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Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Is childhood obesity ‘the terrorist threat from within’?
According to a former U.S. Surgeon General it is, and researchers have announced a $500 million plan to deal with this public health disaster.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been a little worried about me and the kids munching away the summer. It’s hard not to snack when you’re home most of the day.
As I was thinking today about how to curb our snacking, I ran across this article on Newsweek.com about how childhood obesity is a “terrorist threat from within.”
Dr. Dean Ornish takes a look at trends in childhood obesity and a new $500 million program from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to curb the epidemic.
Dr. Ornish reports in the story: “Almost two-thirds of adults are overweight (body mass index, or BMI, between 25 and 30) or obese (BMI over 30). (To calculate your BMI, click here for adults, here for kids.) Worse, a study in the Annals of Internal Medicine that followed 4,000 people over 30 years found that nine out of 10 men and seven out of 10 women will eventually become overweight. And it’s not just adults. Since 1970 the percentage of kids who are overweight or obese has risen almost fourfold, from 4.2 percent to 15.3 percent.”
“New CDC figures released today and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association suggest that the rise in childhood obesity may have leveled off—the latest numbers are approximately the same as the last time the survey was done—but it’s not clear yet whether the upward trend has been permanently stalled or whether it is just a statistical artifact.”
“Even though today’s numbers offer some hope, it’s much too early to assume that the problem has been solved—this may still be the first generation in which kids have shorter lifespans than their parents. According to former U.S. Surgeon General Richard Carmona, ‘As we look to the future and where childhood obesity will be in 20 years … it is every bit as threatening to us as is the terrorist threat we face today. It is the terrorist threat from within.’ “
“Well, it doesn’t have to be this way. Childhood obesity is almost completely preventable. We don’t have to wait for a new drug or technology; we just have to put into practice what we already know. Clearly, genes have changed little, if at all, in the past 40 years. What’s changed is our diet and lifestyle. If we caused it, we can reverse it.”
Dr. Ornish recently interviewed Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, who is president and CEO of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, about what is causing childhood obesity and how her organization plans to change it.
She explained that children are eating too large of portions, eating out more often and eating more often in general. Plus, they are getting less exercise than before.
She says the programs: “Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities will provide direct support to communities working to reshape their environments in ways that promote healthy living and prevent childhood obesity. We will fund 10 leading communities this summer and release a call for proposals by the end of this year to fund 90 more. We are launching the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences to provide information and resources to policymakers and community activists. It will be up and running by mid-September. We will launch a program to support experienced local advocates working with low-income communities of color. Communities Creating Healthy Environments will fund advocacy efforts in 20 communities.”
What do you think: Is childhood obesity a terrorist threat from within? What can you do to help prevent your children from being affected? Are your children already affected? Will they be munching away the summer watching TV?
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