First Lady Michelle Obama's newfound campaign against obesity got a boost Saturday as she used an audience of the nation's governors to urge their help in reducing child obesity. We hope Gov. Tim Pawlenty was listening.
The battle against obesity takes on new significance for Beltrami County, as a study last week showed adult obesity rates at 28 percent, up from a state average of 26 percent.
One of three children in the United States is overweight or obese. One in three children today will eventually develop diabetes, a number even higher in the American Indian community. Some $150 billion a year is spent on obesity-related health conditions such as diabetes, heart disease and high blood pressure.
Ms. Obama asked the governors to embrace four key pillars as the federal government gears up to fight obesity. First, offer parents the tools and information they need and that many have been asking for to make healthier choices for their kids. Second is to get healthier foods into our nation's schools. Third, making sure that all of our families have access to healthy, affordable food in their communities. Finally, to increase physical activity, which is critical for better health and better academic achievement.
"Let's stop wringing our hands and talking about it and citing statistics," the first lady told the nation's governors. "Let's act. Let's move. Let's give our kids the future they deserve."
ADVERTISEMENT
Some efforts are already underway. The administration is working with the Food and Drug Administration and the food industry to make our food labels more customer-friendly, so that people don't spend hours squinting at words they can't pronounce to know if the foods are healthy. North Carolina has banned snack and soda machines from elementary schools. West Virginia has promoted the use of Dance, Dance Revolution, a video game that gets kids up and moving.
"I know that many of you are stretched thinner than ever in these times, and don't actually have money to spare," Ms. Obama told the governors. "But often it's about doing more with what you already have. If you're already paving a new road, for example, why not add a sidewalk or a bike path, too? Or if you're already building a housing development, why not add a playground? If you've got school gyms or playing fields empty after hours, why not find a way to open them up to the community at night or on the weekends?"
Change needs to be advocated in our lifestyles, and especially in our children's lifestyles. Gov. Pawlenty should lead the way in proposing ways to accomplish an outcome of decreasing child obesity in Minnesota. The state annually receives money from the state's settlement with Big Tobacco, and there would be no better use for those funds than to grant programs that increase our health and work to curb child obesity.
