Over the last couple of years, the problem of childhood obesity had been getting better. It was a shift. Dr Lisa Dan Ike was excited to see we were seeing some modest improvements in our rates of pediatric obesity. Dr. Danica's chief of pediatrics for Kaiser Permanente Northwest, She says the rates of childhood obesity we're on a downward trend that is, until cove it. But what we've noticed since the start of the pandemic is our kids, who are coming in for their annual, well, child checkups. We're seeing a lot of weight gain over the past year for those Children. Kids that had typically been in the average weight range jumped into the 95th percentile arrange considered obese. And the problem with that is over time, as Children are obese for longer periods in their life, that pushes them into the risk category for Type two diabetes, heart and kidney problems in young adulthood, which is what we're trying to avoid, the Nike says. There are obvious reasons for that shift. Not being in school, unable to take part in all the related activities, along with a lot more screen time, leads to much more sedentary lives. But there is another reason kids feel their parents stress. They also, um, may not have great coping skills on DSO. They may be eating more if there are stressed and anxious to reduce that stress and overeating. Deny says, parents need to stick to a routine set a scheduled bedtime and wake time eat scheduled meals that will help your kids avoid grazing all day and then set up a time to get out and exercise. I think a lot of families that are home together confined 10 or 15 or 20 minutes over the noon hour to get outside and go for a quick walk around the block. I mainly encouraged families to work on getting back on the schedule. Family nutritionist Katherine Jeffcoat supports the scheduled approach. She says since the pandemic, her referrals for eating disorders have skyrocketed. Teenagers fearful of gaining weight and younger Children gaining too much like the night. Jeffcoat encourages parents to take control. Start with the small things stock your cupboards with lots of healthy fruits and vegetables and whole grains, and so they feel good about this. Next their kids are eating. Over time, they'll make a big difference. In Portland. Keely Chalmers KGW news