Childhood Obesity: It’s Everyone’s Business

The National Business Group on Heatlh has released a new toolkit, Childhood Obesity: It’s Everyone’s Business.  It was prepared in response to employer interest in today’s realities:

The National Business Group on Heatlh has released a new toolkit, Childhood Obesity: It’s Everyone’s Business.  It was prepared in response to employer interest in today’s realities:

• Nearly one third of children are overweight or obese.
  • Two thirds of children and teens do not meet daily exercise guidelines, and 10% do not participate in any physical activity at all.
  • 80% fail to meet daily fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines.
• An obese teenager has a 70% chance of becoming an obese adult. And with obesity-associated health care costs for employers currently running to at least $45 billion annually, the price tag of this childhood epidemic could become unaffordable if changes are not made.
• Employer activities and programming for children that can serve as models and the infrastructure and resources that can be leveraged.

These tools should be especially valued by any employers who are also healthcare providers. 

  Unfortunately, the state-wide rates speak for themselves!