Whom Are We Fooling?

Regarding the July 18 Health article, "Who Are You Calling Fat?":

The "don't worry, be happy" model seemed to be the method we've been using for some time in addressing the childhood obesity epidemic -- and don't be fooled, it is an epidemic. I would only ask parents, doctors and other health professionals who have used this method how it has been working.

I think Reginald Washington, the pediatric cardiologist in Denver, got it right when he said the "warm and fuzzy labels" from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention obscure the health crisis. If your kid is in the 95th percentile for body mass index, he or she is obese and needs to know it.

It is certainly important to protect and nurture a child's self-esteem, but not at the risk of the child's health.

Mom and Dad, don't be afraid to have a heart-to-heart chat to address your concerns and work as a family to combat obesity. That's right, you have to commit yourselves to Junior's weight-loss goals. Ignoring it, or simply renaming it, hasn't worked and won't work.

-- Louis Yuhasz

Sullivan's Island, S.C.

The writer is executive director of Louie's Kids, an organization that raises money for fighting obesity through specialized camps and boarding schools.

·