What does this mean for children who are overweight and overly fat? The cycle of being fat, avoid¬ing activity, and becoming fatter makes the problem worse. Sometimes, teachers and coaches send negative messages to the overweight child. This can be as subtle as focusing on the lean or best performers or as obvious as saying, "If you are fat, you can't also be fit." We learned earlier that be¬ing inactive is a greater risk to health than being overweight. So, the message should be clear: Ac¬tivity is important to all people. At the same time, we need to recognize that overly fat children are working harder during physical activity because they carry extra fat. Overly fat children may feel self-conscious about their bodies or may have underlying problems that have caused or contrib¬ute to their obesity
One thing we can do to help is to make sure children understand that bodies are different and that there is not one perfect or most desirable body shape. Some differences in body shape are attributable to genetics; others are caused by what we eat and by our activity patterns. Further, we can prepare children for the bodily changes that will occur during adolescence. Finally, we can avoid using a simplistic approach to a complex problem. For example, in addition to body weight or fat, other measures of health risk can be exam¬ined. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), which is the cir¬cumference of the waist at the narrowest point divided by the circumference of the hips at the widest point, is a predictor of health risk. Large WHR is a predictor of risk; WF1Rs above 1.0 and .9 are identified as points of increased risk for males and females, respectively. Estimating body fat us¬ing skin-fold calipers is another way to examine risk. Good equipment and practice are necessary to accurately estimate fat. Some experts recommend tracking the sum of skin folds rather than calculating percent body fat (Lohman 1992). In the absence of good calipers and training, teachers should probably not estimate body fat. Under the best of circumstances, teachers should use more than one technique. Consider discussing BMI, WHR, and physical activity together to develop a risk profile. Further, we can encourage all children to seek healthy bodies that are neither too fat nor too frail nor thin.
One thing we can do to help is to make sure children understand that bodies are different and that there is not one perfect or most desirable body shape. Some differences in body shape are attributable to genetics; others are caused by what we eat and by our activity patterns. Further, we can prepare children for the bodily changes that will occur during adolescence. Finally, we can avoid using a simplistic approach to a complex problem. For example, in addition to body weight or fat, other measures of health risk can be exam¬ined. Waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), which is the cir¬cumference of the waist at the narrowest point divided by the circumference of the hips at the widest point, is a predictor of health risk. Large WHR is a predictor of risk; WF1Rs above 1.0 and .9 are identified as points of increased risk for males and females, respectively. Estimating body fat us¬ing skin-fold calipers is another way to examine risk. Good equipment and practice are necessary to accurately estimate fat. Some experts recommend tracking the sum of skin folds rather than calculating percent body fat (Lohman 1992). In the absence of good calipers and training, teachers should probably not estimate body fat. Under the best of circumstances, teachers should use more than one technique. Consider discussing BMI, WHR, and physical activity together to develop a risk profile. Further, we can encourage all children to seek healthy bodies that are neither too fat nor too frail nor thin.
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