Rachael Ray's Non-profit Organization Yum-o!

Louie's Kids

Childhood is supposed to be a time for children to run and play and discover the world around them. But these days, for too many kids, childhood is a time of binge-eating, TV-watching and web surfing. So it's no surprise that childhood obesity is dangerously rising.

The people at "Louie's Kids" – Louis Yuhasz and the Yuhasz family – know first-hand what childhood obesity leads to: a lifetime of health problems, like diabetes, stroke, and heart disease, to name a few. These are many of same health problems their morbidly obese Dad, "Big Louie," suffered from and ultimately died from.

Inspired to take action by his father's death in 2001, Louis raised enough money to send several kids from his hometown to a summer camp for overweight children, where they could talk about their weight, exercise and learn sports to foster their sense of self-esteem. Today, Louie’s Kids enables kids to access obesity treatment options that are customized to the needs of each youngster, such as a community Y or health club membership, sessions with a physical activity trainer, registered dietician or nutritionist, weight-loss camp, web-based counseling and interactive coaching. It is the only nonprofit organization in the country whose mission focuses specifically on the treatment of childhood obesity through a range of programs that span physical activity, nutrition, diet and ongoing support coupled with an intensive assessment of outcomes and effectiveness.

Check out this video segment about Louie's Kids from the Rachael Ray show and visit the Louie's Kids' website to learn about this organization's innovative approaches to fighting chilhood obesity...one child at a time.