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Use
new report to create your obesity action plan
October 14, 04
Suzanne Havala Hobbs
It’s going to take a coordinated national effort to
reverse childhood obesity, according to a report issued this
month by the Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National
Academy of Sciences.
That effort will have to be as vigorous as anti-smoking efforts
have been, the IOM said.
The committee that wrote the report concluded immediate action
is required on the parts of individuals, families, schools,
communities, the food industry, media, and government.
The situation is critical.
Since the 1970s, obesity rates have doubled in children and
teens ages 2-5 and 12-19 and tripled in kids ages 6-11, according
to the report. An estimated one third of boys and 40 percent
of girls are at risk of developing diabetes sometime in their
lives as a result.
“We must act now and we must do this as a nation,”
said Jeffrey Koplan, vice president for academic health affairs
at Emory University in Atlanta and former director of the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Koplan chaired
the committee that wrote the report.
The report says individuals and families are not alone to
blame. While efforts have to be made at home to eat well and
exercise more, outside factors can either support or hinder
efforts to control weight.
“Obesity may be a personal issue, but at the same time,
families, communities, and corporations all are adversely
affected by obesity and all bear responsibility for changing
social norms to better promote healthier lifestyles,”
Koplan said.
Many of the recommendations outlined in the report are themes
that have been debated for years – removing junk foods
from school vending machines and increasing time for physical
education in schools, for example. But others call for a greater
stretch, especially on the part of the private sector and
government.
“We recognize that several of our recommendations challenge
entrenched aspects of American life and business, but if we
are not willing to make some fundamental shifts in our attitudes
and actions, obesity’s toll on our nation’s health
and well-being will only worsen,” Koplan said.
Among the immediate steps recommended:
* Guidelines should be developed for advertising and marketing
foods, beverages, and sedentary entertainment that target
children. The committee said there isn’t enough evidence
to support an outright ban, but the approach should resemble
that used for alcohol and tobacco.
* The food and beverage industries should develop products
and packaging that do more to help consumers make healthful
choices. That includes giving whole-package calorie information
and including more fruits and vegetables in children’s
restaurant meals.
* The government needs a coordinated national health policy
that, among other things, spells out nutrition standards for
foods and beverages sold in schools and funds state-based
grants for nutrition and physical activity programs.
* Schools should track children’s heights, weights,
and body mass indexes, or BMI, report them to parents and
offer counseling and guidance.
The report also outlines steps families can take to promote
healthy weights. Use these recommendations to create your
own obesity action plan:
* Promote healthy diets and an active lifestyle at an early
age. Parents should act as role models.
* Expose kids to a variety of healthful foods. It often takes
multiple exposures before kids accept new foods. Make fruits
and vegetables staples, present them and other healthy foods
often and with a positive attitude.
* Keep soft drinks and other sweetened, low-nutrition beverages
out of the house. They displace beverages with fewer calories
and more nutrients.
* Parents should encourage kids to be physically active by
providing equipment and opportunities and make time to be
active with them.
* Kids should spend less than two hours per day watching television
and playing on the computer and video games. Screen time displaces
time that kids could be physically active.
View the IOM report online at www.iom.edu.
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