Obesity Fight In America Must Begin WIth Children In Schools: Report

WASHINGTON -- Schools should be a cornerstone of the nation's obesity battle, but to trim Americans' waistlines, changes are needed everywhere people live, work, play and learn, a major new report says.

Two-thirds of U.S. adults and almost a third of children are either overweight or obese, and progress to stop this epidemic has been too slow, the influential Institute of Medicine said in its report released Tuesday.

Most of us know we should eat less and move more. But the institute makes clear this isn't just an individual but a societal problem: For a host of reasons, sedentary lives have become the norm and we're surrounded by cheap, high-calorie foods.

The new report offers a roadmap of the most promising strategies to change that - and argues that the solutions can't be implemented piecemeal.

"Each of us has this role. We can't sit back and let the schools do it, or let a mayor do it or think somehow the federal government's going to solve it," said report co-author William Purcell III, former mayor of Nashville, Tenn. "These recommendations require concerted effort among all."

Still, the report says schools should be a national focus since they're where children spend up to half of their waking hours and consume between a third and half of their daily calories.

Schoolchildren should get at least 60 minutes of physical activity a day - a combination of physical education, recess and other activities, the report says. Many schools have slashed P.E. and cut into recess in recent years in an effort to increase learning time amid tighter budgets. The report also says schools should serve healthier foods - backing school nutrition standards - and teach students about good nutrition.

Other recommendations include:

_Restaurants should ensure that at least half of kids' meals comply with federal dietary guidelines, without charging more for the healthier options.

_Healthier foods should be routinely available everywhere, from shopping malls to sports arenas.

_More food companies should improve how they market to children.

_To make physical activity routine, communities should be designed with safe places to walk.

_Public and private insurers should ensure better access to obesity screening, preventive services and treatments.

_Employers should expand workplace wellness programs.

The Institute of Medicine, an arm of the National Academy of Sciences, is an independent organization that advises the government.

Also on HuffPost:

Comments

[Mando1]

10:57 AM on 06/21/2012

The best anti obesity program is Playworks, which runs in 23 cities. Check it out

[Mike Block]

12:49 PM on 05/15/2012

Wow. Kids are supposed to LEARN stuff in school? Really?

The PA at my kids' school is directly responsible for some of these offenses. The worst of it came when I looked at the ingredients label for the "chocolate" ice cream (offered on Fridays for $1). There wasn't any cocoa or anything else that is a component of chocolate in it. It was HFCS and a bunch of chemicals. It looked awful. The same goes for the NYC DOE-supplied "chocolate" milk that comes in the free breakfast program. The claim is that the "chocolate" makes the kids want to drink milk. Try this: give them MILK. See what happens.

Search youtube for this: "Jamie Oliver - Chicken Nuggets Experiment (2010-03-26)" and weep. It's one of the most depressing videos on the madness of children's diets.

This nation needs to embrace fresh produce and become locavores. When I was growing up, I remember asking my mother for apples during the summer. I remember her saying it wasn't the season for them. Does anyone else remember "seasons" for produce? A couple of years ago I discovered KALE CHIPS! Easiest thing in the world to make and my kids can't eat enough of them - literally. Coat kale with oil, lightly salt it and stick it in the oven until it gets dried out. IT'S AWESOME!

I could go on for days, but HP limits the length of my comments. Go eat healthy, kids. Let me know if you need suggestions.

Excelsior.

[JoeyDee2]

02:53 PM on 05/13/2012

So, the parents are off the hook?

[chatnuptime1]

03:54 AM on 05/12/2012

What people don't understand is that schools and moms shop in stores and buy industry provided animal products. Chicken in particular is the most eaten meat by kids. Chickens are fed fat protein hormons so they mature faster get fatter in less time from hatching to slaughter. What is happening to kids that consume these birds several times a day every day? They are getting fat, reaching puberty at earlier ages and becoming diabetic. We are becoming what we eat. choose your meat wisely and don't use those stores that get their produce from large chains that hormone feed their liveries. Local grown chickens aren't fed this stuff and take longer to grow up and be slaughtered and thus are not as plump as the store bought stuff but we won't be seeing that in kids either. cattle the same way as pigs are being similarly inhanced.

