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Weight of the Nation Update - Strategies to Beat Obesity
Posted on Aug 3rd 2009 9:00AM by Kristen SeymourFiled Under: Diet & Weight Loss
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| This little girl makes healthy eating look easy. Now, if only everyone else would follow her lead! Photo: Savannah Grandfather, Flickr |
So, what did this meeting of the minds accomplish? Well, according to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, there's good and there's bad. Right now, things are rough. One in five kids and two-thirds of adults are overweight or obese, which is why obesity-related medical spending is exceeding spending on cancer by $50 billion.
But, there are a number of things that we as individuals can do, and even more our communities at large can do to combat these disturbing trends. Of course, each of us can make the choice to walk more and eat fewer fatty, sugary, processed foods. But it's not a level playing field, which is why community involvement is so important.
Some of the Center for Disease Control's 24 recommended strategies include making transportation by bike a safer, easier option and offering more safety in areas where people are likely to be physically active. Additionally, making healthy foods more available to underserved areas by bringing in grocery stores could make a drastic difference.
And, of course, much of it comes down to the schools. Offering (and encouraging) salad bars and fresh foods rather than processed meals and snacks in the school cafeteria is one step, but schools also need to promote physical activity (rather than cutting it back, as has been the case as of late).
Will we see a dramatic drop in obesity rates immediately? Of course not -- we are talking about a government program, here.
