ABSTRACT
Obesity is the most prevalent nutritional disease of children in this country (Dietz, 1998). Over the last 30 years, the percentage of children in the United States who are overweight has more than tripled (National Center for Health Statistics, 2001). Childhood obesity is not just limited to the United States. The prevalence of childhood obesity worldwide is rapidly accelerating (International Obesity Task Force, 2005) and is reaching global epidemic proportions (World Health Organization, 2005).
