Childhood obesity is a major epidemic in the United States and America's children are at risk. According to the Institute of Medicine, if the rate of obesity continues at the current rate, one in three children born in 2000 will develop diabetes at some point during their lifetime.
Studies show that children who are obese are at increased risk for chronic diseases that were once considered to be adult-onset diseases, because they occurred as people got older and were rarely seen in childhood.
Today's children are being diagnosed with diseases like diabetes, high blood pressure and heart disease at an unprecedented rate. The implications of the early onset of these diseases can mean a lifetime of poor health, costly medical care and other social, psychological and physical problems.
Reversing childhood obesity will require commitment from all segments of society. When we look at the causes of obesity, it is clear that the problem is not simply one of eating too much and exercising too little. The evidence suggests that a wide range of personal, social, political, economic, educational, cultural and marketing factors are at play in contributing to the increase in childhood obesity that is plaguing the nation.
I will be sharing information, insights and strategies that can help to win the fight against childhood obesity.
