Your children could be dying way before they should. It is a true fact - a terrible one, but a true one. The childhood obesity epidemic is real! And it may not be your fault.

The Center for Disease Control has stated that our younger generation is now facing a decreased life expectancy greater than ever before. The reason, issues with weight & obesity. Over a 15 year period childhood obesity has not only doubled but, in teenagers, it has all but tripled! This is a crisis that we are facing. We are finding it more and more difficult to know what to feed our young ones, because food labels are so difficult to understand. One other problem is, the price of healthy food has more than doubled over the past 10 years.

What the child of today needs is good Physical Education, exercise done on a regular basis, which is being cut out all over the country. Youth sports have become so competitive, it takes away all the health benefits. If nothing else, just go out in the backyard or to a park and keep them moving.

A change must be made - it needs to be now! Like never before!

We must set the best example as parents when it comes to our children. With the stress we have in our life today, that's not easy. Some simple guidelines are a major necessity on a daily basis.

1. Junk food should be rare. We all know how good chocolate chip cookies are, but they're not meant to be eaten every day. Because of easy availability, and mass production, empty calories may become a big part of a young child's life.

2. Unhealthy treats should only be on special occasions. This teaches your child that unhealthy food is meant to be eaten sparingly and not all the time.

3. Make them a lunch. This is a good way to control food intake! To keep them from getting rid of it once they get to school, ask them what healthy food they may want to have. Remember, there are more fruits besides apples, oranges, & bananas. Be creative!

4. Find an activity or sport your child may like to play. Take the time to find the physical activity that may interest your young one. It will definitely help against the fight of the childhood obesity epidemic! Over 9 million young ones within the United States are now overweight or obese. They are currently looking at a lifetime of illness and emotional problems if an answer is not found. It's not hard it just requires effort to find help to fight against the childhood obesity epidemic!