North Country HealthCare: ABCD to address childhood obesity
March 7, 2010
Nina Souders, M.D., a pediatrician at North Country HealthCare, has witnessed a rapid increase in overweight and obesity in children. According to Dr. Souders, "Until a few years ago I had never seen a case of high cholesterol in a child. Now I see these problems on a routine basis. Whereas I used to be able to focus my guidance during well child visits on tooth care, car seats and developmental milestones, I now spend the majority of my counseling time discouraging behaviors related to the development of obesity."
Dr. Souders says that families have difficulty complying with her recommendations. "Many families talk about a lack of safe outdoor space in which children can ride their bikes and play, lack of affordable healthy foods and abundant fast food, lack of time to prepare foods at home, lack of time to walk their children to school. Everyone is too busy, too poor, and too stressed to take care of themselves and their children."
