Healthy Kids for Life

The statistics are alarming: a quarter of American children are fat. Most exercise very little, in school or out, and many are slaves to TV and the junk foods advertised there. In this health primer and fitness guide, the author offers parents a way to help their children resist a society that rewards physical idleness with sugary snacks and teaches us to view exercise as punishment. Dr. Kuntzleman, a father of five and the director of a national cardiovascular fitness program for kids, wastes no words: ``Children are best encouraged by watching parents exercise.'' Families, he urges, must reassess their fitness and eating habits, then put into practice a program of self-improvement, regarding this project as work and play. To this end, Kuntzleman recommends simple tests, equipment and dozens of game-like exercises and motivational plans. Yet this is no trendy diet plan; the author urges us to teach healthy eating habits to our children now to set the stage for healthy adult lives. (Dec.)