[thcknez04]

01:47 AM on 05/10/2012

TEACHERS HAVE A HARD ENOUGH TIME TEACHING, LET ALONE TRYING TO REGULATE WHAT KIDS SHOULD/NT BE EATING!....OBESITY IS NOT JUST A "HOME" ISSUE....IT IS A COMMUNITY/PEOPLE ISSUE AS A WHOLE.....U CANT EXPECT THAT A YOUNG CHILD WILL B ABLE TO MAKE "HEALTHY" DECISIONS WHEN THEY R NOT AWARE OF WHAT "HEALTHY" IS?.....AN ADULT HAS TO LEARN HOW TO BUY N PREPARE HEALTHY MEALS FOR THEMSELVES N THEIR FAMILY....BUT, IN ORDER TO DO SO....U NEED TO KNOW....1ST...HOW TO MAKE THOSE DECISIONS.....WHETHER UR A PARENT OR NOT....SUM1 HAS TO SHOW U....SOMETHING, SOMEHOW, SOMEWAY TO IMPROVE THE LIFESTYLE OF HEALTHIER LIVING.....

[saldog]

09:03 PM on 05/09/2012

You see that hill nearby -- try running up that thing a couple of times three times a week. I usually listen to Slayer or Iron Maiden to give me a little extra juice. It is solely the responsibility of the individual to ensure that they stay in good shape. Nobody else's because it is your body. Stop eating triple cheeseburgers also. We were ripped when we had to chase wooly mammoths across the Serengeti for two days. Get off of your buts people.

[J R M]

05:56 PM on 05/09/2012

The battle against obesity, like the effort for a good education, doesn't begin in the school. It begins in the home.

I am tired beyond imagining with various reformers trying to make it the job of schools to change society in one way or another. School's job is to provide an environment where children can learn. And that job can be difficult to impossible depending upon the attitudes and behaviors that kids bring to the school.

[nasknit]

08:55 PM on 05/09/2012

Thank you!!! I am so tired of every social problem, disease, affliction, etc "needs" to "fixed" by our schools. Schools are for Education!

[Brianna Cole]

11:44 PM on 05/09/2012

Thank you. As a teacher, I sincerely do thank you. It "starts" in the home. This does not mean we at the schools are relieved of responsibility in any way, but a child will listen to their parents and then follow that when a teacher also promotes it. It goes for food, education, respect, etc. If parents *attempt* to be good role models, the child will be easier to mold at school. It isn't an argument of: Well, the parents should be doing this! Or: The teachers need to do that! It is a united front of parents and teachers combined in an effort to raise a generation(s) of intelligent, well mannered, well behaved youth. It isn't that hard people!!!! Stop hating on each other and start working together! And don't tell me I can't yell at little Timmy for spit-balling another student, or little Angela for harassing another girl...... I can, and I will. And if I "damaged" your son/daughter's constitution THAT badly by scolding them, YOU weakened them to the point where it was possible. *don't mind the mini-rant at the end*....

[Mike Block]

12:56 PM on 05/15/2012

I agree with the idea that it starts in the home, but when the stupid PA offers "chocolate" ice cream (HFCS and chocolate-flavored food analog) on Fridays, the kids who choose to eat healthy end up as pariahs in the populace. If this program was eliminated, the temptation wouldn't be there. My kids are VERY well educated nutritionally. My son has never had McDonalds and my daughter has total contempt for it. My kids love the way my wife and I cook and will often help out. The schools need to take control of what's being offered to kids. I'm not saying the TEACHERS are responsible. I agree, they have enough on their plate (ok, bad choice of words given this discussion), but the principals need to look at the big picture. Buy local, fresh produce and offer it. The kids will eat it, I promise you. Getting mealy apples from Brazil when you live in NY (a major apple-growing state) is not the way to go.

"It'll be a great day when schools have all the books and teachers they need and the Air Force needs to hold a bake sale to buy bombs." - a great bumper sticker I once saw.

Excelsior.

[Allthosewhowander]

02:49 PM on 05/09/2012

Children emulate behaviors that are modeled for them. They are products of their environment.

