CHESAPEAKE, Va. – Since the age of 10, Mary Ann Majewski, 50, says she’s struggled with her weight.
“I used to be 500 pounds,” she said. “I lost a person and a half.”
The Chesapeake mother said her two kids are also battling the scale, including her 16-year-old daughter.
Over the last several months, Majewski said her daughter went from a size 13 to a 6 by eating healthier and exercising more with the junior ROTC program.
“We have to get these kids off the couch and off these phones and games,” said Majewski. “That’s our problem.”
Dr. Ryan Light, a physician at TPMG Greenbrier Family Medicine, said obesity is a growing problem, affecting about 13% of children in Virginia.
New guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) suggest overweight kids struggling to lose weight be treated early and aggressively with weight-loss drugs and surgery as young as 13 years old.
Majewski, who works as a medical coder, disagrees with that.
“I think they need to have their head examined because there’s no way you should put a child through that,” Majewski said. “That surgery is so invasive and does so many different things to the mind and to the body. I’ve known too many people who’ve died from that surgery.”
Dr. Light, however, said most 13-year-old girls have already gone through puberty and virtually have adult bodies. While surgery is an option, he said it should be a last resort because of the risks.
“There are complications and some long-term consequences of doing bariatric surgery at a younger age, however, the long-term complications of obesity are just as dangerous in some cases,” he said.
Dr. Light said changing your eating habits is key and watch out for those extra calories in sugary drinks and sweets.
“Three extra cookies a week are 150 calories, which is a can of soda. Three times a week is six pounds per year,” Light said. “That’s a half pound per month and if you do that for 10 years, it’s 60 pounds overweight.”
The AAP also recommends better nutrition, exercise, and face-to-face counseling.
Majewski said she did all those things to help her slowly lose more than 250 pounds over 18 years. At 50 years old, she’s not done yet.
“I’m proud of what I’ve done,” she said. “It’s going to take me a little bit, but I’ll get there.”
