Denver Channel 7 ABC News Story on the FitKid™ Caliper

September 4, 2003

Right now it's estimated that 9 million children in our country are obese. Pediatricians say the epidemic will only get worse if parents don't get more involved. The hard part is knowing if your child has a problem. Tonight 7news anchor, Katie Trexler, shows us some local doctors are using another tool that could help.

It's quick... And painless..... And this little tool could help fight childhood obesity. You've probably seen fat calipers like this used at gyms... They measure body fat. Now pediatricans at rocky mountain youth are the first in the nation to use the calipers on children.

((it opens up the conversation to how much soda do you drink... How much tv do you watch... And what fast food do you eat.))

Most of us know that childhood obesity is a problem... But how do you know if your child is really overweight... Or maybe just has big bones. This method is more specific.. Than just measuring weight.

((good job))

Doctor's measures skin folds on the back of the arm and on the calf... To determine the percent of body fat... On a scale from low to high or obese. According to this... 9 year-old jasmine rodriguez's weight is optimal.

((it makes me feel great))

((i don't want to be overwight i just want to be real healthy))

((what's really nice about this way of testing is you don't have to do it in a doctors' office... You can do it in the privacy of your own home.))

((even at the doctor's office with the door closed i think kids are kind of embarassed and they're nervous about talking about it... But if the parent sees it and sees the kid in a higher category they might be motivated to do a little more))

Whether it's getting more exercise or just cutting down on the fast food... It may help get many kids on the right on track. In the future... Doctors will use the fat calipers in the Rocky Mountain Youth/Denver's 7 Health Mobile.!

>Go to AccuMeasure FitKid™ Caliper for Children page