“GET READY! GET SET! GET FIT! A GUIDE TO DEVELOPING YOUTH FITNESS

(PRLEAP.COM) NEW YORK, NEW YORK — According to the American Obesity Association approximately 30.3 percent of children (ages 6 to 11) are overweight and 15.3 percent are obese. For adolescents (ages 12 to 19), 30.4 percent are overweight and 15.5 percent are obese.

Vincent Ferguson, author, fitness expert and president of Body Sculpt of New York, Inc., a not-for-profit health and fitness organization, has written “Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit! A Guide To Developing Youth Fitness”. “With the nation battling an obesity epidemic, it’s no wonder that our children are caught on the frontlines” says Ferguson. “This generation of children are seeing chronic diseases we have never seen before in young people: type 2 diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure”.

“According to a recent study that appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine, researchers predict a 3 to 5 year obesity related shortening of life span among children. If this trend continues, our children’s future will be in danger” says Ferguson. “Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit!” provides a variety of exercise routines, activities, nutrition tips and recipes that is guaranteed to help your child improve his or her fitness level. In the middle of the book there is a segment called “In Their Own Words”, where children talk about what they did to lose weight and get into shape. At the end of the book, there is a national Fitness Resource Guide for Parents. Regardless of what state you’re in, there is a fitness program for you and your child.

To continue targeting childhood obesity, Mr. Ferguson created the Children’s Sports & Fitness Expo, which gives children an opportunity to participate in over 25 sports activities conducted by professional fitness instructors and health organizations. Mr. Ferguson recruited over 100 volunteers to help organize his annual Children’s Sports & Fitness Expo in New York City. The expo is attended by thousands of children each year along with surprise celebrity guests.

Proceeds from “Get Ready! Get Set! Get Fit! Along with sales from his first book “Six Weeks To A Six Pack” will go towards the third annual Children’s Sports & Fitness Expo, which will take place on September 23, 2006.

For more information on Mr. Ferguson, his books or the Children’s Sports & Fitness Expo, please visit his website at www.bodysculpt.org or call (718) 346-5852.