Getting Your Family in Shape

ByABC News
December 23, 2003, 12:11 PM

Dec. 29 -- America is a nation obsessed with weight. And justifiably so. Sixty percent of Americans are overweight.

An even more frightening fact is that the group getting fatter fastest are nine- to 13-year-olds.Being overweight causes all sorts of health problems, some immediately, some that show up decades later. Among the serious problems health professionals are seeing among kids these days: type II diabetes, until recently seen only in adults; high cholesterol and, among adolescent girls, osteoprenia, the precursor to osteoporosis, once a concern limited to women approaching menopause.

Physically fit children do better in other areas as well, according to Mary Jane Johnson, regional health and fitness manager for the Wellbridge Company, Albuquerque, N.M., which operates 46 multi-sport fitness centers nationwide.

"Kids who are physically fit have higher academic scores, higher self-esteem, less depression, the list goes on and on," she says.

But while the benefits of exercise and good nutrition are well known, the trick is making the transition from evenings spent in front of the television to evenings spent going on family walks, or jogs, or trips to the gym.

Meeting the Challenge

It's a challenge, but it's not impossible. It's a matter of setting priorities and managing your time, says Bill Gobin, founder and CEO of Lift for Kids (www.liftforkids.com), a non-profit organization that does one-day fitness workshops for children throughout the nation.

Parents can change their family's lifestyle, building in more exercise and teaching wiser food choices. And they can do it as a family, gaining not only health benefits but also the emotional benefits of doing things together in a society in which work, school and extracurricular activities can often make it hard for families to be together.

The Will family in San Jose, Calif., is an example of how families can make enormous changes in their lives.