Feb
17
2010
Let’s all say, “finally!” Yes, it has happened. The White House, President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama are targeting the epidemic of childhood obesity. You read it here, in The Nerdel News, a statement by President Barack Obama forming a taskforce headed by Michelle, to “solve the problem of obesity among our Nation’s children within a generation.” As you all know, The Nerdel News and I have been way ahead of this issue as have many other nutrition and fitness experts. Increase in portion sizes, lack of substantial exercise, more availability of high fat, high carbohydrate and calorie dense foods to our younger folks, more devotion to technology and less to play time are just some of the problems. When schools say that exercise time is walking to the cafeteria, I have a problem with that. We all know the statistics-30 percent of our kids are either overweight or obese. These kids will grow up to be overweight, unhealthy adults if we don’t do something about it. So what can we do? A. Increase exercise time for our kids-make it mandatory in schools. B. Review the school lunch and breakfast programs for portion size and content- make them healthy! C. make an incentive program for parents to get their kids (and themselves) in shape-either tax credits or food credits. Why not! We gave money to banks and insurance companies ...
Posted in: Editor's Page, Home
Feb
09
2010
Presidential Memorandum -- Establishing a Task Force on Childhood Obesity
Across our country, childhood obesity has reached epidemic rates and, as a result, our children may live shorter lives than their parents. Obesity has been recognized as a problem for decades, but efforts to address this crisis to date have been insufficient. My Administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, engages families and communities, and mobilizes both public and private sector resources.
Nearly one third of children in America are overweight or obese -- a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more than doubled in younger children since 1980. One third of all individuals born in the year 2000 or later will eventually suffer from diabetes over the course of their lifetime, while too many others will face chronic obesity-related health problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. Without effective intervention, many more children will endure serious illnesses that will put a strain on our health-care system. We must act now to improve the health of our Nation's children and avoid spending billions of dollars treating preventable disease.
Therefore, I have set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady will lead a national public awareness effort to tackle ...
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