All Couch and No Play Makes Jack a Sick Boy

Wowzers, new childhood obesity stats out in this article from USA Today, says hospitalization of overweight youth rose tremendously, increasing medical costs associated with childhood obesity from almost $126 million in 2001 to almost $238 million in 2005.

The hospitalization of heavy children has skyrocketed in recent years, a study shows.

The number of hospitalizations of kids and teens, ages 2 to 19, with a primary or secondary diagnosis of obesity nearly doubled between 1999 and 2005, climbing from 21,743 to 42,429, according to a study published Thursday on the Health Affairs website.

These were stays for obesity-related conditions such as asthma, diabetes, gallbladder disease, pneumonia, skin infections, pregnancy complications, depression and other mental disorders.

The estimated costs for these hospitalizations increased from almost $126 million in 2001 to almost $238 million in 2005. This cost for Medicaid rose from $53.6 million in 2001 to about $118 million in 2005.

Related to this, we're excited to say we just completed a project for The Outdoor Foundation that we hope will lead to getting more kids outside and being active. In short, the web-based curriculum, featuring interviews of experienced outdoor leaders, aims to help volunteer mentors feel more comfortable and confident when leading groups of youth in outdoor activities. And in turn, we hope to see more youth out and about, staying healthy and active, exploring and playing in the great outdoors!

You can check out the website, here. And see what Josh Thomas, Principal, Topics Education has to say about this growing epidemic over on his personal blog, Environmental Dad.