Our first lady has recently announced that she’s launching an initiative this month to bring solutions and improvement to a growing problem in America: childhood obesity.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 16% of children (over 9 million) 6 to 19 years old are overweight or obese -- a number that has tripled since 1980 - another 15% were considered at risk of becoming overweight.
Over the past three decades the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for preschool children aged 2 to 5 years and adolescents aged 12 to 19 years, and it has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. Overweight adolescents have a 70% chance of becoming overweight or obese adults. This increases to 80% if one or more parent is overweight or obese.
She has her work cut out for her, to say the least. But if our
children, and their children, have a chance, it’s going to take the muscle that
those strong first-lady arms hold to tackle this one.
How did we get here? Experts say poor nutrition and lack of movement. Instead of riding their bikes ‘till the street lights come on, kids today are often playing computer games. Physical education and sport programs have been cut from many schools. One-third of children ages 4 to 19 eat fast food every day. And have you looked at the lunches served in the school cafeteria lately?
Michelle Obama, speaking at a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, said the idea was simple: "To put in place common-sense initiatives and solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids".
The initiative will involve the federal government working with local officials and leaders in the business and non-profit sectors, she said, to provide more nutritious food in schools, allow more opportunities for kids to be physically active and give more communities access to affordable, healthful food.
Mrs Obama is hopeful and has high ambitions. She believes that parents want healthier lives for their children but don’t always know what to do. Choices at the market can be confusing and difficult to make. Some low-income areas are what experts refer to as “food deserts” – convenience stores might be the best choice for food options and we all know how fresh and healthy food is there.
In our own communities, there are simple things we can all do to help support this initiative:
- Fight to keep physical education in our schools (how about nutrition class too?)
- Demand that schools remove sodas and vending machines full of sugary, salty snacks
- Break-down obstacles to walk or bike to school
- Support your local YMCA and rec center programs
I’m in this fight…are you?
If you like what you see at Change Becomes Change, I hope you'll sign up to receive our articles free right here. Feel free to share this with friends too. Thank you
Comments