Here’s another example of the serious toll the obesity epidemic is taking on children’s health. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says one in five teens in the U.S. has unhealthy cholesterol levels, which are a major risk factor for heart disease in adults. The CDC found the heavier teens were, the more likely they were to have high cholesterol, but even 14 percent of teenagers who were at a normal body weight had unhealthy levels.

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Just a couple of weeks after we get some encouraging news about obesity rates in preschool kids, a new report shows the rate of obesity among children and teenagers has more than tripled over the past three decades. Results show as of 2006, 17.6 percent of 2- to 19-year-olds in the U.S. are obese. That’s up more than three-fold from 1976.

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Studies have already shown that obesity can increase the risk of developing pancreatic cancer. But a new study suggests the risk is greatest among people who were already overweight during their teenage years or obese during their 20s and 30s.

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Is stepping on the scale regularly a good idea for teens? A new study says teenagers who weigh-in on a regular basis may be more likely than their peers to take healthy steps to control their weight. The findings go against results from an earlier study of teenage girls that linked regular weight checks to a higher risk of unhealthy habits to control their weight.

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Last week we found out obesity rates have tripled in young adults. Now a new study in the British Medical Journal finds obese 18-year-olds are twice as likely to die prematurely compared to normal-weight teens. And researchers say teenage obesity has the same risk of premature death as smoking ten cigarettes a day.

So, do you think obesity should be tackled like smoking?

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As if there weren’t already enough complications from the obesity epidemic. Now research shows some overweight teenagers have severe liver damage caused by too much body fat, and some have even needed liver transplants.

The American Liver Foundation estimates two- to five-percent of American children over age five – nearly all of them obese or overweight – have what’s known as nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. The condition can lead to cirrhosis and liver failure or liver cancer and is now in kids in the United States, Europe, Australia and even some developing countries, says The Associated Press.

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Here’s another reason to make sure your kids are active – a new study finds breast cancer risk later in life is lower in teenagers who exercise – even starting as early as age 12 can protect them when they get older.

We’ve already heard how exercise can lower the risk of breast cancer after menopause. Now it seems starting young helps, as well.

Researchers from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis followed nearly 65,000 nurses ages 24 to 42 who were part of a major health study.

They found women who were physically active when they were younger were 23 percent less likely to develop premenopausal breast cancer than women who were sedentary growing up – the biggest impact was in those who exercised regularly from ages 12 to 22.

Women at the lowest risk for breast cancer ran or did some other vigorous activity for 3 hours and 15 minutes a week… or walked 13 hours a week.

The theory is that moderate exercise lowers estrogen levels enough to cause some helpful changes in our hormones.

Researchers say it’s also possible that the protection from exercising when we’re younger will last long enough to protect against the more common postmenopausal breast cancer, too.

And unlike other risk factors for the disease like family history and our age – exercise is something we can control… so get moving, girls!

You can find the complete study in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

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