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SALT LAKE CITY — In Utah, 9.7% of public high school students were obese as of 2019, according to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
The study that discovered this, which has been conducted every other year since 2006, also found that boys are more than twice as likely to be obese compared to girls. From 1994 to 2010, the number of obese third-grade boys increased by 97% while the number of obese third grade girls increased by 40%.
"This is a trend that is seen internationally as well. There could be a number of factors that put boys at greater risk for being overweight or obese," said Mckell Drury with the Healthy Environments Active Living program at the Utah Department of Health and Human Services.
The numbers are based on body mass index, or BMI, a scale measured by a person's weight compared to their height. Drury said known issues with using BMI as a point of measurement include its inability to detect the difference between fat and muscle; it is still used, however, because it is a "quick, noninvasive, and inexpensive way to measure weight."
According to the Utah Department of Health and Human Services study, Utah's childhood obesity rates are lower than the U.S. average. While 9.7% of Utah's public high school students' BMI are considered obese, the national average is 15.5%.
A recent recommendation was issued by U.S. officials for children with obesity to start intensive counseling at age 6 to help combat and resolve childhood obesity in the country.
The report on the recommendation refers to the counseling as "intensive behavioral intervention," including education on healthy eating and behavior changes and promotion of physical activity.
Lindsay Bailey, a dietician with Utah-based Kayla Jessop Nutrition, specializes in working with children. "(There is) harm that could take place as a result of intentionally prescribing weight-loss diets to children," she said, addressing the counseling recommendation.
Bailey said these diets can cause weight cycling, which means the diet participants may not only stall weight loss in the long run but also be led to regain all, if not more, of the lost weight back.
To help combat rising rates of childhood obesity, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding the Healthy Living through Environment, Policy and Improved Clinical Care program, which promotes healthy eating and active living. The program partners with schools to provide nutritious foods and adequate opportunities for exercise.
While Bailey doesn't agree with prescribing diets to children, her advice centers around focusing on when and how much children are eating. She said many children may be skipping breakfast or lunch, causing them to binge when they get home from school — which means the best approach to start with is scheduled, structured meals.
She added that paying attention to the nutrients within meals, without shaming children for any food choice, is equally important.
"It's more like, 'OK, you're eating the cereal or having this toast, what can we have with it?' ... Let's find some protein to add in here, or is there a calcium or vitamin D source that we can add in too? Can we find a way to add a fruit or a vegetable?" Bailey said. This approach helps kids understand balancing food choices without feeling stigmatized for their weight.
For more information on school policies for healthy kids, visit actionforhealthykids.org.
For Utah-based health and nutrition advice and guidelines, visit heal.utah.gov.
