Kids to be seen and heard in obesity fight

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share via Email
• Copy Link

  Link Copied

High profile leaders like first lady Michelle Obama, former President Clinton and a cadre of professional athletes aren’t the only ones taking steps to prevent childhood obesity in America. Everyday kids are stepping up to help combat the problem as well. More than one-third of American children are overweight, with 1 out of 5 being considered obese.

Programs like the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint venture between the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton foundation are giving schools help to tackle childhood obesity. Schools now guide kids to take charge of their health. Measures include ramping up physical activity to having students maintain school gardens and making healthy lunch options. There are also individual success stories. Kids like 16-year-old Kenderick Scorza are turning their lives around to transform from being overweight and obese to fit and in charge of their health.

At age 11, Kenderick Scorza weighed 220 pounds and was only “4 feet tall.” He attributes being overweight to a poor diet and lack of physical activity. “I pretty much ate whatever I wanted and had minimal physical activity. The only activity I had was playing video games.”

His family moved to Arkansas after leaving his native New Orleans post Hurricane Katrina. Then another personal tragedy struck the family. His older brother by the age of 26 suffered both a heart attack and a stroke. This motivated Kenderick to act.

Ironically, it was TV that would wind up saving Kenderick. In 2007 he wound up participating on Nickelodeon’s, “Let’s Just Play and Go Health Challenge”. He struggled for six months and came out of the experience a much healthier kid. Kenderick lost 40 pounds, learned how to swim, ride a bike and was able to complete a triathlon when all was said and done.

Kenderick’s journey has taught him a lot. “If healthier foods were made more affordable then it would be more available to any community no matter how much money you make. In the African American communities I mean they’re going to where there’s the cheapest meal, which will be something at McDonald’s because they have the dollar menu or something like that. It happens to be that the unhealthiest food is the cheapest.”

Besides his own health, his family has benefited and become healthier as well. However, Kenderick didn’t just stop with his family. He’s taken his message of healthy living to other kids. He’s started the Scorza Foundation, which teaches kids in communities healthy and helpful facts. Kenderick also serves on the Youth Advisory board by the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. In regards to giving back, “I’ve been given so much that I just want to give back and pour back into the world what I’ve been given.”

If Kenderick’s story isn’t enough to inspire you then maybe these statistics will be enough to scare parents into action.

According to the CDC, the proportion of U.S. Adults who are obese has doubled over the past three decades to one-third of adults and 1 in every 5 kids. The obesity crisis means that this is the first generation of children who have a lower life expectancy than their parents.

Blacks had 51 percent higher prevalence of obesity, and Hispanics had 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites.

Among Children ages 2 to 19, 12 million are obese.

Childhood obesity is the top health concern among U.S. Parents, topping smoking and drug abuse.

The White House has certainly taken note of the dangerous statistics on childhood obesity, as it’s now one of first lady Michelle Obama’s core issues. In February of this year Mrs. Obama launched the Let’s Move Campaign to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. The very sizable task of the campaign is to get the childhood obesity rate to what it was in the in the late 1970s of just 5 percent by 2030.

On Wednesday, first lady Michelle Obama joined by Washington D.C. area kids launched the President’s Council On Fitness, Sports and Nutrition. She also introduced the 2010 co-chairs, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees and decorated Olympic gymnast Dominique Dawes, as well as other council members. The council this year will look to not only promote regular physical activity for children but also good nutrition.

The efforts in Washington D.C. don’t stop at the White House. Under the guidance of Secretary Tom Vilsack the U.S. Department of Agriculture is also committed to better nutrition for kids. The USDA is not only focused on preventing and improving health but also backing efforts to encourage balanced and nutritious meals for today’s youth.

Physical activity, balanced meals and community participation are being encouraged from many different avenues to help combat and overcome the epidemic of childhood obesity. The last element is personal resolve that kids like Kenderick are using to overcome their weight issues. As Kendrick says, “I feel that anyone could beat the odds if they just put their mind to it.”