ABSTRACT
Childhood obesity in America has reached epidemic proportions. [2] According to the latest statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), more than one-third of children in the United States aged 10-17 are overweight (18.2%) or obese (16.4%). [3] Recent findings conclude that compared with smoking, obesity is an equal or greater contributor of preventable death, indicating obesity has surpassed smoking as the leading cause of preventable death in America. [4]
The relationship between obesity and risk for chronic disease, such as cardiovascular disease (CVD), hypertension, and type 2 diabetes mellitus, has been established and is well documented. [5] Most chronic diseases develop over many years and, because 70%–80% of overweight and obese children will remain overweight their entire lives, [6] it is critical to understand why the childhood obesity rate is epidemic and develop effective strategies to reduce its incidence in the future. Over the past decade, numerous studies and programs have been developed to combat the growing obesity epidemic. Considering children spend the majority of their day in school, school-based programs have the potential to provide signifi cant infl uence on a child’s health.
