Another step in Michelle Obama’s campaign to fight childhood obesity is to urge the nation’s largest food companies to make their food products healthier by reducing fat, salt and sugar in their products. She is also requesting that these same companies reconsider directing their marketing of unhealthy foods to children.

At a meeting of the Grocery Manufacturers Association last week, Michelle Obama told the food industry “to not just tweak around the edges but entirely rethink the products you are offering, the information that you provide about these products, and how you market those products to our children,” she said.

The Grocery Manufacturers Association, which counts Kraft Foods Inc., Coca Cola Co. and General Mills Inc. among its members, invited her to speak at its science forum this week.  Attendees gave her a standing ovation.

Welcoming the first lady and helping implement her campaign against childhood obesity could have its advantages. The food industry is in a situation where their profits are expected to decrease in the coming year, due to a child nutrition bill that is moving through Congress that could potentially remove all junk food in schools.

Former President Bill Clinton, who in 2005 partnered with the American Heart Association for a similar campaign against childhood obesity, said he was thrilled that Michelle Obama had joined the cause. “She’ll get visibility for it that I can’t get. She’s a lot younger than I am. She’ll relate better to a lot of the kids in the schools. They’ll relate better to her. I think it’s a really great thing for her to do this.”

Last week, Clinton announced that he has been able to reduce beverage calories shipped to schools by 88%.   His effort was aimed at replacing full calorie soft drinks with reduced calorie, smaller portion beverages in school cafeterias and vending machines.

Since the science forum last week, Kraft Foods Inc. has announced that they are going to make positive changes and reduce fat, salt and sugar in their products.  Michelle Obama expects that other companies will announce changes to their products in the coming weeks.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_michelle_obama_food_companies

Coca Cola and Pepsi Co joined former president Bill Clinton in announcing the results of an initiative they said had reduced the number of soft drink calories in American schools by 88%.

The announcement comes after Michelle Obama increased pressure on the companies by targeting them as one of the many causes of obesity in children.

One in five US children aged six to 19 are estimated to be obese, a condition that frequently leads to related health problems such as heart disease and diabetes.  Conditions that can follow obese children through adulthood.

Since soft drink companies are the biggest targets to preventing obesity in our children, their proactive approach by partnering with Bill Clinton may protect their future earnings as they are expecting a slide in profits as people continue to lead healthier lifestyles.

“It’s a brand new day in America’s schools when it comes to beverages,” said Susan Neely, the head of the American Beverage Association. “Our beverage companies have slashed calories in schools as full calorie soft drinks have been removed. The beverages available to students are now lower-calorie and are served in smaller portions.”

Under the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, a joint initiative of the American Heart Association and the Clinton Foundation, full calorie drinks were removed from shipments to school cafeterias and vending machines.  Low-fat milk, diet soft drinks, flavored waters and teas replaced the sugary drinks.

Coca Cola and Pepsi Co also spent millions of dollars in retrofitting vending machines and repackaging products.

“School is a unique environment where students make food and beverage choices with limited supervision,” said Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association.

In addition to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, there is an increasing urgency to impose a “fat tax” on soft drinks.  New York is in the forefront of the campaign, which the American Beverage Association vigorously opposes.

New York State Health Commissioner Richard Daines considers the “fat tax” as an opportunity to help our children. “The dramatic under pricing of sugar sweetened beverages, their widespread availability, and the ceaseless marketing of these products constitute a stumbling block to good health and are a clear and present danger to the future of our children,” Daines said.

SOURCE: http://health.yahoo.com/news/afp/ushealthobesitychildrendrinkschooltax_20100308220858.html

Recent government data found that twenty percent of black and hispanic children ages 2 to 19 are obese, while only fifteen percent of white children in that same age category struggle with obesity. 

These findings have led to numerous additional studies aimed towards finding out why obesity tends to affect minorities more than their Caucasian counterparts.

A new study published in the medical journal ‘Pediatrics’ helps explain the excessively high obesity rates in minority children.

The study questioned approximately 2,000 Boston area mothers and examined over a dozen factors that can increase a child’s chances of becoming obese.  Almost every factor was more common in black and Hispanic children than in white children.

The risk factors examined included: mothers smoking during pregnancy, unusually rapid weight gain in young infants, starting solid food before 4 months, mothers’ routinely pressuring young kids to eat more, children sleeping less than 12 hours daily between 6 months and 2 years, and allowing very young kids to have sugary drinks, fast food, and allowing children to have televisions in their rooms.  Family income is often a factor, but so are cultural customs and beliefs, the study authors said.

Again, minorities were at higher risk than whites for nearly every factor.

In addition, the study found that many of the factors related to obesity were more common in low income, less educated families, including whites.

