"Obese" or "Overweight" Children - Which Term is More Appropriate?

The term used by doctors until now for labeling teenagers with weight problems was "overweight" or "at risk of becoming overweight." But American experts have started a debate on whether they should start labeling these children "obese" or not.

Some say that "obese" is a very strong word that might hurt the feelings of the ones having this kind of biological disorders and also the feelings of their families. Calling them "obese" may "run the risk of making them angry, making the family angry," though attention must be drawn that obesity is a very serious disorder that may have multiple side effects upon most of the patients, argues Dr. Reginald Washington, a Denver pediatrician and co-chair of an American Academy of Pediatrics.

Nevertheless, most of the medical experts opt out for starting using the term "obese" in designating overweight youngsters. This is the actual state of things and a country that occupies one of the first positions in the world in that which concerns obesity should simply admit it, they claim. The term "at risk of becoming overweight" is too mild and encourages denial of the serious medical problem many American children and teenagers encounter.

"If that same person came into your office and had cancer, or was anemic, or had an ear infection, would we be having the same conversation? There are a thousand reasons why this obesity epidemic is so out of control, and one of them is no one wants to talk about it," stated doctors concerned about the growing number of obese youngsters.

17 % of the American children are registered in the highest weight category, while 34% of them are included in the second-highest weight category.

A final decision upon which of the two terms - the "milder" one or the "stronger" one - will be chosen is going to be made until September this year.