September 27th, 2010

While obesity afflicts all races, this epidemic is especially prevalent for African Americans. Nearly 39 percent of African American children ages 6 to 19 are overweight or obese, according to a study this year in the Journal of the American Medical Association. African American children are also likelier to get diabetes than white children.

“Twenty years ago, you never saw anyone less than 20 years of age with so-called adult diabetes,” said Gary Foster, director of the Center for Obesity Research and Education at Temple University. “Now we’re seeing children as young as 10, 11, 12 years old who have adult diabetes.”

Every child Foster has seen with type 2 or adult-onset diabetes during his recent work in Philadelphia middle schools was either overweight or obese.

“If you get diabetes when you’re 10, you may be looking at an amputation, at eye problems, at kidney problems as early as 30 or 40 years of age,” he said.

Although obesity is most prevalent in Southern states and rural areas, it has a chokehold on the city famous for cheesesteaks and soft pretzels. In Philadelphia, the number of obese children is double the national rate.

Read more: http://www.philly.com/philly/health_and_science/20100927_How_a_West_Philadelphia_family_overcame_child_obesity.html