Weight problems becoming more common among youth

Updated: Saturday, July 26, 2003 8:07 AM PDT

From high blood pressure to diabetes, stroke to psychological disorders, the consequences of obesity are serious.

At school districts in Lodi and Galt, food services administrators are changing their menus in an effort to get students to eat in the school cafeterias more often, and to get a more balanced meal when they do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta report a dramatic increase in obesity over the past 20 years. Families spend less time preparing balanced meals and more time in the drive-through.

And youth obesity is becoming increasingly prevalent. According to a 2002 CDC news release, 15 percent of kids ages 6-19 are classified as obese. Also, 10 percent of younger preschoolers, ages 2 through 5, suffer from obesity as well.

"One of the most significant concerns from a public health perspective is that we know a lot of children who are overweight grow up to be overweight or obese adults," CDC director Dr. Julie Gerberding said in the 2002 press release.

While schools are attempting to take on these problems by creating healthier menus, the lure of the Big Mac, the Whopper and the super-sized menu are difficult to resist. Inactivity and a lack of exercise from watching television and playing video games also leads to fatter kids.

"Kids need to eat a variety," said Warren Sun, food services director at Lodi Unified School District. But "you find that compared to the past, kids now spend a lot less time exercising."

But schools can only do so much.

The Center for Science in the Public Interest, a nonprofit nutrition advocacy organization that has previously taken aim at Mexican food, Chinese take-out and movie popcorn, conducts studies and makes an effort to educate the public about the nutrition -- or lack of it -- regarding the foods Americans are eating.

This summer, the group has ice cream in its sights.

The CSPI this week released a report listing the amount of calories and saturated fat in various brands of ice cream, and some of the results are surprising.

Calling them "coronaries in cones," the group compared the calories and fat in ice cream treats to things like barbecue ribs and pizza.

For instance, an empty Ben and Jerry's "Waffle Cone Dipped in Chocolate" has 320 calories and 10 grams of fat.

And the cone is designed to hold two scoops of ice cream.

"If you put a regular scoop of Chunky Monkey ice cream in that cone, it is going to be worse for you than (a) one-pound rack of baby back ribs," said CSPI nutritionist Jayne Hurley at a news conference.

Another whopper of a treat is the Cold Stone Creamery's "Mud Pie Mojo," with coffee ice cream, roasted almonds, fudge, Oreos, peanut butter and whipped topping.

But the treat is the equivalent of two Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizzas, packing 1,180 calories and 26 grams of saturated fat.

The big winner in the study, if that's the right term, is a sundae served up by the Friendly's ice cream chain. Their "5-Scoop Candy Shop Reese's Pieces" has 1,310 calories, a full day's worth of fat and two whole day's worth of saturated fat.

The CSPI has called on restaurants and ice cream shops to include the amounts of calories and fat on menus.

"It's an indulgent dessert," said Wade Johnson, owner of the Coldstone Creamery in downtown Lodi. "It's made from cream, so it's going to have fat in it."

He called his ice cream "super-premium," which has a high fat content.

"And then we garnish it with candy bars," he said. "That's what makes it so good."

Johnson said he eats ice cream every day, but his overall diet is low in fat and sugar.

"You have to offset it," he said.

Johnson drew an analogy between his premium ice cream and Lodi's crown jewel, wine.

"Everyone has something that they really like," Johnson said. "Everything in moderation."

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