THE BITTER FACTS It isn’t easy being an overweight child. Depression, behavioral problems, hypertension, diabetes, heart disease, fatty-liver disease, and stoke are just some of the illnesses being diagnosed today in children as young as four years old. The statistics are alarming: one in four children is obese –that’s 50% more than a decade ago. Children are eating over 2,000 calories a day, yet exercising less than one hour a week. School physical fitness programs are inadequate; playgrounds are no longer geared toward activity, and sedentary entertainment is the “in thing” to do. In 1999 Canada spent two billion dollars treating obesity-related illnesses. Today that number has more than doubled. The truth is, if left unchecked, our future generations will suffer long-term health problems, have shorter life spans and become an unbearable drain on our health care system. Parents and schools alone can’t defeat this growing epidemic. They need our help. Obesity among children has tripled over the past two decades. 26% of children under 18 are overweight or obese. 52% of boys & 35% of girls age 12-17 do not get enough daily exercise. Estimated health care costs for Quebec alone – 1.5 billion annually. World Health Organization calls obesity a “global epidemic”. 287 million children worldwide expected to be obese by 2010 -that’s 85% more than a decade ago. The world is in danger of losing much of its young generation to early disease or disability. Preventing child obesity is essential to preventing chronic disease. Overweight children are the warning sign of a public health crisis. Obese kids could die before their parents, doctors warn.