Childhood obesity continues to be a serious problem in the United States and around the world. According to Evans et al in the article Changing Perceptions of the ChildhoodObesity Epidemic, obesity is a leading cause of preventable death in the United States and costs billions of dollars per year in healthcare costs. Their article discussed a study that investigated the attitudes of adults in the United States, as well as participants' thoughts on the best ways to reduce childhood obesity. According to MacDougall et al in the article We Have To Live in the Future, getting children to increase their physical activity levels is key to reducing childhood obesity. They conducted a study of 204 children living in South Australia, attempting to answer two questions: what children think about sport and physical activity; and how they express these thoughts to adults. They conducted the study using several methods: focus groups, interviews and by allowing children to take photos that were somehow related to physical activity. The study concluded that it is important and necessary to give children a say in determining how they engage in physical activity. activity. The children in the study were happy that their voices were being heard. They overwhelmingly expressed that they enjoyed playing games of their own ideas as opposed to the more organized sports and activities that adults tend to think of as physical activity. Vickii B. Jenvey, in her article The Relationship Between Television Viewing and Obesity in Young Children: A Review of Existing Explanations, points out that studies show that children spend more time in sedentary recreational activities, such as watching television, playing video games, ... middle of paper ...ppen overnight, but by following these recommendations you can start to make progress. Works Cited Evans, W. D., Renaud, J. M., Finkelstein, E., Kamerow, D. B., & Brown, D. S. (2006). Changing perceptions of the childhood obesity epidemic. American Journal of Health Behavior, 30, 167-176. doi: 10.5993/AJHB.30.2.6Jenvey, V. C. (2007). The relationship between television viewing and obesity in young children: A review of existing explanations. Early Childhood Development and Care, 177(8), 809-820. doi:10.1080/03004430601119851 MacDougall, C., Schiller, W., & Derbyshire, P. (2004). We have to live in the future. Early ChildDevelopment and Care, 174(4), 369-387. doi: 10.1080/0300443032000153426Signorielli, N., & Lears, M. (1992). Television and children's nutritional conception: unhealthy messages. Health Communication, 4, 245-257. doi: 10.1207/s15327027hc0404_1