If you look around at many of the adults in Boulder County, it makes sense that statistics show Colorado is the least obese state in the country. But the numbers on children who are overweight and obese in Colorado paint a different picture.
Nearly a quarter of Boulder County children, 24 percent to be precise, are overweight or obese. “We’re lowest (in obesity) for adults, but not for children and adolescents. We’re mid-pack when it comes to that,” said Bonnie Jortberg, an assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine.
Jortberg, who lives in Boulder and raised two daughters here, said the county and state, where childhood obesity is 27 percent, will see the effects when the kids grow up.
“Unfortunately with these kiddos, if they’re obese as children, they have a greater than 70 percent chance in being obese as adults,” she said.
She praises the changes Boulder Valley has made in its school lunches.
“They’ve taken out a lot of sugary, fatty, salty junk foods,” she said.
In addition, the city of Boulder passed a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks in 2016. The tax of 2 cents per ounce on the distribution of beverages with added sugar was initiated by voters. Proceeds will go to wellness programs and chronic disease prevention.
Even with such programs in place, Jortberg said many children still eat too much fast food.
“If you’re not doing anything to burn that off, you’re going to end up obese,” she said. “What’s really interesting is we’ve made some headway with young kids and grade school kids. But we’re seeing obesity rates go up … when they’re in high school, if they’re not in an organized sport. Particularly (we see it) in girls. Many have quit growing. If they’re still eating (and not moving), there will be weight gain.”
In addition, childhood has changed. Sedentary distractions beckon in every house, and children’s leisure time is more organized. Jortberg remembers growing up in Phoenix and playing outside no matter how hot it was.
“There wasn’t anything on TV,” she said. “If you didn’t run around outside with your friends, there was nothing to do.”
Now, when she works at home and goes out for a run, she often sees parents driving their children to the bus stop.
“I see a line of cars. I know where some of them live, literally two blocks from the bus stop,” she said. “I want to scream, ‘Just let your kids walk!’”
