Healthy eating in out-of-school time: The promise and the challenge

Jean Leibowitz Wiecha; Jean Leibowitz Wiecha; G Hall; E Gannett; B Roth

Healthy eating in out-of-school time: The promise and the challenge

Wiecha, J., Hall, G., Gannett, E., & Roth, B. (2012). Healthy eating in out-of-school time: The promise and the challenge. Afterschool Matters, Spring, 7-15. http://www.niost.org/pdf/afterschoolmatters/asm_2012_15_spring/asm_2012_spring_2.pdf

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Abstract

More than 30 percent of American children are either overweight or obese (Ogden, Carroll, Curtin, Lamb, & Flegal, 2010), with a body mass index (BMI) in the 85th percentile or above. Although prevalence varies by age, sex, and ethnicity, all groups are affected (Ogden et al., 2010). Risk of serious health problems increases with increasing BMI. Childhood obesity, characterized by BMI in the 95th percentile or above, affects 16.9 percent of two- to nineteen-year-olds; it is associated with increased risk of high blood pressure, high cholesterol, and type 2 diabetes (Barlow, 2007). Childhood obesity also increases the risk of obesity and chronic disease during adulthood (Whitaker, Wright, Pepe, Seidel, & Dietz, 1997).