| • |
There are over 23 million kids between ages 6 and 11 in the U.S. |
| |
|
| • |
Kids ages 2-17 spend, on average, 4.8 hours per day in screen time (tv, video games, computers) representing close to 30% of their waking hours |
| |
|
| • |
Less than 15 percent of school-age children get even 20 minutes of daily physical activity. Public health officials predict that kids who do not get enough physical activity will begin to experience costly, debilitating illnesses like high blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes even in their 20s and 30s
* Children who are not physically active, eat more. |
| |
|
| • |
Children who are not physically active, eat more. |
| |
|
| |
Childhood obesity has doubled in the past 20 years leading the Surgeon General to declare it a national epidemic. The rise in obesity has set off a dramatic increase in childhood diabetes and other illnesses. |
| |
|
| |
The cause of childhood obesity is twofold. First, kids today eat more food and specifically more high fat and high carbohydrate foods. Second, they are spending much of their day being sedentary. With tv, video games and computers, the average kid spends 5 hours per day on screen time. |
| |
|
| |
Recently, the American Academy of Pediatrics established a policy titled “Prevention of Pediatric Overweight and Obesity” recommending the use of the Body-Mass Index to identify children with weight problems. See the Center for Disease Control website at www.cdc.gov/growthcharts/ for more information on the Body Mass Index and to calculate your child’s BMI. |
