Doctors sound alarm on childhood obesity

Those Canadians are right on top of things, eh.

In a first-of-its-kind survey doctors are speaking up and saying they don’t have the resources to tackle the growing problem of childhood obesity, and warn that if nothing’s done soon the problem will overwhelm the health-care system in the long-run.

National numbers speak for themselves: one in three kids is either overweight or obese.

And if the trend continues, by the time they’re adults, 70 per cent could be carrying unhealthy weight.

To assist them help children reach a healthy weight, physicians want more access to dietitians, therapists, educational materials and trainers.

“Doctors are the first ones to see children so they play a big role, but they’re not the only piece of the puzzle,” says nutrition researcher Dr. Meizi He.

And herein lie two problems.

1. No amount of "dietitians, therapists, educational materials and trainers" will make the right difference unless people are willing to consume fewer Calories than they burn and the "dietitians, therapists, educational materials and trainers" are the problem since their efforts cause people to fail at weight loss.

2. In Canada, nutritional child abuse is reportable by docs, teachers, nurses, principals and other adults. They are not doing their jobs.