(Guide to a Healthy Lifestyle)

The Tragedy of Childhood Obesity

Obesity - Getting the Big Picture

The alarming rise of childhood obesity in Georgia has caused a controversial program to be put in place to focus awareness on the problem. Children's Healthcare of Atlanta has created a campaign called Strong4Life as a wake-up call.

One 'in your face' video from that campaign shows an overweight child asking his overweight mother, "Mom, why am I fat?"

What led Children's Healthcare to take such a no-holds barred approach to childhood obesity? Escalating obesity rates which show no signs of slowing down.

It is a sad fact of life that overweight or obese parents are many times more likely to have overweight or obese offspring. How can it be otherwise? Among other things, children will mimic their parent's eating pattern.

According to Strong4Life.com, almost 40 percent of Georgia's children are overweight or obese; this translates into nearly one million kids!

This ranks Georgia second to Mississippi for the nation's highest childhood obesity rates.

"Ignoring this problem is what got us here ... It's time to wake up ... We can't continue to ignore the fact that Georgia has the second highest rate of childhood obesity in the country. Kids are now suffering from diseases once seen only in adults. Start by joining the community. It's a small step in a long journey, but together we can get there," (Strong4Life.com)

Georgia and Mississippi are not alone in this national crisis. Although obesity rates in other states may not be quite as high, they are higher than in previous decades and causing great concern among health authorities.

Largely due to childhood obesity and its far-reaching consequences, today's generation of kids are at risk of dying before their parents. This has never happened at any time in America's history.

Obesity can lead to devastating health problems. Today's youth are developing diseases which were previously confined to adults. (Read the entire article at The Tragedy of Childhood Obesity.)

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