Families and children in the central Ohio Community will have the opportunity to experience a fun day of learning about ways to make healthy life-style changes through increased physical activity and proper diet. Go Healthy Columbus features cooking demonstrations, activity challenges and character appearances.

Childhood Obesity has grown at epidemic rates; our children are at risk. Adults aren’t the only ones at risk for heart disease, stroke and other cardiovascular diseases; increasingly, kids are at risk too. Kids shouldn’t have to worry about “adult” problems like high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes and high cholesterol. With the rise in childhood obesity, now they do.

• Nearly 12 million young people between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight. That’s almost equal to the number of people who live in the state of Ohio.
• Almost 1 in 5 American children are overweight or obese.
• Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight adults. This increases to 80% if one or both parents are overweight or obese.
• The American Heart Association is committed to stopping the increase in childhood obesity by 2010 and reversing the trend – putting all young people on a road to good adult health – by 2015.