In the past 30 years, the occurrence of overweight in children has doubled and it is now estimated that one third of children ages 2-19 in the U.S. (approximately 23 million) is overweight.The health consequences of obesity are numerous and alarming. Type II diabetes, hypertension, high cholesterol, sleep apnea, greater risk for asthma and chronic medical conditions are a few of the physical maladies; poor body image, depression and risk for eating disorders are among the psychological consequences. Not surprisingly, obese children are more likely to be obese adults. Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults and at risk for stroke, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes and some cancers. In nearly half of the cases where a child is obese, one or both parents were overweight as well. (Estimates indicate two-thirds of American adults are overweight or obese. Adding to the problem, parents are in denial about their children’s weight, stating approximately 37 percent of the time in the case of children ages 6 – 11 and 56 percent of the time in the case of children 12-17 that their obese child was only “slightly overweight.”