University of Wisconsin - Extension

The statistics are sobering:

¿ One child in four is overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

¿ Children today are twice as likely to be overweight than 30 years ago.

Overweight is a health risk. One way to prevent excess weight, according to nutrition outreach specialist Amy Rettammel of the University of Wisconsin-Extension, is to get kids up and moving.

Partly as a response to increasing rates of overweight among kids, but mostly because almost all kids need to get more exercise whether they are too heavy or not, the 4-H youth development program at University of Wisconsin-Madison plans to give new emphasis to its

programs in foods and nutrition and in physical fitness.

"There are a lot of possible reasons why we are seeing more overweight and obese children and adults than we used to," Rettammel said. "We are more sedentary. Kids spend a lot more time watching TV or working or playing on computers. The amount of time for physical

education in schools has dropped. Many parents keep children indoors when they can't be supervised because of concerns about their safety. Families use cars for more trips of a mile or less, and kids get rides to school instead of walking or biking."

Rettammel said housing patterns have changed, and suburban living makes it difficult or inconvenient to get from place to place without driving.

While activity levels are dropping, kids are eating more sweet or fatty snack foods, drinking more soft drinks and sugary fruit drinks, eating away from home more often and eating larger portions.

Rettammel says the result of taking in more calories and burning fewer is predictable - weight gain. And overweight children are likely to grow up to become overweight adults. Recent Center for Disease Control statistics reported that 60 percent of American

adults are officially overweight and almost 20 percent qualify as obese.

Rettammel offers some suggestions for parents, teachers and kids to improve their physical fitness:

¿ Encourage children to walk or bike to school, sports and recreational activities whenever possible.

¿ Make family activities more active. Instead of taking the family to a movie with popcorn, take the family on a hike in the woods with a healthy picnic.

¿ Teach children how to make healthy choices when they eat out.

¿ Encourage children to enroll in active programs in 4-H or other youth groups. For example, the 4-H youth development program offers a new project in biking, with age-appropriate activities for youth from early grade school through high school.

¿ Monitor what's in the kitchen. Limit the amount of soft drinks and chips and stock up on vegetables, fruit and low fat dairy products. Encourage everyone to drink water when thirsty.

Finally, Rettammel said adults - especially parents - are important role models. She encouraged parents, teachers and youth leaders to become more active too.

"Both children and adults need about 30 to 60 minutes of moderate exercise (fast walking for example) a day," she said. "Physical activity is important for health for everyone, regardless of age or body size."

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