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The United States NAVY is increasingly concerned about the negative impact the teen obesity epidemic is having on our nation’s youth. The latest findings released from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey – the nation’s most extensive health and nutrition survey – showed that the percentage of teens that are overweight continues to increase. Among teens ages 12-19, 17.4% are overweight, or more than triple what the proportion was in 1980.
“There is no question that if we do not get our teens moving, the outlook for their long-term health is unpromising,” said Captain Phil J. Altizer, Marketing & Advertising Director for the NAVY Recruiting Command. The number one reason walk-ins to NAVY Recruiting Stations are not able to join the U.S. NAVY is that they fail to satisfy the minimum requirements on the height-weight ratio.
In response to the teen obesity epidemic, the U.S. NAVY has commissioned iHigh, one of the country’s leading high school event and marketing companies, to manage the 2009 NAVY Fitness Challenge to provide high school students with the opportunity to evaluate their current level of fitness. The 2009 NAVY Fitness Challenge is a call to action from the U.S. NAVY to combat the teen obesity epidemic.
“A healthy United States NAVY requires a healthy and active population from which to recruit; therefore, it is critical that we encourage an active and healthy lifestyle among all teens,” said Captain Altizer.
The 2009 NAVY Fitness Challenge will activate 78 events in 26 strategic markets during the 2009 calendar year and the tour’s physical fitness test will be embedded in the PE classes in select high schools for one day.
The NAVY Fitness Challenge will be making stops all over the country, check the tour schedule to find out if it is coming to your town.