Calling obesity the "terror within" Dr. Richard Carmona, former Surgeon General said that prevention is critical to combating it.
Studies show that more than one-third of U.S. children from 6 to 17 years are overweight. Nearly half of the young people between the ages of 12 and 21 do not participate in regular, vigorous exercise. School budgets have been cut and physical education has been reduced or eliminated.
Adults in the United States have one of the highest obesity rates in the world. Nearly one-third of U.S. adults twenty and older are obese, while about two-thirds are overweight according to the National Center for Health Statistics. We have become a nation of couch potatoes. The implications for our health care system are dire as many diseases are related to a sedentary lifestyle.