By now, almost everyone has heard of childhood obesity in America, but how high are the rates? The answer may surprise you. According to Nate Whitman, writer for The Huffington Post, “obesity rates doubled among children ages 2 to 5, quadrupled between ages 6 and 11, and tripled between ages 12 and 19.” ” (par. 2). This is due to the fact that more and more children are staying indoors and only doing activities such as playing video games. They don't interact with anyone other than the person they're talking to online. These results are nothing short of surprising. What can we do to combat this? Involvement in organized sports helps children develop their social skills, improve their academic progress and stay active. One of the positive aspects of youth participation in sport is that it is an effective way for children to make new friends and develop social skills. Sports teams provide children with an introduction to talking to other children who they may not normally talk to. This is a huge opportunity for overweight children who may not socialize with others very often. As Ann Rosewater, spokesperson for the Up2Us organization, states, "overweight children have reported that the best part of organized sports is making new friends" (13). Teamwork can create a strong bond between athletes who compete together. Working towards a common goal gives children a reason to become good friends in an effort to achieve their goal of winning. They learn to help other children when they see them having a difficult time and learn to offer them words of encouragement (Harle par. 3). By playing a sport with peers, children are given a sense of camaraderie and this sense can become so strong that they will go so far as to consider each other a second family. , November 1, 2004. Web. October 21, 2013.Adams, Jill U. “Physical activity may help children do better in school, studies say.”Washington Post. The Washington Post, October 21, 2013. Web. October 21, 2013. Doheny, Kathleen. "Children who get more physical activity may get better grades - WebMD."WebMD. WebMD, October 21, 2013. Web. October 21, 2013.Harle, Wade. "Advantages of teamwork in sports". LIVESTRONG.COM. Livestrong, April 12, 2010. Web. November 12, 2013. Mahesh, Roshni. “Regular exercises can help children excel in their studies.” Business and health. International Business Times, October 22, 2013. Web. October 22, 2013. Rosewater, Ann. "Playing well: organized sport and the health of children and young people". Up2Us - Home. Up2Us, May 2010. Web. October 21, 2013. Whitman, Nate. “Physical activity in schools is essential to reversing childhood obesity.” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, October 3, 2013. Web. October 21. 2013.