Social Action Research Topic

For my social action research topic I would be interested in learning more about the obesity rates in this country and how they are correlated to either race, gender, or social class. Since I am a future physical education teacher, my focus will be on children and teenagers. In today's society the obesity rates are on the rise among this particular age group because of a variety of factors. For example, technology is replacing physical activity. Also, the child or teens geographic location could play a major role in whether he/she is active on a regular basis. The family lifestyle has also dramatically changed over the last few years. Families are no longer cooking and eating around the dinner table. Instead they are eating fast food and TV dinners while trying to rush out the door to soccer, football, or basketball practice.
This topic is important to me because I feel that every child should have an equal opportunity to be and remain physically active. It will be my responsibility as a health and physcial education teacher to help promote and be a walking example of this lifetstyle. It is my passion to help children and teens recognize simple daily activities they can participate in to stay healthy. For example, the NFL has a program called "Play 60" where they encourage all children to get at least an hour of movement daily. I think it would be fun to start after school programs for children such as running and walking clubs, dance classes, or simple intramural activities.
For my research project, I will gather information from online articles, journals, and websites. I will also look for magazines and books that cover this growing national epidemic as well.