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The statistics are shocking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), American kids have a major weight problem, in fact, the percentage of children and adolescents who are defined as overweight has more than doubled since the early 1970's.

To encourage kids to get active, many outdoor gear manufacturers unveiled new child-specific outdoor gear products at the Outdoor Retailer Summer Market.

JanSport
JanSport designs daypacks for kids which are school specific and also makes daypacks which are cross-over styles that can go from the city to the trail. New for Spring 2003, they are releasing a pack specifically designed for youth called the Carson. It has an external frame pack ­ which parents love because they're easy to pack and easy to adjust to a growing child, and relatively inexpensive.

Gramicci
Gramicci will be offering a kids' line through REI; basically 'little' versions of their regular line for men and women. That said, the children's line contains the Gramicci ingredients which help inspire activity -- gusset crotch for freedom of movement, web belt and elastic waist for easy adjustment, strong comfortable fabrics. "Because our clothing has so many groovy and unique features, we think it inspires people to 'take it for a spin'; that is, become active," commented Gramicci spokesperson Matt Brand.

CamelBak
CamelBak understands that hydration is essential for enjoying an activity at any age and offers two children's-specific hydration systems ­ the Skeeter and Scout.

Mountainsmith
Mountainsmith has a category of packs called the Basecamp Series ­ they feature what they call a telescopic waistbelt (patent pending) that allows the user to adapt the waistbelt from a 30-inch to 40-inch waist size. This makes it a good choice for families to share and pass along as kids get bigger.

Yakima
Yakima's Earliest Explorers line of kids outdoor products (jogging-trailers and child backpack carriers) were designed to help kids and their parents discover the natural world together. At OR Summer Market, they unveiled their newest jogging stroller creations ­ the Bug and DoubleBug.

On an encouraging note, the Outdoor Industry Association recently reported that some kids are getting turned on to the outdoors in their teen years. According to the Outdoor Industry Association, young-adults, or Americans between the ages of 16 and 24, participated in at least one human powered activity in 2001 showing an increase of about 3.6%. A few examples of activities that saw the largest increase in participation included kayaking, canoeing and backpacking.

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