We're Fighting Fat!

SPECIAL REPORT

CHILDHOOD OBESITY

Devin Ramsey, 12

Plays basketball

Sara (right) & Nadia Waly, 9

Learned portion control

Kris Beall, 17

Loves to run

Logan Faust, 10

Drinks water instead of juice

Mika Rotunda, 19

Kept a food journal

Charles Haines, 17

Exercised to Richard Simmons videos

By age 7, Logan Faust already passed the 100-lb. mark. “Her doctor said she was off the charts for her height and age,” says her mom, Tiffaney. “It was scary.” Logan’s not alone: One out of every three kids in the U.S. is overweight or obese. “There are children who have diseases adults would have—hypertension, elevated cholesterol, fatty liver disease,” says Dr. Patricia DeRusso of the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. “It has an impact on kids’ ability to learn,” adds Sam Kass, senior policy advisor for Healthy Food Initiatives at the White House, “and how they feel about themselves.” Charles Haines hit 285 lbs. at 15 and admits, “I was a loner.” At the mall, “if he saw kids his age, he would hide,” says his mom, Minakshi. Luckily Charles (who lost 110 lbs.), Logan (who lost 28 lbs.) and five other kids featured here got help in different ways, ranging from a healthy boarding school to Richard Simmons videos. And as states such as California and Mississippi report the first decline in childhood obesity in decades, “we’re seeing signs of progress,” says Kass. “But we have to understand that approaching the problem as a family is critical to success.” Mika Rotunda, who went from 246 to 133 lbs., agrees: “I had a good support system in my parents, doctor and friends. They helped me believe in myself, and I never looked back.”

Kris Beall, 17

Before: 289 lbs., 6’2″

Now: 185 lbs., 6’3″

After losing his great-grandmother at 15, Kris found solace in eating bags of frozen pizza rolls dipped in ranch dressing, followed by two plates of spaghetti for dinner. Unable to walk from one end of his school to the other without having to sit down, “I had a doctor’s note to excuse me from doing PE,” he says. Watching The Biggest Loser, “I’d cry, feeling trapped in this fat. I felt doomed.” Adds his mom, Cindy: “Kris made a comment that he wanted to commit suicide. It broke my heart.” In desperation she reached out to Biggest Loser champ Patrick House, who connected Kris with health-focused boarding school MindStream Academy in South Carolina. There he underwent counseling, learned how to cook healthy meals, took up running – and shed 104 lbs. “Now that I’ve lost the weight, I want to help other people,” he says. “I want to explain that there’s a way out of this.”

What About Growth Spurts?

Some kids get leaner as they grow up, but parents shouldn’t think taller means healthier. “If you feed your child junk food and think, ‘It’ll even out later,’ it’s shortsighted,” says Janet Carter, a dietitian at South Carolina’s Boeing Center for Children’s Wellness. “No matter how tall they get, that doesn’t change bad habits.”

Devin Ramsey, 12

Before: 180 lbs., 5’3″

Now: 163 lbs., 5’11”

For Devin the worst part about being 180 lbs. in fourth grade wasn’t being bullied at school; it was being teased at home: “My brother [Donovan, now 21] would say, ‘Put a shirt on!’ and ask if I was wearing a bra.” After watching him eat three meals a day—often fast food—plus a second dinner and late-night ice cream, “I thought about the role I played,” says his mom, Concetta. “I realized that he’s only eating what I bring into the home. It was time to turn things around.” She enrolled Devin in the Heart Health program at the Medical University of South Carolina, which teaches kids about nutrition and exercise. She also swapped whole wheat bread for white and cut back on red meat for the family. The results? Devin is 17 lbs. lighter (and he grew 8 in.). Now “he plays basketball on the ‘skins’ team without hesitation,” says his mom. “My brother encourages me now,” adds Devin. “And I have a six-pack!”

