South Africa is a land of paradoxes. South Africans deservedly celebrated an exceptional Rugby World Cup victory in 2007, but we most definitely are not yet winning the battle against inactivity and overweight among the nation’s young people – which is placing them at substantial risk for chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, and certain types of cancer. South Africa has the added challenge of dealing with a double burden of disease: the chronic non-communicable diseases mentioned above and communicable diseases such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis. Kathleen McQuaide reports on an attempt to alert all South Africans to the current health status of their nation’s children: the ‘Healthy Active Kids Report Card‘.