Pick up any daily newspaper and you’ll read it in the headlines. Visit virtually any school and you’ll witness it firsthand: Kids today are fatter than any generation in history, and they’re sicker because of it.

Obesity research reports and statistics tell us that almost 14 million children – 24 percent of the U.S. population ages 2 to 17 – are obese. An additional 8.6 million children are at risk. In the last 25 years alone, the percentage of children who are overweight has more than doubled.

As a byproduct of the childhood obesity epidemic, kids today suffer from diseases that used to be deemed “adult problems.” Diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and anxiety, sleep apnea, joint and orthopedic problems and depression. Left unchecked, the health implications alone – both short and long-term – are enormous.