The Public Health Challenge
Obesity has become a major public health problem among school-aged children in the United States. Jan Hoffman, in an article titled “For Schoolchildren, Weights Rise Along with Summer Temperatures,” reports that fitness and nutrition programs initiated in school settings have little carry over into the summer months. Hoffman brings to light the results of a study conducted by Paul von Hippel and Joseph Workman, who monitored the obesity rates of approximately 18,000 kindergarteners for a three-year period. At the end of the three-year timeframe, a 5.4% increase in the number of obese children was realized. All of this weight gain occurred during the summer months [1]. If children are unable to maintain the healthy
Obesity has become a major public health problem among school-aged children in the United States. Jan Hoffman, in an article titled “For Schoolchildren, Weights Rise Along with Summer Temperatures,” reports that fitness and nutrition programs initiated in school settings have little carry over into the summer months. Hoffman brings to light the results of a study conducted by Paul von Hippel and Joseph Workman, who monitored the obesity rates of approximately 18,000 kindergarteners for a three-year period. At the end of the three-year timeframe, a 5.4% increase in the number of obese children was realized. All of this weight gain occurred during the summer months [1]. If children are unable to maintain the healthy