Ninth International Conference on Sport & Society

Abstract

A person’s physical fitness is an ever changing, growing, and advancing process. Today in America society, people are taught at an early age that they should be physically fit, active, and healthy; unfortunately, not all of us live up to that standard. In the closing decades of the 20th Century, American society, is being bombarded with commercials and medical adds discussing the ever increasing cases of childhood obesity, childhood diabetes, and high blood pressure in young adults (Gale, 2002). Today, most children are often fed candy and junk food while playing video games and watching television. “It is widely accepted that increase in obesity results from an imbalance between energy intake and expenditure, with an increase in positive energy balance being closely associated with the lifestyle adopted and the dietary intake preferences” (Sahoo, et al. 2015). By the time children are at the age of adulthood, they are so far out of shape that it is next to impossible to get them in healthy condition. “Overweight and obese children are likely to stay obese into adulthood and more likely to develop non-communicable diseases like diabetes and cardiovascular diseases at a younger age” (Sahoo, et al. 2015).