[Bonnie Larkin]

12:22 PM on 05/09/2012

What's next - food police in the home ? What about cultural differences - will this cause exemptions to be issued ? Does this mean that time logs for exercise in the home must be kept and reviewed / what penalties will be imposed if compilances are not met ?
How much government control is enough ?
What will be the stopping point - when children are taken from their parents, when overweight people are denied the right to become parents, when food card allotments are issued and free access to buy foods of choice are restricted ?
Think twice about the benefits [ wink - wink ] of this ' governmental concern ' - remember when obama told us ' if you like your doctor / insurance you could keep it ' .

[Allthosewhowander]

02:36 PM on 05/09/2012

There won't be a system of checks and balances at home for this kind of thing. Only schools will be held accountable. The masses support school "accountability", which in the current state of education reform seems to mean raising children and improved test scores. The government propaganda machine has convinced the people that schools and teachers are not doing enough, so they need more responsibilities heeped on their already overflowing plate (no pun intended). Many of those who speak out against what schools are doing and in support of the government destruction of public education have spent little time experiencing what teachers, students, and staff must endure on a daily basis. Some believe that all schools, students, and teachers are created equal, so why are some schools "failing"?

[Bonnie Larkin]

03:26 PM on 05/09/2012

This should not be considered a school problem -- thereby forcing the schools to do the fixing of the problem. There is no way that schools can be helt responsible for this.

[Bonnie Larkin]

03:29 PM on 05/09/2012

cont.-- I do however think that this could become a door into the private lives of the family. This should be alarming to us all -

[chatnuptime1]

04:04 AM on 05/12/2012

Ha I would like to food police the FDA and find out how many green lights they give farmers to pump up live stock with hormones that accelerate growth, maturation, and weight in the animal feed that gets into the human. I find it hard to beleive that a near vegitarian that eats fish only has reversed her weight problem and slowed her puberty in six months by not eating eggs, birds and red meat for six months. Now she resemblees a thirteen year old and not a seventeen year old packing pounds about the hips and breasts. While she has been very active in dance since she was four and active in general her weight was a constant struggle. After she tried doing a fish and vegi diet for six months her weight gone normal limits and her accelerated puberty slowed way down. I really think this obesity issue with kids is linked to the food supply. This is not a trend. We don't in just a few short generations just start popping up fat kids left and right across all social, racial and economic boundries. This is an epidemic everywhere. We all pretty much do eat what is supplied in the market right.

[Bonnie Larkin]

06:48 AM on 05/12/2012

Farmers produce crops / ranchers produce meat
While not eating meat might well suit you - it is not the primary choice for most of the people in this country.
It is the government to forces ranchers to use the chemicals injected into our meat products -
But if you will check the suppliers of seeds now being forced upon farmers to use - you will see the dangerous chemicals on them as well - so eating just veggies will not save you from chemicals in your food supplies.
For years [ generations ] farmers saved seeds from one years chops to plant the next season. obamas food safety act now forbids that - limiting farmer to the use of hybrid seeds - so mutilated that the seeds they produce can not reproduce themselves - think about that.

[keater26]

07:32 AM on 05/09/2012

change how companies market food to children? last time i checked i never saw a child buying his or her own food...parental responsibility....

[Oakland]

07:05 AM on 05/09/2012

No, it doesn't begin in the schools. It begins with big ag getting their toxins out of the food. It begins with processing plants that dump zillions of barrels of corn fructose into everything we consume. It begins with government stepping up to regulate industry instead of bending over for them. I'm sick of everyone blaming people for what their greed is allowing the food industry to sell as food.

[chatnuptime1]

04:09 AM on 05/12/2012

Yes toxins and hormones to accelerate growth, fat, and maturity before butcher in shorter times. All the same things we see in our young kids.. getting fat at very early ages, growing fast, puberty at earlier ages. Same as the animals they eat. Very common denominator here. What they give the critters are showing up in the young. It may not bother an adult but it definately seems to effect the drivers of our adolescents and young children from babies onward. I would be very careful if your not a vegitarian who you buy your meat from.

[daringsugar]

10:48 PM on 05/08/2012

It's called personal responsibility. As far as children, it's called, parental responsibility.

[XV8 Crisis Suit]

09:14 AM on 05/09/2012

It's called corporate responsibility. They make the food, they have the lobbyists, the dominate the market.

