Why This Project?
Obesity, in both children and adults, is well on its way to becoming the most expensive and misery-inducing epidemic facing our society. Being overweight is not simply an aesthetic issue, but has far-reaching medical consequences such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, heart disease, sleep apnea, stroke, infertility, orthopedic ailments, cancer and depression. It has been estimated that our country spends approximately $120 billion a year treating the consequences of obesity, a figure that can only be expected to increase unless we find a way to address the steadily climbing numbers of obese and overweight individuals.
Helping children change their lifestyle to combat obesity is particularly important from both an ethical and a societal standpoint. Childhood obesity rates have more than tripled from the 1970's until the present, an astonishing statistic that should ring alarm bells for us all. Research has shown that the risk of an overweight child, between 6-10 years of age, becoming an overweight or obese adult is greater than 50%. If the overweight child has reached adolescence he/she increases their risk of becoming obese to greater than 70%. Clearly, our children will not "grow out" of this problem without intervention.
The Kellyn Foundation has embarked on a comprehensive study to determine the most effective strategy for achieving long-term weight loss and maintenance in children. We believe that education alone is not sufficient to arm today's youth with the skills they need to navigate what health professionals have called our increasingly "toxic environment" in regards to healthy food choices and regular exercise.
By combining medical guidance, nutritional counseling, daily online reporting, an ongoing exercise program and a supportive community for the entire family we anticipate creating life-long improvements in our children's health by changing not just what they know, but also how they think about themselves and the world.
