"Obesity is the No. 1 health crisis in the United States...

...and the nation could be at risk without immediate action," former President Clinton said at CNN's first Fit Nation Summit earlier this year. "We need to do something about it for our children, and for our country, because something like this could easily collapse our nation if we don't act now," Clinton said.

If that isn't a wake-up call, I don't know what is. Bottom line: one-third of U.S. children are overweight or obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Obesity carries increased risk of myriad health problems, including hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and arthritis.

As adults, most of us can relate to the challenges of maintaining a healthy lifestyle—from eating right, to exercising regularly, getting enough sleep, taking quiet time for ourselves, even finding time for simple fun. It's hard work. But anything is better than nothing, and as adults, we simply must do more. We have to understand that foregoing a healthy lifestyle no longer affects just us. When we're unhealthy, our children are unhealthy. Our behaviors become their behaviors—and those behaviors become established at a very early age.

One of President Harry S. Truman's favorite sayings was "The buck stops here." He even had a sign with this message made for his desk. As adults, as parents, as grandparents, as aunts and uncles, as educators, as caregivers, as counselors, we can all benefit from adopting this message as our personal mantra—especially when we think of the children in our lives and their future health and happiness.

You Are Healthy was published to support your efforts with the children in your life. As we work to set a better example, this book will affirm key behaviors important to children's health. Whether a child reads the book themself, or you read it with them, the goal is the same: children hear messages that become the positive self-talk they'll rely on to live a healthy lifestyle as they grow and develop. Experts agree:

"I highly recommend Maren Green Publishing’s You Are Healthy and the three companion books for encouraging healthy behavioral choices for children.”
—Neal R. Holtan, M.D., M.P.H., Preventive Medicine Specialist

“You Are Healthy is a terrific tool to introduce young children to important things we do to stay healthy. I love that it covers aspects from washing hands to laughing, playing, and having quiet time. These are good reminders for young and old alike.”
— Dr. Carol Carlson, M.D.

If there's good news when it comes to any crisis, it's that we can all do something to help fix it. Maybe someday soon we'll be reading

"Obesity is no longer the No. 1 health crisis in the United States..."