Narrator: This is Science Today. Childhood obesity in this country is a major problem. Kevin Patrick, a professor of family and preventive medicine at the University of California, San Diego, says parents can help overweight or obese children by setting up household rules such as, eating more nutritiously, watching less television and getting more physically active.

Patrick: Clearly in earlier adolescence it’s a little easier to enforce those rules than as kids get into their mid- to late-teens. But we do know that kids will listen to parents and that household rules do make a difference in some of those things

Narrator: Patrick also suggests parents discuss the problem with their family doctor, especially due to the deeper consequences associated with childhood obesity.

Patrick: We know that kids who are overweight get teased a lot and have fairly poor quality of life as well. This is probably as important a thing to discuss if there’s a concern in a particular child, as their immunization status or whether or not they have any problems in school that the doctor might be able to advise them on.

Narrator: Patrick conducted one of the largest studies looking at the multiple factors that contribute to childhood obesity. For Science Today, I’m Larissa Branin.