Logan Faust, 10

Before: 106 lbs., 4’2″

Now: 78 lbs., 4’6″

When she was 7 years old, “kids would say mean things about me,” says Logan, who gained more than 30 lbs. in a year with a daily 2,000- to 3,000-calorie diet that included two lunches (one packed, one purchased), mac and cheese as a snack and a pasta dinner. “I was a little embarrassed about my weight.” Adds mom Tiffaney: “It really got out of hand, and it hit us that changing our eating habits was something we had to do as a family.” Thanks to the Heart Health program at the Medical University of South Carolina, the fourth grader lost 28 lbs. in a year and a half and became a fan of “corn, peas and bananas!” She’s also setting a healthy example for her brother Hunter, 2: “I tell him, ‘Eat an apple. It’s really good for you!'”

How to Talk to Kids About Weight

• DON’T ignore it: “Kids know they’re overweight. If you ignore it, they get the message you’re ashamed and may try to lose weight unsafely,” says pediatrician Joanna Dolgoff.

• DO pick the right time: “Don’t talk about it after they’ve eaten a third cookie,” says Dolgoff. “Pick a time when they’re having a relaxing day.”

• DON’T focus on physical appearance: “You want to talk about health, not looks,” says Dolgoff. Use the terms “healthy” vs. “unhealthy.”

Mika Rotunda, 19

Before: 5’7″, 246 lbs.

Now: 5’7″, 133 lbs.

As a kid Mika ate like her two older brothers and dad, who all work in pro wrestling. “My mom cooked steaks and mashed potatoes, and I could keep up with the boys eating multiple servings,” says the Florida-based former varsity volleyball player, who admits she didn’t know what a reasonable portion looked like. But while shopping for a homecoming dress at age 15, "I remember thinking, ‘I don’t belong in a size 20. I want to make a change.'” Mika’s doctor suggested a food journal “to pay attention to everything down to a tablespoon of dressing,” says her mom, Stephanie. And since taking up swimming, the high school grad has lost 113 lbs. “Not only did my weight improve,” she says, “my mentality changed. I think I can succeed in anything.”

Sara Waly, 9

Before: 85 lbs. 4’4″

Now: 85 lbs., 4’8½”

Nadia Waly, 9

Before: 94.5 lbs 4’4 ½”

Now: 90 lbs., 4’9 ½”

While looking for flower-girl dresses, Sara (left) and Nadia Waly, then 7, had to shop the size 12 and 14 racks. “It was a wake-up call,” says mom Ayat, who pins their weight gain on after-school snacking. “They’d open up the pantry and eat whatever they found—chips and cookies. Then by dinner they weren’t hungry.” They turned to Dr. Joanna Dolgoff’s Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right, a 12-week program that teaches families to fill up on fruits and veggies and limit indulgences like pizza—of which the girls used to have two slices or more three times a week—to one slice twice a week. Now the twins—who each lost more than 15 lbs. and then recently grew 3½ in.—love broccoli and have begun to take gymnastics. Before, “we always felt tired,” says Nadia. Now “we run faster than the other kids!” says Sara.

How to Encourage Healthy Habits

• Applaud behaviors, not pounds lost. “Rather than losing 5 lbs., focus on achievements like cutting back to one soda a day,” says pediatric psychologist Megan Ratcliff of Cincinnati Children’s Hospital.

• Be a role model. “We can’t tell kids they have to eat spinach but then we’re off eating fries,” says Kass. “Kids are going to follow our lead.”

• For more tips and info, visit:

redlightgreenlighteatright.com

actionforhealthykids.org

letsmove.gov

Charles Haines, 17

Before: 285 lbs., 5’11”

Now: 175 lbs., 6’0″

At his heaviest, “I hated my appearance. Wearing XXL clothes was terrible! You can’t wear what the cool kids wear,” says the high school junior, who packed on 99 lbs. since age 12. “He would have a burger, chicken nuggets and fries before dinner. At dinner he would eat. Then after dinner he would eat candy,” says mom Minakshi Bajpai-Haines. “If I was full, I just kept wanting to eat,” says the teen. “I didn’t think anything bad would happen to me.” But when Charles was 15, “my doctor told me, ‘You’re not going to live long.’ After that appointment I couldn’t breathe.” Charles then found inspiration in an unexpected place: his mom’s copy of Richard Simmons’s Sweatin’ to the Oldies. Now 110 lbs. lighter, “I run six or seven miles a day, and I’m more confident.”