The Junior League of Phoenix helps to empower youth to adopt healthy habits and reverse the growth of childhood obesity in Maricopa County.
Alarming Facts:
- One in three children in the United States is overweight. (The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, The Annuals of American Academy of Political & Social Science)
- Teens that eat frequent family dinners are less likely than other teens to have sex at young ages, get into fights, or be suspended from school, and they are at lower risk for thoughts of suicide. (CASA at Columbia University, September 2007)
- Obese children missed an average of four days of school a month, compared to less than a day for children at an average weight. (Pediatrics Magazine, 2005)
- Only 8% of elementary schools, 6.4% of middle schools and 5.8% of high schools, provide physical activity education. (Healthy Kids Challenge)
- Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. (Pediatrics Magazine, 2004)
- Nearly half of the children in North and South America will be overweight by 2010, up from what recent studies say is currently about one-third of the children in North and South America. (International Journal of Pediatric Obesity)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that nearly one-third of children and adolescents in the United States are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, increasing the chances they will develop health problems such as Type II diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention)
- Obese children missed an average of four days of school a month, compared to less than a day for children at an average weight. (Pediatrics Magazine, 2005)
- Childhood obesity is one of the most critical public health problems today and threatens to reverse the last half century’s gains in reducing cardiovascular (CVD) disease and death. (American Heart Association, 2005)
- Obese children are 5.5 times more likely to have an impaired quality of life than healthy kids, putting their life experience on par with that of kids undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer. (Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006)
- Children who are overweight are at greater risk for bone and joint problems, sleep apnea and social and psychological problems such as stigmatization and poor self-esteem. (National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion)
- Since the early 1970s, the number of overweight children ages 2-5 and 12-19 has doubled and the number of overweight children ages 6-11 has tripled. Today, more than 16% of young people ages 6-19 are overweight. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- There is a strong likelihood that being overweight as a child will lead to being overweight as an adult - an almost 80% chance that overweight adolescents will be overweight as adults. (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention)
- Nine million children are now considered to be overweight. (Centers For Disease Control and Prevention)
- Between 1970 and 1995, food purchased away from home went from 25% to 45%. Between the late 1970s and the mid 1990s, the number of calories in food prepared away from home rose from 18% to 34%. Away from home foods are proven to be higher in fat and lower in fiber and calcium than foods prepared at home. (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)
- Obesity-associated annual hospital costs for children and youth more than tripled over two decades, rising from $35 million in 1979-1981 to $127 million in 1997-1999. (Institute of Medicine of the National Academies)
- Only 8% of elementary schools, 6.4% of middle schools and 5.8% of high schools provide physical activity education. (Healthy Kids Challenge)
- The percentage of overweight African American, Hispanic and Native American children is about 20%. (The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports)
- There are predictions that the average life expectancy of Americans could decrease 2-5 years in the coming decades as a result of the effects of obesity. (The New England Journal of Medicine)
- Obesity is second only to tobacco use as a threat to public health. (Obstetrical & Gynecological Survey, July 2005)
- Fast food consumption has increased fivefold among children since 1970. (Pediatrics Magazine, 2004)
- Nearly one-third of U.S. children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food every day, resulting in approximately six extra pounds per year, per child. (National Association of Children’s Hospitals and Related Institutions, 2004)
The Kids in the Kitchen Program Goals:
- Increase children’s awareness of the nutrition in everyday foods
- Improve the quality of healthy food that kids eat by showing them easy and tasty ways to eat better
- Increase the amount of exercise that kids do during their daily routine
