American Children Face A Crisis On The Scale That Only Healthy Eating And Exercise Can Stop

“Attention, children: Step away from TV, video games and from those burgers, fries and pizza. Pick up a ball, jump on a skateboard, hop on a bike or skip rope. Eat an apple. Attention, parents: Encourage your kids to eat healthy and get fit. Stop the excuses and lead by example. Overweight children has become a national epidemic, and Bay County isn't immune to the problem. About 15 percent of Bay County children and adolescents are obese, a number that parallels national statistics, said Dr. Inez Balinska, who practices at Bay Regional Pediatrics, 1456 W. Center Road in Essexville. One in three American children are overweight.’ We’ve seen an increase over the past 10 years,’ Balinska said of the rate of childhood obesity. ‘It used to be 3.5 percent, almost nonexistent. Now it's widespread.’ It's a problem that is putting an entire generation at increased risk for a long list of health ailments, experts say. The solution has to start at home, experts say. Families and pediatricians must work together to get children eating better and moving more, Balinska said.”

http://blog.mlive.com/bctimes/2008/06/american_children_face_a_crisi.html