A p ril 21, 2010
fJortlanb (Dbseruer
Page 19
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May 1,2011
Reversing a Troubling Trend
‘Let’s M ove’ against
childhood obesity
M arian W right E delman
W hen First L ady M ichelle O bam a
decided to launch the "Let's M ove"
cam paign to fig h t childhood obesity,
she brought m uch-needed attention to
a crisis m illions o f children face. It's a
special concern for children o f color,
because new research show s black and
L atino kids are d isp roportionally at risk.
But children o f color are far from the only ones
in danger. E xperts estim ate that on e-th ird o f
A m erican children are currently o v erw eig h t o r
obese, and these rates have tripled am ong c h il­
dren ages 12 to 19 since 1980. Som e adults m ay
see heavy kids as healthy eaters, o r th in k that for
children, extra w eight is m ainly ju s t a cosm etic
issue. B ut serious risks for o verw eig h t children
go far beyond appearance.
D iseases once associated o n ly w ith adults,
like T ype 2 diabetes, high cholestero l, and high
b lo o d p re ssu re , are risin g at y o u n g e r and
you n g er ages.
O verw eight children are at greatly increased
risk o f being o verw eight adults. F o r m any kids,
this m ay be m ore than ju s t a "chubby" phase
they’ll outgrow som e day. A s m any as 80 p e r­
cent o f overw eight children m ay ex p erien ce a
lifetim e o f increased health risks that com e w ith
being overw eight.
T he m ost pressing risk, card io v ascu lar d is­
ease, rem ains the leading killer in A m erica. I f
childhood obesity trends continue, experts p re­
by
dict the lifespan o f the av erag e child in A m erica
co u ld decline by up to five years--m ak in g this
the first generation to have a shorter life ex p ect­
ancy than th eir parents.
O u r co u n try already spends $ 150 b il­
lion a y ear treatin g o b esity -related dis­
eases—nearly 10 p ercen t o f all m edical
spending. M any experts label the cu r­
rent level o f ch ild h o o d obesity an epi­
dem ic that threatens o u r future national
health, productivity, and security. Som e­
thing m u st be done to stop and reverse
this trend.
C h ild h o o d o b esity is on the rise for m any
reasons. A m erican children have been im m ersed
in the sam e "supersized" culture that snares
adults, surrounded by high-calorie, high-fat food
that's p lentiful, cheap, and often served in unre­
alistically big portions.
A nd today's children and teenagers are m uch
less likely than past g en eratio n s to spend free
tim e running around outdoors, and m uch m ore
likely to spend it on the couch w atch in g TV,
playing video gam es, o r surfing the W eb, often
w ith snacks and sodas right next to them .
V ery few children g et the 60 m inutes o f m o d ­
erate physical activity the Surgeon G eneral rec­
o m m ends kids have m ost days o f the w eek.
E ven schools have becom e part o f the p ro b ­
lem . M any districts have cut back on gym tim e
and recess, often as a tra d e o ff for m ore instruc­
tional tim e to prepare for state testing.
T he quality o f school m eals and easy av ail­
ability o f snacks and sugary drinks in m any
school v ending m achines w ere som e o f the first
targets in the w ar on child obesity, and there's
been progress.
Som e m ajor school food suppliers are m aking
im provem ents in response to M rs. O bam a's
cam paign. A dvocates for b etter nutrition hope
that as m ore people becom e aw are o f the risks to
children's health, m ore industries, schools, res­
taurants, and com m unities w ill m ake a big differ­
ence for A m erica's children.
A s these kinds o f changes o ccu r in a range o f
child environm ents, the First L ady and others
stress the b iggest influence in children's eating
habits w ill com e from hom e. It has been parents
w ho have told their children to eat their v eg ­
etables o r go outside and get som e fresh air.
M ichelle O bam a has shared som e o f the
sim ple changes she and the p resid en t have
m ade in th eir ow n fam ily's lifestyle, including
w atching portion sizes, packing m ore fruits and
w ater in their daughters' lunches, lim iting TV
tim e, and fam ously, starting a vegetable garden
at hom e.
W e know our beautiful children com e in all
shapes and sizes. But by being aw are o f the
serious health risks m any o v erw eig h t children
face, and o f the long-term value o f a balanced
diet and reg u lar exercise, w e can help m ake sure
all o u r children grow up to be as healthy as
p o ssib le.
