T H E FAT F I G H T I N G FACTS

Did you know almost 14 million children in the United States between the
ages of 2 and 17 are obese and another 8.6 million are at risk of becoming
obese? That’s more than twice the number of obese kids today than our
country had in 1980.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of Hoosier kids included in those numbers.
In fact, Indiana ranked third in the nation in the number of obese kids in a
2001 study. Our state didn’t get this way overnight, and it will take time to
reverse this trend. Everybody in Indianapolis has a role to play in the fight
against fat, including you. Start by knowing your fat-fighting facts so you can
start making a healthy move.



HEALTH CONSEQUENCES

° Obese youth have higher risk for type 2 diabetes, early-onset heart disease,
  hypertension and anxiety problems, asthma and sleepapnea, joint and
  orthopedic problems, digestive disorders and depression.
° Nearly one in three children is at risk of overweight and one of every six
  is overweight.7
° Approximately 80 percent of overweight youth will be obese in adulthood.8



WHY WE ARE FAT ( A N D G E T T I N G FATTER)

° We like fast food. Everybody eats it, and a lot of people are “super sizing.”
° We drink a lot of soda. 32 percent of girls and 52 percent of boys age 14
   and older drink three or more servings of soda a day.1
° Mom isn’t making the meals. Even though a home cooked meal is generally
  healthier, people aren’t eating as many meals at home or as a family.
° Snack machines. Schools and businesses sell vending machine snacks, which
  aren’t as healthy as fresh foods.
° We aren’t eating our fruits and vegetables. Only 2 percent of school-age
   children eat the number of servings for all five major food groups in the
   Food Guide Pyramid.2
° We are couch potatoes. Children are watching 12 to 14 hours of television
   a week
  and spending seven hours playing video games.
° We don’t move enough. Less than 25 percent of the nation’s school children
  are active for even 20 minutes a day.
° Gym class in school is changing. Only 2 percent of Indiana’s elementary school
  students have PE classes more than two days a week; in high school, students
  typically are only required to take two semesters of PE and one semester
  of health education.3

This information was courtesy of the FitCity campaign.
FitCity is a community wide campaign founded by The Health Foundation of Greater
Indianapolis, United Way of Central Indiana, and the Information and Referral Network.
1 U.S. Department of Agriculture
2 Indiana State Department of Health
3 “Child Obesity in Indiana: A Growing Public Policy Concern,” IU Center for Evaluation
& Education Policy, Vol. 3, No. 1, Winter 2005
4 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Active Living, Obesity and Nutrition Program
5 Center for Disease Control & Prevention
6 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
7 American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Nutrition
8 Styne, D., “Childhood and Adolescent Obesity: Prevalence and Significance,”
Pediatric Clinics of North America 48 (2001