Todays children are bigger than ever. Kids are not going outside, and are not getting all of the nutrition they need. American children are not nearly as active as they shoould be, and it may seem like nothing is being done about it.

There are a few organizations that are fighting for the better of the younger generation’s health. Both are fighting to get kids outside, and also getting the government involved.

A ConsumerAffairs.com article, “American Kids More Obese Than Ever,” by Mark Huffman, explains the Kaiser Permanent Southern California’s Department of Research and Evaluation in Pasadena, California study on Childhood Obesity.

Huffman said, “The study found that 7.3 percent of boys and 5.5 percent of girls were extremely obese, translating into more than 45,000 extremely obese children in this cohort. The percentage of extreme obesity peaked at 10 years in boys and at 12 years in girls. The heaviest children were black teenage girls and Hispanic boys. The percentage of extreme obesity was lowest in Asian-Pacific Islanders and non-Hispanic white children.”

“What is particularly tragic is that studies have suggested that obesity in children today may contribute to a 2-5 year decline in their life expectancy, shorter than that of their parents, due to obesity related diseases that are largely preventable,” said Jessica Bartfield, MD, internal medicine and medical weight-loss specialist at Gottlieb Memorial Hospital, part of the Loyola University Health System.

The problem does still exist, but first lady, Michelle Obama has been working to tackle the epidemic. In 2010 she started the “Let’s Move” campaign. She has begun the healing process by taking practical steps to help fix the problem.

“In order to make progress on something like childhood obesity, you need the nation to care about it. She’s been helpful in that respect,” said Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University to The Nation, in the article “Michelle Obama’s Moves,” by Bridget Huber in the October 29, 2012 addition.

Michelle Obama has pushed bills to improve school lunches, and has held numerous functions to bring light to the situation. Her campaign is all about making parents and children aware, and teaching them how to make healthier choices at home.

“Childhood obesity isn’t some simple, discrete issue. There’s no one cause we can pinpoint. There’s no one program we can fund to make it go away. Rather, it’s an issue that touches on every aspect of how we live and how we work.” said Obama at the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Legislative Conference.

The Chesapeake Bay Foundation has also begun a program called No Child Left Inside. It encourages children to get outside and explore the environment.

The No Child Left Inside act would increase the number of environmental and educational field trips in public schools. It would  get kids more involved with the world around them, and encourages kids to get outside.

It seems that the overall approach to this problem has been to make the kids aware of the problem and to encourage them to be kids again.

America still continues to struggle with this issue, but people have begun taking steps to solve the problem.