Facts
and Figures on Childhood
Obesity
Source:
From the U.S. Surgeon
General's Report on
Obesity
-
Over 20-million children
are overweight by an
average of 8.3 pounds.
- Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980.
- One in six American children are classified as physically
underdeveloped.
- More than half the girls and one quarter of the boys ages 6-17 cannot
run a mile
faster than walking.
- Seventy percent of girls in this age group cannot do more than one pull
up, and 55 percent of
the boys cannot do even
one.
- Forty percent of American children aged 5-8 years show one or more risk
factors of heart disease
including: high blood
pressure, high
cholesterol and low
cardiovascular
endurance.
This
lack of fitness and
health awareness in
children contributes to
many problems cited by
schoolteachers. Examples
cited include, but are
not limited to: · Lack
of self-esteem in
children, which
contributes to poor
choices. · Aggressive
behavior in children,
which contributes to
classroom disruptions
and playground fights. ·
Experimenting with
unsafe diet practices
(fasting, diet pills,
anabolic steroids).
The
July 1996 Report by the
U.S. Surgeon General on
Physical Activity and
Health states: · Nearly
half the young people
12-21 years of age are
not vigorously active,
moreover, physical
activity sharply
declines during
adolescence. · Childhood
may thus be a pivotal
time for preventing
sedentary behavior among
adults by maintaining
the habit of physical
activity throughout
school years. · Every
effort should be made to
encourage schools to
require daily physical
education in each grade
to promote physical
activities that can be
enjoyed throughout life.
News
articles in publications
such as Newsweek, Fat
for Life?, Generation
XXL state: · The
Government estimates
6-million American
children are now fat
enough to endanger their
health · An additional
5-million children are
on the threshold and the
problem is growing even
more extreme as it
becomes more widespread.
· Ten years ago the
medical community found
that type 2 Diabetes did
not occur until after 40
years of age; now, 30
percent of pediatric
patients are type 2.
In
addition, every year
over 930,000 Americans
suffer heart attacks.
These adults were more
fit as children
than our children are
today. Heart disease is
this nation’s number one
killer, with one in four
Americans showing risk
factors. Furthermore,
the obesity epidemic has
become a critical health
problem, second only to
tobacco. These are
preventable health
problems, which are
costing taxpayers over
$100 billion per year.
