by Blythe Hiss, BS, National Center on Health, Physical Activity, and Disability
Child with an upper extremity amputation is throwing a ball. |
Since 1980, obesity rates have doubled among children and tripled among adolescents. Of children and adolescents ages 6 to 19, 16 percent "about 9 million young people" are considered overweight. An additional 15 percent of children and adolescents are at risk for being overweight, meaning they have a body mass index (BMI) for their age that falls between the 85th and 95th percentile.