Recently, the New York Times published an article with the headline Weight Drives the Young to Adult Pills, Data Says, about the rapidly growing numbers of children taking adult medication for weight related medical problems, including Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and acid reflux. The numbers are staggering, showing increases of well over 100% in many categories, and estimating that several hundred thousand children are now on adult medications as a result.

The last two words of that headline should perhaps be carefully noted, as to where said “data” originated from, but one thing is clear, and that is that much of the controversy around the subject is driven from not only the numbers themselves, but a recent statement issued by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which recommended that more children, as young as 8 years old, should be given adult medication to reduce cholesterol. More alarming is the rate at which the medications are being prescribed, which by some estimates shows an increase of more than 100% in the past five years.

The larger issues of these prescriptions are the illnesses themselves, and the fact that the adult medications may have not been properly studied for usage among children. Some Doctors defend the practice, explaining that lifestyle is ‘so difficult’ that there are no other options. The Food and Drug Administration does publish a list of drugs for which pediatric versions are needed, but the market is still too small for it to be profitable for drug pharmaceutical companies to make formulas specifically for children, although at the rate of this change, that is certain to be a reality in the near future.

The American Academy of Pediatrics is a proponent of prescribing these adult medications to children. Their website, in regards to the cholesterol epidemic reads:

“The American Academy of Pediatrics has issued new cholesterol screening and treatment recommendations for children. The policy statement, “Lipid Screening and Cardiovascular Health in Childhood,” recommends cholesterol screening of children and adolescents with a family history of high cholesterol or heart disease. It also recommends screening patients whose family history is unknown or those who have other factors for heart disease including obesity, high blood pressure or diabetes. Screening should take place after age two, but no later than age 10. The best method for testing is a fasting lipid profile. If a child has values within the normal range, testing should be repeated in three to five years. For children who are more than eight years old and who have high LDL concentrations, cholesterol-reducing medications should be considered. Younger patients with elevated cholesterol readings should focus on weight reduction and increased activity while receiving nutritional counseling. The statement also recommends the use of reduced-fat dairy products, such as two percent milk, for children as young as one year of age for whom overweight or obesity is a concern.”

The most interesting, or disturbing, aspect of this statement is that it does not contain the word “exercise”. Nor does it do more than make a half hearted effort to address diet in any way, shape or form. Visiting the website of aap.org is, in fact, a bit of a surreal experience, with photos of smiling children eating ice cream and numerous categories to review. You’ll have to search through a grocery list of medical issues to find the word “exercise”, only to be directed to other random journals and publications which have suggested that exercise is beneficial. Another term that can be found, albeit not on the home page, is “exercise” with a moderately tempered brief paragraph within its link, stating:

“Proper nutrition begins at the supermarket with the foods you buy and continues at home as you prepare and serve meals. Giving your child a healthy start with good eating habits promotes his or her lifelong health. A variety of foods provides the nutrients that young children need to build strong bodies and stay healthy. Food also supplies the energy that children need to grow normally, play, learn, and explore the world around them. The AAP encourages families to think of their nutritional decisions as health decisions.”

It would be interesting to learn which ‘supermarket’ they had in mind. Needless to say, the general message one walks away with is definitely not they should promote exercise, organic foods or farm fresh vegetables for their children.

The issue is such a large, and serious one, that it truly needs attention. While it is difficult to define all of the causes nationwide for the childhood obesity epidemic, there are obvious signs in Maine, where I grew up and spend a great deal of time today. Most startling is the very situation which AAP makes little effort to address and which doctors who advocate these childhood prescriptions claim may not an option: lifestyle (exercise). It is not difficult to understand the reason if the clear signs available to the human eye are similar to what they are here. No less than 20 years ago, when I grew up, there were outdoor communities of children, riding bikes all about town, filling the baseball fields and basketball courts on any given weekend or evening. There were many days when my friends and I, from ages 8 or 9 through grade school, would spend the entire day outside, playing various sports, having snowball fights, or simply helping our parents in the yard or woodpile. I needed to ask a few people, my parents included, to verify that my memory was indeed, accurate, and sure enough, it was confirmed that it is.

Today, those same fields and parks sit mostly empty, with very little sign of life. The local park in town, once a meeting point for a pick up baseball or basketball game, or the town docks, where friends used to swim and ride bikes, are largely devoid of young kids and seeing a bicycle in town is a rarity these days. I often run in the country here, for 6 miles or more. In fact, I recently ran 13 miles, past dozens of cars, hundreds of homes and saw a grand total of 3 people outside, having a water fight. Not a single bicycle, runner, athletic game or even kids on a lawn, and that was a sunny, Sunday afternoon at 3pm.

Diet, of course, is another story entirely and one which most are aware, and most do little about. It has now been well documented, but in continuing the look at my small county in Maine, it may be noteworthy to point out that, although we did have a McDonalds in the next town when I was younger, we now have an additional Dairy Queen, Pizza hut, Wendy’s, Two subways and two Dunkin Donuts.

The local pharmacy has a drive through window, a far cry from the old fashioned one that used to sit downtown, with the soda fountain and penny candy. Trust me, I’m not that old! This is rapid change and its not about modernization.

The problems are so obvious that it is quite painful to watch and it is terribly unfortunate for the children who will suffer as a result of their well being not being looked after, other than by whatever solutions lie in medication. Even if these drugs were problem-solvers, the additional benefits of proper diet and nutrition are entirely lacking – without both of those, the feeling of well being, vitality and of course, youthfulness that is so precious and beautiful, will be lacking in their lives.

In reality, it may appear an easy approach for me to be making these assertions or to imply that there is such a thing as a natural ‘fix’. However, I am a believer, both because I have lived through the transformation, both in a negative and a positive way, and I learned firsthand how much of this is within our control. I was 12 years old – had lived a very active life and spent much of it outdoors, always playing sports, running around in the snow, and just in general being very mobile. Still, I had a penchant for sugar and a very high consumption rate of sweets, chocolate and empty calories. Vegetables were something I hid in my napkin to avoid eating. Despite the activity, I was slowly gaining some weight but it crept up on me.

One winter evening, I went to weekly open swim at the neighboring town – got dressed in the locker room and went to hang out by the pool with a few dozen of my classmates. Without a shirt on, one particularly blunt ‘friend’, walked up and poked me, and made an extremely sarcastic comment about how blubbery I was (I was, and to this day, I clearly recall the moment, what I was wearing and how I looked). That, fortunately, was my wake up call and the last one I ever needed.

The next day, I swore off butter – in fact, I don’t think I had it for many years, at least intentionally. I carefully avoided fats and sugars and began carrying my own lunches to schools, with snacks from a local health food store or whatever I could get my hands on. This discipline carried into sports as well, and I practiced daily, to the point where, a year later, I was unrecognizable; taller, lean and strong, with a very positive energy and a new outlook on life.

Change is never easy. At times, it can seem impossible. There are many times when the resources necessary for change are not present, or other circumstances provide no options. Sadly or fortunately, depending on one's attitude toward making positive adjustments, there usually are options. They need to be explored.