Jul 1, 2009 10:32 pm US/Central
Study: Illinois Ranks 4 In Childhood Obesity
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Children exercise at Jump Ahead Academy: a gym for moms, kids and babies.
CBS
In a study about obese children, Illinois ranks in the top 10. In fact, we're fourth on that dubious list. So why are our kids so unhealthy? CBS 2's Anne State reports with a surprising theory.
You expect to hear the usual suspects: junk food, lack of exercise, video games. But we heard a new possible reason Wednesday: organized sports.
Among the girls working out in a Lincoln Park gym is 8-year old Ella Katz. She's an ice skater. She comes here for toning and balance. Ella and her sister Olivia are very active. But they admit some of their friends are not.
"Maybe they don't know that it's good for their body, and maybe they just sit around and don't care," Ella said.
According to a new report by Trust for America's Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 20 percent of kids in Illinois are obese.
"I would assume it to have been higher," said Katy White.
Katy White is the owner of Jump Ahead Academy, a gym for moms, babies and kids.
White says kids need a gym like this because this is the only exercise some of her kids get. She says one of the reasons is that kids' sports have become so competitive, if a child is not super-talented, they get weeded out.
"Kids are dropping out of sports at the age of 12 because it's getting so competitive and there's not a space for the recreational athlete so much anymore," White said.
White says city kids especially have fewer places to play outside, and people tend to have smaller living spaces, which means less space to run around.
The result is that children are less active. But White says the solution is easy.
"It's just back to basics," White said. "Just get outside and play. Get outside with your kids and move around."
CBS 2 obtained a synopsis of the study. It says nothing about sports or lack of exercise. However, it does mention school lunches in Illinois, saying the nutritional standards are not as high as in other states.
In nearby Indiana, the rate of obese children was listed at 14.5 percent.
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