Getting kids of the couch . . .

The Kansas City Star has an article about the growing problem of sedentary youngsters, and what can be done about the problem:

American kids have become notorious for their sedentary ways. According to a survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 62 percent of children 9 to 13 engage in no organized physical activity outside school, and 23 percent of children in that age bracket engage in no free-time physical activity at all. . . .

“Children start out their lives physically active,” said George Graham, a professor of kinesiology at Pennsylvania State University who studies children and activity. “In upper elementary school they become less active. That's when we see kids become obese. From ages 12 to 18, there's a pretty clear increase in overweight and decrease in physical activity.”