[Ryan Stanis]

11:53 AM on 05/09/2012

You don't have to buy the bad food. I shop. I buy and choose what items I consume. There are options.
A lobbyist paying for this or that doesn't affect my knowledge of healthy foods. I still have knowledge and am not influenced by a chosen society or leaders.

Personal choice/responsibility.
Let people choose to stop, or not. The market/companies will have to follow.

[Mike Block]

01:01 PM on 05/15/2012

They make the food that people buy. Stop buying it and they'll stop making it. One could also blame an unregulated federal assistance program. I saw a woman buying RingDings and Kool Aid Sips (plastic bottles of HFCS) and paying for it with food stamps. Heck, you could buy beer and smokes with food stamps. Let's put a moratorium on this and force people to make healthier decisions. While I'm totally against big government, I'm also totally against stupidity. Not regulating government assistance programs is stupid. My taxes are paying for that woman's junk food and ultimately, her children's medical bills.

Tax the churches, bring the troops home and let the banks fail.

Excelsior.

[chatnuptime1]

04:10 AM on 05/12/2012

And consumer responsibliity. What's in your meat?

[TrinidaddeGuerreros]

10:47 PM on 05/08/2012

In my humble opinion, good eating habits start long before a child enters school. If parents have waited for the schools to step in, there will often be a long battle ahead in trying to get kids to make healthy choices. After years and years of trying, I finally lost a large amount of weight. It wasn't until I realized that my eating was addictive behavior and I had started on that journey very early in my childhood that I was successful. Now I know when I'm falling back on old habitual behaviors and counteract them.

My own children were taught to look at food as essential for good health ... not merely a fun activity or some poor attempt at trying to feel better. Exercise was encouraged and made as positive as possible and they went with me grocery shopping to help them learn about good choices. It's all about lifestyle and that is something that begins from the time we're very small. No one but parents or other early childhood caregivers have nearly as much impact on an individual's habits.

[Allthosewhowander]

02:47 PM on 05/09/2012

I agree. The task of detoxing children from horrible eating habits is a taxing process for everybody involved. Bad food and the chemicals in them are a drug, and some children are completely addicted. They have not been taught how vital it is to their current and future health to eat well and be active. The sedentary lifestyle is one of the unhealthiest drugs available to kids too. The combination of unhealthy eating habits and apathy is very difficult for a teacher and school to overcome when they are already in place by the time a child starts school. My daughter is very young, but already knows the importance of eating her "grow food", and playing. Teaching those habits are very important in my family. There was a story on national news the other day about how by the year 2030, it is projected that 50% of Americans will be considered obese.

[Mike Block]

01:05 PM on 05/15/2012

Since your daughter is so young, try this: we noticed that our daughter had frequent accidents while potty training. It turned out to be a direct result of red food dye. I was VERY clinical about this. She went for 2 weeks with no accidents and one day I gave her a red lollipop after dinner. She woke up wet in the middle of the night and I apologized to her. It was totally my fault, but I had to be sure. My wife is a Girl Scout troop leader and has seen this phenomenon firsthand. When her girls had crap with food dye in it, there was an immediate need to use the bathroom.

Food dye is almost as evil and pointless as HFCS. Let's eliminate both from our diets and see how the overall health of the country changes. The same argument could be made for meat, but I'm realistic, we're not going to go solely vegetarian anytime soon. It just tastes too good! : )

Excelsior.

[Kate Lynn]

10:22 PM on 05/08/2012

How about personal responsibility and self discipline? The manufacturers don't say "Hey we have a gun to your head, you eat this now or we'll shoot you", we are at fault for not being logical. One of my professors say it best: "We are creatures of emotion, not logic"

[hanspij]

05:23 PM on 05/08/2012

_More food companies should improve how they market to children.(quote)

Is this not the reason why those kids are overweight?
And is an pizza an vegie?
When i see this kind of stories iam amazed why you in the USA dont ban those companies. The big M and many others dont want healthy kids.They want healthy money,the rest isnt in there intrest.And dont tel me your not aware of that.

[Allthosewhowander]

02:48 PM on 05/09/2012

Food companies have been able to market how they want, and use whatever ploy they can to get your money because lobbyists own the US government.

[nasknit]

08:58 PM on 05/09/2012

Hey, EVERY Body who has a "product" to sell, just cares about selling that product! It doesn't matter who the salesman is.