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Childhood obesity has reached crisis proportions. Over the past two decades, the number of overweight adolescents has tripled. This skyrocketing youth obesity figure is associated with increases in high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type 2 diabetes, as well as higher obesity figures in the adult population. With the rate of obesity among children and teens skyrocketing, the health of an entire generation is at risk.

The first step in solving this health crisis is understanding it. In Underage & Overweight: America's Childhood Obesity Crisis—What Every Family Needs to Know, the first shattering look at this looming disaster, childhood obesity expert Frances Berg clearly lays out the causes of the current crisis. Underage & Overweight clearly lays out the causes of childhood obesity, its consequences, and its cures. It examines the issue from all sides—the classroom, the playground, the home entertainment center, the fast food counter, and the family dining table. It gives families, educators, health care workers, and policy makers the information they need to lead America's children to healthier and happier lives.

Underage & Overweight doesn't just explore the problem. It gives realistic guidance for conquering the problem of childhood obesity. Rather than prescribing aerobics and limiting portions, it offers a seven-point plan for raising healthy children that focuses on changing the way families think about food and physical activity. The tips it gives for guiding children to healthier lives are vital reading not only for parents and other caretakers, but also for teachers, school administrators, doctors, nurses, and health care workers—indeed, anyone concerned about our children and their future.

This heartfelt call for public awareness, understanding, and action is destined to become a landmark work in our country's war against childhood obesity.

Frances M. Berg, MS, LN, is an internationally known authority on weight and eating who has reported obesity research for over two decades to health professionals and the public. She founded Healthy Weight Journal and has served as its publisher and editor for 16 years. She is a licensed nutritionist, family wellness specialist, and adjunct professor at the University of North Dakota School of Medicine. She is a member of the Society for Nutrition Education, the Academy for Eating Disorders, and the Society for the Study of Ingestive Behavior.