There is good news.  Almost every risk factor for childhood obesity can be changed, but ongoing educational programs must be developed to spread the word.  In most cases, a child’s health lies in the hands of mothers who need to be informed and educated about living healthy lifestyles and passing that information to their children.

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100301/ap_on_bi_ge/us_med_kids_and_obesity

You may have already noticed.  There is a new awareness about obesity buzzing around us.  It’s on the news.  It’s in the newspaper.  And thankfully soon it will be in the doctor’s offices and schools.

Last Tuesday Michelle Obama announced her campaign to fight childhood obesity.  It’s a much needed campaign as the scary facts state that as a nation, we are getting fatter each year.  We should already know the side effects of being overweight, including an increased risk of heart disease and diabetes, which is significantly higher in those who are obese.  In addition, there are hundreds of other health problems that can affect our overweight population.

Until now, no one has discussed how much money is being spent on obesity.

At an event to kick off the fight against childhood obesity, the Michelle Obama said, “Economic experts tell us that we are spending outrageous amounts of money treating obesity-related conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and cancer.”

A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with a not for profit research group called RTI International, found that the direct and indirect cost of obesity “is as high as $147 billion annually.”

The study collected data in 2006, and found that obese patients spent an average $1,429 more for their medical care than did people within a normal weight range.  It works out to be a 42 percent higher health care cost for people who are obese.

The CDC study found that Medicare, Medicaid and private insurers increased spending due to obesity from 6.5 percent in 1998 to 9.1 percent in 2006. The figure includes prescription drug costs.

Health Affairs, a medical journal, found that the costs of hospitalizations related to childhood obesity rose from $125.9 million in 2001 to $237.6 million in 2005.

Bottom Line:  Lose weight and every American wins.  America spends as much as $147 billion annually on the direct and indirect costs of obesity, and if every single person took responsibility for their own weight management we could potentially save billions of dollars each year.  

SOURCE:  http://www.wwlp.com/dpp/health/healthy_living/fact-check:-the-cost-of-obesity

SOURCE:  http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/02/09/fact.check.obesity/index.html

In the state of the union address a few weeks ago, President Barack Obama announced that his wife, Michelle, has been laying the groundwork for over a year, developing a plan to fight childhood obesity.   To achieve this goal, Michelle Obama has requested the help of parents, schools, health professionals, sports and entertainment role models, business leaders and governments.

Childhood obesity is a growing epidemic that causes numerous health problems that can affect children now and as they grow into adults.  Currently 1 out of every 3 children is considered overweight.

There are several factors contributing to this epidemic including the following:

Busy parents opt for fast food rather than healthy family dinners at home.

Vending machines stocked with soda and candy bars.

Availability of high fat, high calorie snacks marketed towards children.

High cost of healthy options (there may be a link between obesity and low income).

Children rather watch TV or play games than play outside and exercise.

Clyde Yancy, president of the American Heart Association, said Obama’s focus will help generate the motivation needed to change attitudes.  Michelle Obama, known as a mother, motivator and role model is the perfect fit to get this job done.  Yancy admits Michelle has a tough job ahead of her, but he thinks that her goals can be achieved only with the help of several of organizations that can make substantive changes such as reducing fatty snacks and sodas in schools, providing better nutrition labeling of processed foods.

Michelle Obama’s plan to end childhood obesity includes the following:

Increase federal money to make cafeteria options healthier

Get the junk food out of school vending machines.

Expand time for school recess and physical education.

Offer federal incentives to low income families so that they can purchase healthier foods.

Stop companies from marketing junk food to children.

Pass laws to make restaurants to print nutrition information on menus.

Encourage health practitioners to do more medical screening for obesity in children.

Work with FDA to improve food labeling.

Provide behavior counseling to overweight kids.

Included in this list is the ‘School Lunch Program’ which is up for review by Congress this year.  Parents can control their child’s diet most of the time, but a huge weakness in her fight against obesity is the options available to kids when their parents aren’t around – at school.  To help with the School Lunch Program, President Barack Obama’s proposed budget calls for an additional 1 billion dollars each year for child nutrition programs.

Dora Rivas, president of the School Nutrition Association and director of food services for the Dallas public schools, said schools need more federal dollars to be able to use fresh fruits, vegetables and whole grains into lunches, and to keep up with the growing numbers of children who qualify for free or reduced-cost meals.

Michelle Obama has a tough road ahead of her, but she said last month that she won’t be satisfied unless she knows she’s made a difference. “That is the legacy I want,” she said. “I want to leave something behind that we can say, because of this time that this person spent here, this thing has changed.”

SOURCE:  http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_first_lady_s_cause

SOURCE:  http://www.schoolnutrition.org/Blog.aspx?id=13585&blogid=564