Solving a weighty problem: as America grapples with its growing weight problem, waterparks may hold the key to making exercise fun for the whole family.(Bottom Line)

During a recent field trip with our son's fifth-grade class, we were alarmed to see that a full one-third of his classmates were substantially overweight. However, the more alarming fact is that this is typical.

America is experiencing an expanding health crisis: The nation's population is more than 60 percent overweight and nearly half of those are obese. Tragically this epidemic is most obvious among children and teenagers-their obesity levels have increased two-to threefold in the past 20 years, according to the American Obesity Association, based in Washington, D.C.

Arkansas, which has completed the most comprehensive obesity survey in the nation, found that nearly 50 percent of the students are overweight or at risk, according to data collected in the school district of Arkadelphia. Obesity-related problems, including Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease and some cancers, soon may become the leading causes of premature death in our country, exceeding smoking, according to a recent report from the U.S. surgeon general.

The rising health-care costs associated with this crisis--$78.5 billion in 1998--will dwarf any epidemic to dare and already have contributed to hastening the insolvency of Medicare, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The search for causes and remedies of obesity is widespread. However, the bottom line is that obesity results from an imbalance between excess caloric intake and insufficient activity.

To help overcome this health crisis, Americans, especially children, need to find activities they will do on a regular basis--in fact, that they love to do.

That's where waterparks come in.