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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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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Interview: Health reform’s comparative effectiveness chief
Washington Post, 1.26.12
In late 2011, a doctor named Joe Selby was charged with a very big task: Figure out which health care treatments are most effective. Selby is the first executive director of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute, an independent body created by the health reform law that has a $3 billion budget for comparative effectiveness research.
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Getting the family involved may help obese kids lose weight
LA Times, 1.23.12
Childhood obesity is a complex issue with no simple solutions, but involving the entire family in weight loss and health may help kids achieve their goals, a report finds. A scientific statement released Monday in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Assn. reviews strategies shown to be successful in helping kids slim down. Some studies find that obese children can have symptoms normally associated with adult obesity, such as high blood pressure and cholesterol. Others suggest that overweight kids often turn into overweight adults.
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L.A. County takes step to promote exercise, reduce obesity
LA Times, 1.25.12
Los Angeles County supervisors approved an ordinance Tuesday that requires new developments to have wider sidewalks, bicycle parking and other changes to promote exercise and reduce obesity.
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US obesity epidemic shows no signs of reversing course, reports on kids and adults show
Associated Press, 1.17.12
America’s obesity epidemic is proving to be as stubborn as those maddening love handles, and shows no sign of reversing course. More than one-third of adults and almost 17 percent of children were obese in 2009-2010, echoing results since 2003, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Tuesday.
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Schools pressed to do more to keep kids fit
McClatchy-Tribune, 1.16.12
Testing has driven the nation's education agenda during the No Child Left Behind decade, but now another debate is emerging: how much physical education children need during the school day. As childhood obesity rates climb to disturbing levels, some say schools must do more than hold daily recess when it comes to keeping children fit. At the same time, a growing body of research suggests that exercise boosts students' learning and academic achievement.
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