President Clinton has struggled with his weight all of his life. Growing up in Hope, Ark., he and his family had no idea that the fatty foods he ate would later contribute to heart disease. But after undergoing quadruple by-pass surgery in 2004, President Clinton awakened to the toll that decades of poor eating habits had taken on his health. Since his successful surgery, President Clinton has kept healthy by maintaining a vigorous exercise program and improved diet, while monitoring his blood pressure and cholesterol. In addition to improving his own health, he is also committed to helping our current generation of children make healthier choices to avoid the same problems he experienced later in life. Read more about President Clinton’s own story in his essay “We Must Act Now”. While the parents and grandparents of President Clinton’s generation did not have the benefit of comprehensive research on the effects of diet and exercise on heart health, today such research is extensive. Yet childhood obesity in the United States is on the rise, and if current trends persist, this generation of children could live shorter lives than their parents. Learn more about this growing epidemic. To stop this increase, President Clinton and the Clinton Foundation joined forces with the American Heart Association in 2005 to launch the Alliance for a Healthier Generation. The Alliance works to empower children of all shapes and sizes to take control of their health at a young age. Read more about what the Alliance is doing to stop the rise of childhood obesity by 2010. Support our Work Donate to help President Clinton and his partners see that this generation of children is not the first to live shorter lives than their parents.