 percent are seriously overweight.
The reasons for obesity are mostly attributed to eating habits that include foods with high sugar and fat content. The lack of activity exacerbates the harmful results of unhealthy consumption.
However, the causes of obesity also include the uncontrollable genetic variations between different people. For example, people with abnormal thyroid and pituitary glands will not have normal metabolisms. As a result, the food they consume will not be efficiently converted and stored for future energy expenditures. In young people, these detrimental eating habits are often linked to stress and the lack of viable solutions to common hormone induced problems. Food, in these cases, becomes a source of comfort and stability. Careless eating habits are the vehicles for many fatal health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, heart problems, cancer, arthritis, breathing problems and early death.
Currently, there are several studies aimed at clarifying the solutions to weight problems in children. The National Institutes of Health launched a multi-dimensional research agenda in 2004 in response to the increased cases of obesity in children.
"We are pleased about this focused effort to identify research opportunities in obesity," NIH Director Elias M. Zerhouni said."We are especially concerned about the serious problems we see emerging in overweight children. Many of these are problems that we used to see only in adults."
At the University's Medical School, Milagros G. Huerta, M.D., FAAP leads a five-person team in a five-year study that is funded by the NIH. Huerta is the assistant professor of pediatrics from the division of endocrinology. Her team includes two nutritionists and two psychiatrists, who together will recruit 90 overweight children between the ages of 10 and 17. The children will be randomly categorized into one of three groups. The first group of children will receive guidelines for lifestyle changes. The second group will receive prescriptions to the drug Metformin that is used to treat Type II diabetes mellitus. The third group will be the negative control group for which only simple diet and exercise is required. The specific purpose of the study is to evaluate the effectiveness of the drug Metformin that has become popular for both diabetic patients as well as overweight patients. The generalized goal of this research is to study and conquer diseases associated with obesity.
One of the most prevailing results of obesity is the Type II diabetes. Type II diabetes results from the insensitivity to insulin, which delivers glucose to cells for metabolism. In scientific terms, the surface receptors for insulin on cells no longer accept the structure of insulin. Therefore, the glucose is stored in the liver and the blood glucose concentration is drastically increased. Metformin regulates blood glucose by decreasing the glucose stored in the liver, decreasing glucose absorbed from food and enhancing the cellular sensitivity to insulin.
The children will meet on a weekly basis with nutritionists and psychiatrists. The changes they will have to experience also depend on the changes in the environment in which they live. Since many obese children have obese parents, the families of the participating would have to significantly alter their lifestyles in accordance with the guidelines provided for the children for a six-month period. In return, the children each receive a $300 gift certificate to the mall and the families return to healthy lifestyles. "The parents should expect to see a 10 percent decrease in Body Mass Index, which corresponds to a weight loss of about 30 pounds," Dr. Huerta said.
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