That's Fit

Thirty-two percent of American schoolchildren are overweight or obese. If that's not alarming enough, the American Liver Foundation and others estimate two percent to five percent of kids over the age of five have nonalcholic fatty liver disease. The common cause is too much body fat, which inflames the liver and can lead to cirrhosis, liver failure and liver cancer.

Experts are warning many of these kids may need a liver transplant in their 30s or early 40s. Last year, two liver transplants were performed on American children with the condition -- a significant change from only three transplants performed for this population between 1990-2002.

The only treatment known to stop or reverse the disease is losing weight. Dr. Stephanie Abrams, a liver and obesity specialist at Texas Children's Hospital, sees patients succeed when the entire family commits to changing their diet and exercising. However Abrams is concerned society isn't changing. She's right. Lean may be "in" with celebrities, but it's hardly mainstream -- about two-thirds of all Americans are overweight. Fighting adolescent fatty liver disease isn't a family affair, it's a societal one.