Habits are formed early in life. This includes habits related to nutrition (eating well or poorly), hygiene (brushing teeth and bathing) and even physical activity (to be or not to be a couch potato).

As a parent you're aware that nutritious food, brushing teeth and bathing are absolute necessities. And you understand that physical activity is important, too. But physical activity has only recently begun to receive the same attention as nutrition and hygiene – sadly, as a result of the burgeoning childhood obesity crisis. Following are some of the reports you may have read or heard in the countless news stories about this issue:

• Overweight and obesity are growing at a faster rate among children than among adults.
• Heart disease risk factors, including hypertension and arteriosclerosis, are appearing in children as young as 5.
• Children 6 to 10 years old are dying of sudden cardiopulmonary arrest.
• Type 2 diabetes, formerly called adult-onset diabetes because it was almost exclusively an adult disease, is now so prevalent in children that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has determined American children born in 2000 face a one in three chance of developing it.
• For the first time in two centuries, today's children may not have as long a lifespan as their parents.

These are horrifying statements. But unless your child is already overweight or obese, you may not be inclined to worry about them. Still, if you consider that inactive children tend to become inactive adults and sedentary living is the primary cause of overweight and obesity, you might want to rethink letting your little one sit around for all hours of the day. Because research shows that body fat increases along with the number of hours spent watching TV – and that obesity is lowest among children who watch one hour or less a day – you may not want her sitting hardly at all! And that applies whether we're talking about vegging in front of a television or a computer screen. When you think of the possible consequences – heart disease, stroke, diabetes, many forms of cancer, respiratory disorders and on and on – you have to admit it's not remotely worth the risk!

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