Overweight and obese children are more likely to develop risk factors that can lead to respiratory, metabolic, and cardio¬vascular illness (1–3). The increase in prevalence of childhood overweight and obesity in the United States since the 1960s has been well documented (4). In New York City, in 1996, an estimated 19.7% of third grade children and 21.2% of sixth grade children in public and private schools were found to be overweight (5); in 2003, an estimated 43% of the city’s public elementary school students were found to be overweight, and 24% of these students were obese (6). To update…