Why the Need?

We Need A New Model that Works!

Walk into any American classroom and you’ll see more overweight and obese students than ever in the history of the US. America has been trying to solve this problem with a variety of programs since Everett Coop was surgeon General in the 1980’s.

  • Obesity:
    • 16% of children (over 9 million 6-19 years olds) are overweight or obese
  • Cardiovascular Disease: *In a population-based sample.
    • Approximately 60% of obese children aged 5 to 10 years had at least one cardiovascular disease risk factor.
    • 25% had two or more risk factors.
  • Diabetes: *For children born in the United States in 2000.
    • 30% of boys and 40% of girls are at risk of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives.

Schools are the Ideal Setting: The majority of young people aged 5-17 years spend time in schools each day. Schools provide an ideal setting for teaching children and teens to adopt healthy eating and physical activity behaviors.