ChildhoChildhood obesityod obesity has become a rampant issue in our society. Not too long ago, most schoolchildren carried healthy weights and exercised and played vigorously on a daily basis. We played ball, tag, skateboards, jump rope, handball, rode bikes daily. The percentage of children with weight issues was very small.

However, much has changed in the past twenty years. Here are some staggering facts about childhood obesity listed by Dr. Hyman in his new book " Ending the Food Fight"

1. The percentage of overweight children ages six to 11 has doubled in the last 25 years.

2.  One in three American children (30 million kids) are overweight today (and it is predicted that one in two — a full half of all children! — will be overweight by 2024).

3.  Pediatricians now treat high blood pressure, high cholesterol, “adult” onset (type 2) diabetes, heart attacks, and sleep apnea in children.

4. Overweight children are discriminated against more than those in wheelchairs or with facial disfigurement.

5. Childhood obesity affects the quality of life as much as a diagnosis of cancer does.

6. A typical child sees 10,000 junk food ads a year.

7.  Neighborhood playgrounds, school physical education, and after-school programs have all declined dramatically — while junk food vending machines are now everywhere in schools.

8. Sixty percent of all childhood obesity can be attributed to watching TV. For every hour of TV watched, weight increases by six pounds.

9. Soda intake has increased 500 percent since the 1950s and now comprises 10 percent of all calories consumed by the average teenager.

10.  Among 500 middle school children, the risk of becoming obese increased 60 percent for every additional serving of sugar-sweetened drink per day.