Until obesity became epidemic, type 2 diabetes was virtually unheard of in children and teens. It was originally called “adult-onset” because it was mainly seen after middle age. At least 9 million American children are seriously overweight and another 9 million are heavy enough to be at risk, yet studies show that many parents are in denial about their children’s obesity.

16% of U.S. children have weight problems but doctors make weight reduction suggestions to parents about their children in only 1% of visits. There are a number of reasons for this denial and lack of concern:

Obese mothers nearly always recognize that they are overweight but only 1 in 5 correctly identified their overweight children.

Many doctors are just too busy to become involved in problems not directly related to the symptoms the child was brought in for.

78% of the population of the U.S. does not see being overweight as a health problem.

Many cultures equate thinness with poverty and starvation; to them a fat child is a strong and healthy child.

Many parents believe that the child will grow into their weight.

A child that is overweight will very likely become an obese adult. Studies show at least 15 conditions causally related to obesity. They include diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, hip fractures, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, end-stage renal disease, liver disease, urinary incontinence and several forms of cancer.

For many overweight children the possibilities of disease in the future is not a concern. There is a far more pressing cause of pain for these obese children on a daily basis. This pain is caused by discrimination by their classmates. Other children are much more direct and cruel then most adults when it comes to ridiculing the “fat kids” they associate with. A first grader is likely to believe that thinner is better and young children will put these thoughts in to action by excluding their heaver classmate from their team or by calling them names.

This ridicule may cause a child to retreat from social interaction or to become a bully, using their weight to intimidate their tormentors. Either course of action only causes the child more grief and frustration in the long run.

Most children are not receptive to traditional restrictive diets. When they are told that they can no longer have the foods they crave, such as: white bread, candy, cookies, and ice cream they feel that they are being punished. It makes little difference how much time the parent spends trying to convince the child it is for their own good.

Children will often find access to the foods that are being denied to them at home with friends, relatives who don’t believe in diets or by spending their own money to purchase the sweets. If the child doesn’t have money they may begin to steal the foods they crave.

Many times when the child gains access to the forbidden items they will binge. 30% of girls and 16% of boys who were on a diet admitted to binging on foods that had been forbidden to them when they got the chance. Now the child not only feels punished by the parent, they have added guild to the emotional mix by defying their parents’ orders or breaking the law. This guilt causes stress that may cause the child to act out in other more serious ways.