The Weight of the Nation – Part 3: Children in Crisis (HBO Series)

Some experts fear this may be the first generation of American children who will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents. Childhood obesity is much more than a cosmetic concern. The health consequences of childhood obesity include greater risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, asthma and other serious illnesses. The combination of these health effects and the dramatic increase in childhood obesity rates over the past three decades causes some experts to fear this may be the first generation of American children who will have a shorter life expectancy than their parents.