Why do we need to designate a month for childhood obesity awareness? Because the number of children in the United States age 6 to 11 who are overweight or obese has increased by more than 400 percent in the last 3 decades, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Obesity also increases a child’s risk for such serious illnesses as cardiovascular disease, high blood pressure and high cholesterol in adulthood.

If you are a parent or grandparent who is reading this, it might be hard to focus on health problems that could occur 20 or 30 years in the future. Why should you worry about your child’s weight right now?