- An estimated nine out of 10 parents think their child is fit when only one of three actually is. (Source: Project Diabetes)
- 90% of adults surveyed stated that most Americans are indeed overweight, yet only 40% identified themselves as being overweight. This is far less than the 65% that are now classified as overweight or obese. (Source: Pew Research Center)
- Tennessee has been recognized as a state with epidemic proportions of childhood obesity, one of the highest rates in pediatric obesity and childhood type II diabetes, and one of the highest rates of heart disease in the nation. (Source: “Weighing the Costs of Obesity in Tennessee,” State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury)
- The toll for that extra weight includes an increase in risk for heart disease because of high blood pressure and high cholesterol; obstructive sleep apnea, which can affect learning and quality of life; a high risk for type 2 diabetes; and a shortened lifespan. Psychological problems include poor self-esteem, depression, eating disorders and social discrimination. (Source: healthy-kids.org)
- Tennessee is ranked 48th in the country in overall health status and Tennessee’s children are increasingly at risk due to poor physical fitness and diets. (Source: GetFitTN web site)
- Schools that offer intense physical activity programs have shown positive effects on student academic achievement. (Source: Symons, CW, 1997)
- Better social, emotional and decision making skills are associated with higher test scores and higher grades. (Source: Fleming CB, et. Al, 2005)
- Schools that offer free, high-quality breakfast programs show student increases in academic achievement, class participation, and daily attendance. (Source: Powell, CA, 1998)
- Being overweight/obese are associated with poorer academic achievement. (Source: Taras H, Potts-Datema W, 2005)
- 43 % of all Tennessee students are at risk for overweight or overweight (obese) (Source: CSH pilot site data)
- Nearly two-thirds of Americans are overweight or obese, compared to less than half 20 years ago. Americans spend more than $40 billion each year on diet books and products in an effort to become trimmer and healthier. (Source: FoodFit.com)
- Estimated that 27 percent of the real per capita growth in healthcare spending from 1987 to 2001 is attributable to increasing rates of obesity and increasing relative spending by those who are obese. (Source: Health Affairs Report, October, 2006)
- 62.3 percent of Tennesseans are overweight or obese. In 2004, Tennessee ranked fifth in the U.S. for the highest rate of obese adults with direct medical costs related to obesity topping $1.8 billion in 2003. (Source: “Weighing the Costs of Obesity in Tennessee,” State of Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury)
- Adult obesity rates have doubled from roughly 15 percent of Americans in the late 1970s to approximately 30 percent today. The increase among children and youth over the past 25 years is even more pronounced, doubling for children and tripling for adolescents. (Source: United States Department of Health & Human Services)
- 32% of adults and 17% of adolescents are considered obese. (Source: Journal of American Medial Association) This depicts a risk for all children; even those at a healthy weight during adolescence who can still develop health issues related to weight as they become adults.
- Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. Even with extremely overweight children, weight loss should be gradual. Weight control must be considered a lifelong effort and any weight management program for children should be supervised by a physician. (Source: United States Department of Health & Human Services)
- Scientists estimate that 12,000,000 Americans have food allergies (Source: Food Allergy and Anaphylaxis Network) which includes 2 million school-aged children. One in 20 under 3 years of age has a food allergy. (Source: Newswise – Washington University of St. Louis) These allergies can be lethal.
- Asthma affects 17 million adults and is the #1 chronic disorder among children affecting 5.1 million school-aged children or one out of every 10 (Source: Center for Disease Control and factsaboutasthma.com)
- In the United States, 18.2 million people have diabetes with type 2 diabetes becoming more common in adolescents and youth. (Source: Center for Disease Control)
- The average child gets less than 15 minutes of vigorous activity a day and 43 percent of adolescents watch two or more hours of television per day. (Source: United States Department of Health & Human Services)
- Only 62% of Tennessee’s high school students participated in vigorous physical activity 3 or more days per week for 20 minutes or more per occasion. (Source: 2005 YRBS survey)
- 41.4% of Tennessee high school students reported watching TV for at least three hours or more a day on an average school day compared to 37% nationally (Source: 2005 TN YRBS survey)
- Every year 14,600 Tennessee youth under age 18 become daily smokers. (Source: National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids)
- 25% of all Tennessee high school students reported having experienced binge drinking (Source: 2005 TN YRBS survey)
- 25% of all Tennessee high school students reported they had ridden with a driver who had been drinking alcohol in the last 30 days. (Source: 2005 TN YRBS survey)
- Every 42 per 100,000 Tennessee youth ages 15-24 die in motor vehicle accidents each year. (Source: TN Department of Health, Office of Health Statistics)
- 8% of all Tennessee high school students reported carrying a weapon onto school property in the past 30 days. (Source: 2005 TN YRBS survey)
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