Today, two-thirds of U.S. adults
and nearly one in three
children struggle because they are overweight or have obesity. The
effects of the nation’s obesity epidemic are immense: taxpayers,
businesses, communities and individuals spend hundreds of billions of
dollars
each year due to obesity, including an estimated $168 billion in medical
costs. Obesity is the reason that the current generation of youth is
predicted to live a shorter life than their parents. Much can be done
to
reverse the epidemic, yet important opportunities to tackle obesity at
the
national policy level -- including changes that enable more Americans to
eat
healthy and be active, as well as those that provide appropriate medical
treatment for patients -- have gone largely unmet. The Campaign works
to
fill this gap. By bringing together leaders from across industry,
academia and public health with policymakers and their advisors, the
Campaign
provides the information and guidance that decision-makers need to make
policy
changes that will reverse one of the nation’s costliest and most
prevalent
diseases.
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Rep. Ron Kind: Halting the childhood obesity epidemic requires support of many communities
The Hill, 2.8.12
The obesity epidemic affects one-third of the children in this country. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity rates in America have tripled over the last three decades and childhood obesity is now the leading health concern among parents in the United States. Bus and car rides have replaced walks to school, physical education classes have been cut and kids now spend 7.5 hours/day with computers, video games and TV instead of playing outside. With our busy lives, it’s also difficult for families to find time for healthy, home-cooked meals.
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Military food getting nutrition upgrade
Associated Press, 2.9.12
Military bases will soon be serving more fruits, vegetables and low-fat dishes under the first program in 20 years to improve nutrition standards across the armed services.
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Michelle Obama keeps moving with ‘Let’s Move’
Washington Post, 2.9.12
Obama’s efforts to publicize her cause have worked, according to a recent survey by The Washington Post and the Kaiser Family Foundation. More than eight out of 10 Americans say they have heard of Let’s Move, with 35 percent saying that have heard a lot about it.
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Walmart to Label Healthy Foods
New York Times, 2.7.12
As part of its promise last year to improve the nutritional quality of the food it sells, Walmart said on Tuesday that it had devised standards to determine what is healthy and would label the foods that meet those standards.
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Junk foods widely available at elementary schools
Associated Press, 2.6.12
Junk food remains plentiful at the nation's elementary schools despite widespread efforts to curb childhood obesity, a new study suggests. Between 2006 and 2010, nearly half of public and private schools surveyed sold sweet or salty snack foods in vending machines or other places, the study found.
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More fruit, veggies in U.S. school lunch rules
Reuters, 1.25.12
U.S. schoolchildren, accustomed to a steady diet of pizza and french fries, will find more fruits, vegetables and whole grains on their cafeteria trays under new government school lunch rules announced on Wednesday. The new U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) rules aim to boost the nutritional quality of the federally subsidized meals consumed by roughly 32 million U.S. schoolchildren daily.
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Comparative Effectiveness Body Releases Research Draft Priorities for Public Comment
Bloomberg BNA, 1.24.12
A comparative effectiveness entity set up by the health reform law will initially focus its research on broad topics and will not single out any specific diseases or conditions, according to the organization's draft agenda for research priorities, released for public comment Jan. 23. The National Priorities for Research and Research Agenda will be used to guide funding announcements for comparative clinical effectiveness research that will give patients and those who care for them the ability to make better-informed health decisions, the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) said in a statement. The 53-day public comment period, which will end March 15, will be used to solicit feedback and revise the priorities and agenda before a final version of each is adopted by PCORI's Board of Governors.
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