M aking healthy food and exercise p art o f
fam ily life is the right place to start, and w ill be
good for m any adults too. T eaching good habits
to children early can have lifelong consequences,
and som eday o u r children—and grandchildren-
-w ill thank us.
Marian Wright Edelman is president o f the
Children's Defense Fund.
Martin
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Rally the Base, Broaden the Appeal
Obama must reset
his presidency
D r . R on D aniels
T he p assage o f the
h is to ric h e a lth in s u r­
ance reform legislation
creates a m ajor o p p o rtu ­
nity for President O bam a
to go on the offensive
w ith bold leadership and a strong
people-oriented econom ic, jo b g e n ­
erating agenda.
by
To effectively expand this m o ­
m entum , how ever, O bam a needs to
focus on the econom y and jobs. He
m ust tap into the anger and frustra­
tion that is currently being exploited
by the Tea Party m ovem ent and chan­
nel the rage in a righteous direction.
This is w here President O bam a
and his team confound me. R ather
th a n d ir e c tly fo c u s in g o n th e
econom y and jo b s, the P resident
recently announced initiatives to
encourage the construction o f m ore
nuclear p ow er plants and a lim ited
expansion o f off-shore drilling for
oil. W hile these program s m ay have
som e jo b generating effects, they
seem calculated to insulate the Presi­
dent from criticism from the R epub-
lic a n s/c o n serv a tiv e s.
T he talking h eads on the Sunday
netw ork show s suggested that
O bam a is m oving to the cen ter
to broaden his appeal. T he last
tim e I looked, the R epublicans/
con serv ativ es/T ea Party activ­
ists w ere in no m ood to acco m ­
m odate President O bam a on any
level. T h ey have th eir eyes set on
th e prize, and they are w illing to
sto n ew all/o b stru ct his agenda and
m isin fo rm /co n fu se the public in o r­
d er to retake the H ouse and Senate
in the m id-term elections and recap ­
ture the W hite H ouse in 2012. The
R epublicans/conservatives are d e­
term ined to m ake O bam a a one-term
President.
I f the d ebate o v er health care
taught the President and the D em o ­
crats anything, it is that b i-p artisan ­
ship w ith the G rande O b stru ctio n ist
Party (G O P ) is no t possible as long
as O bam a and his party are p er­
ceived as d iso rien ted and w eak.
A s the election nears, there is no
rational reason to believe the Repub-
lican/conservatives will change their
w ays. They sm ell blood and they
intend to win big tim e in N ovem ber.
The President and the D em ocrats
m ust be equally com m itted to repuls­
ing the assault by using their m ajority
in both houses to generate as m uch
tangible progress as possible on the
econom y and jobs.
A place to begin in term s o f h ar­
nessing and rechanneling the rage
is w ith legislation to regulate the
financial institutions on W all Street.
Just as O bam a h am m ered the big
insurance com panies for th eir u n ­
con scio n ab le rate increases as a
w ay o f galvanizing support for final
passage o f the health insurance re­
form bill, he m ust also relentlessly
rem ind the A m erican people that it
w as the reckless b eh av io r o f the
bandits on W all Street that is re­
spo n sib le for the pain they now feel.
W all Street w recked M ain Street.
T herefore, tough, consum er friendly
legislation is im perative to ensure
that the B arracudas are reined in
and are never perm itted to do harm
to w orking fam ilies, the m iddle class
and the p o o r ev er again. The Tea
Party political illiterates m ust not be
allo w ed to co n tin u e to d iv ert atten ­
tion aw ay from the real villains w ho
ruined the econom y, precipitating
m assive unem ploym ent.
M ost im portantly, this righteous
populist m essage m ust be coupled
w ith the kind o f large scale jo b s
program advocated by the N ational
U rban League in its recent State o f
B lack A m erica R eport -- an ad d i­
tional $100 m illion program that
w ould target high unem ploym ent
areas and also pro v id e hundreds o f
thousands o f jo b s for y o ung people
this sum m er.
In addition, the P resident and
D em ocrats m ust do ev ery th in g pos-
s ib le to r e lie v e th e p a in o f
hom eow ners w hose m ortgages are
"underw ater" due to the fraudulent
sub-prim e lending fiasco or because
breadw inners have lost th eir jo b s.
T his is the kind o f bold lead er­
ship w hich is required if the P resi­
dent and the D em ocrats are to avert
the "slaughter" pundits forecast for
the m id-term elections.
Dr. Ron Daniels is president
o f the Institute o f the Black
World 2 1st Century and D istin­
guished Lecturer at York Col­
lege City University.
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