Kid Fit: Helping Kids Win at Fitness

Kids and fitness

Obesity is fast becoming a serious health problem facing children today. Consider these statistics:

• Obesity in children and adolescents has more than doubled in the past 30 years.



• More than one in four U.S. children are overweight, and 15 percent of them are very overweight or obese.

Researchers have already established that an adolescent who is now overweight runs a 70 percent risk of becoming an obese adult. It is a known fact that obesity in adulthood increases the chance that you will develop serious health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and heart disease. Physicians are encountering an increasing number of adolescents and young adults who have already developed these serious health problems.

Why are children becoming more obese? The two biggest factors responsible for childhood obesity are a decline in physical activity and the increasing consumption of higher calorie, higher fat content foods such as fast foods and poor-choice snacks.

The articles below offer practical advice and ideas for keeping your children active and helping them develop healthy eating habits that they can carry into adulthood. Kid Fit also takes a closer look at sports and physical activities appropriate for children, with information about the advantages and disadvantages of each, who is preferable for participation, and more.

Sources:

American Academy of Pediatrics

President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports

This article was reviewed and updated June 2007.