Parents Talk: What Are Your Tips For Preventing Childhood Obesity?

Bolingbrook Patch invites you and your circle of friends to help build a community of support for moms and dads and their families right here in .

Moms, dads, grandparents and the diverse families who make up our community will have a new resource for questions about local neighborhood schools, the best pediatricians, 24-hour pharmacies and the thousands of other issues that arise while raising children.

Today's topic: Tips for preventing childhood obesity.

It's no secret, we're getting fatter—and that includes our children.

From a Huffington Post Parents report:

Those are the findings from a study published in The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, which revealed children are less inclined to move and be active if parents are hovering over them in the park.

... The North Carolina State University study involved surveying the activity of 2,712 children across 20 parks in Durham, N.C in 2007. The findings showedyounger kids were more active than older children, while basketball and tennis courts led to the most activity.

With soaring obesity rates and President Obama marking September as National Childhood Obesity Month, the study is certainly timely.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), childhood obesity in the U.S. has more than tripled over the past 30 years with one if five children age six to 11 now obese.

So we ask: How do you prevent childhood obesity in your kids? Is it as simple as keeping a healthy diet? Making sure your youngsters get enough time playing outside? What's your secret?

Weigh in now by leaving a comment below!