Since the 1960s, the level of childhood obesity in the United States has increased over 50 percent. Today, between 15 and 25 percent of schoolchildren in the United States are overweight, placing them at risk for heart disease, diabetes, and high blood pressure. The Surgeon General's report also notes that children tend to become less active with each passing year. It's easy to blame the lure of TV and the Internet for turning kids into idle slackers, but the influences are far more complex. Budget-conscious school officials are cutting physical education programs.
Some adolescents surrender their free time to after-school jobs.
Many teens mysteriously forget that they own bicycles once they get a driver's license. Finally, exercise can fall victim to fashion, points out Mary Ann Hill, a spokeswoman for the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.