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The percentage of obese children
in the United States is the highest in the world.
The belief is that obese parents create obese
children by teaching them to be obsessive about food. Yet the very
same conclusion was also confirmed by large-scale adoption records.
For the majority, obese children raised by nonobese adoptive parents
did not become nonobese adults. Conversely, nonobese children raised
by obese adoptive parents did not become obese adults. So the obvious
conclusion reached from these studies was there must be a genetic
link, a predetermined, physiological pattern received at birth,
strongly influencing the outcome of adult body size.
We now realize that, for the majority, being overweight
or obese is not the direct result of psychological dysfunction,
a lack of willpower, or a flawed character. Instead, the process
is genetically and physiologically driven. In fact, obesity is more
than a physical state or condition – it’s a disease.
It is now widely accepted the disease in humans
is approximately 90 percent genetic and 10 percent other factors,
such as environmental and emotional factors. It is a monumental
leap forward from therapies designed to counteract 100 percent environmental
factors. It’s no wonder that 95 percent of patients failed
at these treatments. Without the proper tools, they were being told
to fight against their DNA.
Pediatric obesity has jumped to the top of the
list for major problems facing children and pediatricians in this
new millennium.
No respectable physician is going to use medication
on children he or she is not thoroughly familiar and comfortable
with. After treating thousands with phentermine, not only am I comfortable,
but also I have vast experience, experience that can be applied
to pediatrics. Understand that physicians use the same drugs to
treat diseases in children as we do adults – only the dosages
are modified. Also realize these are not frail, little children
receiving phentermine. Most of them weigh more than I do.
As it turns out, children do so well on the drug
that a few months of treatment is usually plenty to time. And that’s
because children have an huge advantage over adults – their
growing taller. Children don’t need to lose a lot of weight.
Their bodies are stretching. Their weight is being redistributed
on an expanding frame. As a rule, 1 inch of growth equals a 1-point
drop in BMI. My goal for children is to get them to a BMI below
21 and maintain a normal range.
To become my patient, however, children must meet
more than just an age requirement. Like pediatricians who prescribe
Prozac, I’m looking only for responsible individuals. It cannot
be the parents only who want their children to go through the program,
who want a change. The child must want it as well.
If I feel the patient is not mature enough for
this responsibility, he or she does not qualify for the program.
And it is not only responsibility for the medication for which I
hold them accountable. They are held accountable to all four prongs
of the program. As with any other pediatric disease, parental involvement
is essential. In fact, educating parents is much more important
for success than educating their children.
For children, going through the program with a
parent teaches them much more than how to manage their health. They
also learn how to focus upon and realize their dreams. By sitting
through my goal and motivational workshops they discover the limitless
resources within themselves and how to direct these resources toward
any endeavor or future they desire. I only wish I’d been given
this powerful knowledge at an early age. If they choose to use it,
they will be far ahead of most of the adults they know.
Children respond wonderfully to the therapy.
It seems that as easily as their weight drops, their self-esteem
and confidence soars. Previously downcast and introverted boys and
girls lose their gloomy dispositions and become outgoing, self-driven
individuals. I believe all children should be offered the same chance.
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