Cover Story
READY
,
SET
,
GOLD!
S
tudents at Trinity Street
Elementary School in L.A.,
a participant in the RSG! program.
4
Hope for Children
Rebecca Soni, who won gold and silver in the 2008 Olympics, gets ready to race students during a RSG! visit to Contreras High School in L.A.
Olympian John Naber believes the messenger makes all the difference.
It s amazing how insightful and wonderful it is when an Olympian says something, said the fivetime Olympic medalist,
even though they re simply repeating what the teacher has said a thousand times before.
1
Naber s comment highlights the power of Ready, Set, Gold!, a program that combines the excitement of the Olympics,
the importance of goal setting, and true
American heroes Olympians and
Paralympians to help children combat childhood obesity and diabetes.
OBESITY IN AMERICA
Obesity and diabetes are major health problems in the United States that are only getting worse, according to the Centers for Disease Control. The U.S. obesity rate is the highest in the world.1 More than two thirds of adults (145 million) and nearly one third of children (23 million) in the U.S.
are obese or overweight.2
After smoking, obesity is America s biggest preventable cause of premature death3
and a major contributor to leading killer diseases such as heart disease, cancer,
and diabetes. Diabetes kills 71,300
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