Addressing the Childhood Obesity Epidemic with Action

In the U.S. obesity related costs reached 168 BILLION dollars on healthcare cost related to obesity That’s more that 460 million PER DAY!

In 1982 only 4% of children were overweight, in 2008, 38% of children are overweight.9 million children aged 6-19 are overweightThat is 1 out of every 3 children

Comprehensive plan dedicated to solving the problem of childhood obesity

1. Creating a healthy start for childrenPromoting breastfeedingPre-natal care and educationHealthy eating habits during

pregnancy

2. Empowering Parents and CaregiversEasy to understand “front of package”

nutritional informationPublic Service Announcements to gain and

promote awarenessPediatricians trained to educate parents on

tips for healthy eating for their childrenLetsmove.gov website to provide easy

access information

3. Providing Healthy Foods in SchoolsNew commitments from major school food

suppliersCreating quality school meal menus Partnership with the School Nutrition

AssociationAdd to number of participating schools in

the Healthier US School ChallengeRe-authorizing funding for the Child

Nutrition Act An additional $10 billion over 10 years

4. Ensuring Access to Healthy FoodsProviding assistance to the 6.5 million

children living in low-income households to have access to nutritious foods

Increase the number of Farmer’s MarketsEliminate “Food Deserts”

Used to describe areas where access to fresh foods is very limited

5. Helping Children Become Physically ActivePartnerships with professional athletes and

celebrities to help promote importance of physical activity

Providing more community recreational venues

Increasing children’s activity levels to a minimum of 60 total minutes per day

Expanding the President’s physical fitness challenge

Wondering where all the funding for this campaign will come from?

Numerous sectors and non-profit as well as for-profit organizations have teamed up to create the Partnership for a Healthier America, some examples include:Robert Wood Johnson FoundationW.K. Kellogg FoundationKaiser PermanenteAlliance for a Healthier Generation

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYCyfmFwr5s&feature=player_detailpage

Open the link to watch the First Lady, Michelle Obama’s speech covering the highlights of the first year.

Share your thoughts in the discussion forum about how this issue affects you personally or if you see changes in your community

http://www.letsmove.gov/ http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-

office/first-lady-michelle-obama-launches-lets-move-americas-move-raise-a-healthier-genera

http://www.getamericafit.org/statistics-obesity-in-america.html