Local Teen Wins Against Childhood Obesity

In the Carolinas, our children are facing a crisis. Childhood obesity.
Doctors say it is growing at an alarming rate and causing serious health problems for children previously only seen in adults.
We found a local young man who recognized his problem and took action vowing never to suffer from weight again.
9th grader Alec Townes loves to work out now. However, this 15 year old wasn't always so easily moved because just one year ago he weighed in at 238 pounds.

Alec says, "I was seeing how everybody else was progressing in their lives and in my grade and I just wasn't doing that. I was still fat."

Alec now weighs about 165 pounds. He says that's 15 pounds less than he weighed at 10 years old.

He says, "You want to change so badly but you don't want to do what it takes to change. I used to get up go to school and after school I was like oh my gosh I just want to eat and go to bed."

Doctor Doug Whitehead says the rising rate of obesity is a crisis situation for our children.

Dr. Whitehead says, "About 17 percent of all children from 2 to 19 years of age are obese in America and that's pretty shocking."

According to Dr. Whitehead, in many cases the parents set the example for their children.

He says, "We see a lot of kids and I see more and more children coming in overweight and it tends to be associated with family decisions family life patterns."

For Alec that wasn't the case, his parents are very athletic. He says his weakness was sweets like oreos and cake which eh would find ways to get.
After talking to his parents about wanting to lose weight, they helped him choose better foods and hired Life Center trainer Dane Smith. Smith says he sees many children unable to do simple workouts.

Smith says, "Stress on their heart from carrying extra weight, cardiovascular complications, metabolic complications, even pulmonary complications. You can develop all kinds of diseases just from being overweight."

As for Alec Townes, he says he feels great now and the weight and the problems that come with it aren't anything he's willing to live with.
The good news according to the experts, while it is hard for some adults to make healthy lifestyle changes, it is much easier for children to adapt to them.
For ideas on changes you can make in your child's life to avoid obesity click on this link.
For more information on the problem of childhood obesity click here.