Obesity Battle Continues Washington Post (06/24/08) P. F1; Aratani, Lori The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that there are approximately 9 million children between the ages of six and 19 years who are overweight in the United States, about 16 percent of all children in that age range. That percentage is about threefold higher than in 1980. Organizations like the American Heart Association and the National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE) are urging parents to curb television and video games and find ways to get children active during the summer. A 2007 study of 5,380 kindergartners and first-graders published in the American Journal of Public Health found that students gained more weight during the summer than during the rest of the year. But when classes resumed, the children’s body mass indexes declined. Charlene Burgeson, executive director of the NASPE, says: "Studies have shown that the more time kids spend outside, the more active they are.’ Paul Houston, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, says it is important to inform parents about the lack of physical education in schools through awareness programs. "If you do that, parents are going to demand more of it and schools will respond," he asserts.
