How far would you go to save your child?

In the battle against child and teen obesity, Memphis is fighting back with programs aiming to get their children moving. Gyms, athletic centers, churches and others are taking aim to fight against this growing epidemic. Kid yoga, Pilate's, kick boxing, belly dancing and even healthful cooking classes are just a handful of programs aiming to get children moving as well as, raise their self esteem. According to commercial appeal parents can no longer rely on thier children's schools to meet their physical education needs.

Elementary schools often suffer from too few qualified PE teachers, while
PE for high school students typically ends after their freshman years, states Paula Kuna, spokeswoman for the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).

It has been estimated that more that 12.5 million children in the United States , 17 percent of children and youths ages 2 to 19 years of age, are overweight, up from 13 percent almost a decade ago, reports the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

Lack of exercise as well as unhealthful eating habits have made childhood obesity one of the country's foremost health challenges. Closely linked to their expanding waistlines is a quickly rising trend of kids diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, which can result in blindness and kidney failure as well as dramatically boost their risk of heart disease and stroke. We are loosing our youth to diseases that were once only associated to adults. So the question remains, how far would you go to save your child?