At School, Overweight Children Carry A Heavy Burden
One in three children in the United States is overweight or obese. Significant numbers of those young people are grappling with health problems like heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes.
Those conditions can be difficult for children to manage in any setting, but they can pose particular challenges for children during the school day.
Dr. Yolandra Hancock used to be an elementary school teacher, and it shows. She's patient, encouraging and has an endearing way of ending her sentences with "my love" and "my sweet."
Her patients include a 13-year-old who weighs 400 pounds, a child whose teeth are so rotted she can't bite into carrots, and many preteens who are diabetic. Today, Hancock is examining Derek Lyles, 13. He's 4-foot-11 and weighs 256 pounds.
"When we look at his body mass index, which is how well his weight and height balance out, his BMI