The numbers are alarming. In the United States, 12.5 million children ages 2 to 19 (or 17 percent) are considered obese according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Indeed children these days have less physical activity due to more time spent glued on the TV or the computer. Parents are on the go and juggling more than one job all the same time, and so processed and ready to cooked meals have become too convenient to prepare. That and the popularity of fast foods really do not help the kids of today.

Mrs. Obama's Let's Move program is dedicated to solving the challenge of childhood obesity by providing healthier foods in our schools and ensuring that every family has access to healthy, affordable food. On top of course of helping kids become more physically active.

Just like Let's Move, programs at Miami-Dade schools are teaching kids how to cook wholesome meals, eating healthy and planting their own vegetables and fruits.

Common Threads is a free after-school cooking program, wherein local chefs are teaching children about healthful eating. This 10-week program operates in 6 Miami-Dade Schools: Morningside Elementary, St. John the Apostle Catholic School in Hialeah, Mater Academy East in Miami, WJ Bryan in North Miami, North Miami Elementary and Barbara Hawkins Elementary in Carol City.

According to Mimi Chacin, Common Threads' Miami program manager: "Our goal is to teach kids lifelong cooking skills that they could use to educate themselves about nutrition and other cultures through their food and cooking. The idea is to empower them and their families to make healthy food choices and to eat together as a family. Through these goals we are combating childhood obesity."

The latest trend for individuals is to stay fit and to maintain a healthy looking body. There are now more individuals signed up to gyms across the world than ever before. Although it is good to motivate yourself to workout and stay healthy, it is also important to understand how to properly use the equipment at the gym such as treadmills.

Treadmills are a common type of exercise equipment that can be found in almost every gym, and sometimes in households. To use a treadmill properly, ensure that you understand how to use the navigation bar at the front of the treadmill. This will allow you to increase the speed, incline and choose options for a good workout.

There should also be a red button or trigger that you can pull in case of an emergence. Ensure that when you are on the treadmill, you are comfortable with the speed. Sometimes it can take a while for the speed to register, therefore do not over estimate the speed by waiting 5-10 seconds first.

Increasing the speed on a treadmill will allow you to power walk or jog. Trainers will also advise to stretch after a 5-10 minute warm up to loosen the muscles. You should also follow this up after your workout with appropriate leg stretches.

The best way to achieve body fitness is by eating responsibly and exercising regularly. Here are some healthy tips to achieve body fitness:

• Strength training: Since people gain fat with age, people must add crunches, push-ups or leg lunges to their exercise sessions to gain a better body fitness than simply doing cardio-vascular exercises.

• Drink Water: Increasing one's intake of water by 1.5 litres, helps keep body fitness. This is because water boosts metabolism rate by 30% and curbs the feeling of hunger.

• Consume Dairy products: People eating low-fat dairy products lose 70% more fat than low-dairy eaters, as calcium in dairy products helps to burn excess fat assuring body fitness.

• Avoid Stress: Stress stimulates the production of cortisol increasing appetite. It also hampers body fitness as it supports weight gain around the belly.

• Avoid Alcohol: Drinking alcohol with food is just not right. This is because alcohol added to high calorie meals results in more food getting stored as body fat instead of burning away.