This is the first week back to school for most Hampton Roads public school children and two of those kids include my 10 year old nephew and 12 year old niece. I did some last minute clothes shopping for them and witnessed the good, bad and ugly at a local mall.  One thing that quickly caught my eye was the amount of plus-size or husky clothing for boys and girls.  It really made me think about the childhood obesity problem.

According to the Centers For Disease Control:  Childhood obesity has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 years increased from 6.5% in 1980 to 19.6% in 2008. The prevalence of obesity among adolescents aged 12 to 19 years increased from 5.0% to 18.1%.

I posted on my Facebook page- basically saying childhood obesity is out of control and  folks started responding quickly.  Here’s what some people had to say:

Tamara said,  “Well, seriously, don’t these overweight kids still need to be able to get dressed? One of my children was a big kid, and I had a terrible time finding clothing to fit him. Why don’t we start DOING something about this problem instead of just griping about it?”

Erica posted, “I know it is sad, but it begins at home. Teaching your children healthy eating habits begins at home. Eating fresh wholesome vegetables is vital to support a healthy mind, body, and spirit. Raw Foods are the way to go!! Sneaky recipes to incorporate veggies is perfect, smoothies work well to add some extra veg.”

Robin added, “Unfortunately that is the result of the massive amounts of processed high fat/high sugar foods are children are consuming. Parents need to be more responsible and set better examples for healthy lifestyles and choices and teach their children. Not to mention that kids and parents could both benefit from more physical activity.”

Seems most people thought the epidemic is caused by kids eating more and burning off less.  It’s a problem for us adults, too.  Think about how portion sizes have increased over the years and choices of foods.  Our clothing sizes have expanded to fit our expanding waistlines.  Hopefully with this new school year comes a new outlook on eating and exercising because the issue really has grown out of control.

What are you doing to keep yourself and your family in shape? Leave your comments below. You could just help another person. As Tamara stated- let’s start doing something about the problem.