SACRAMENTO - Tens of thousands of dollars in grant money is being distributed to schools and community-based organizations across the country by United Healthcare. The Sacramento YMCA is on the receiving end of some of that money, and they will be using it to fight childhood obesity.
According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 30.5 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 17 are considered to be overweight and obese. The YMCA will put their allotted $1,000 out of the $200,000 in overall grant money towards a program designed to help children lose weight and become better educated in terms of healthy eating.
Thanks to the grant, more than 160 kids will participate in a 16-week program, meeting twice a week for 75-minute sessions. Each session includes 45 minutes of physical activity, a healthy snack, counseling, and lifestyle education.
They will also learn how to make healthy food. Many kids have never even tried healthy food because parents simply supply them with whatever they want.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in every three children is considered to be obese and overweight in the U.S. That puts them on an early path to health concerns like diabetes and heart disease.
The fact is, if it's not checked or treated, obesity will affect 43% of adults by 2018 and will add nearly $344 billion in that year alone to our country's annual direct healthcare costs.
News10/KXTV