From the White House: Today, First Lady Michelle Obama joined members of the Childhood Obesity Task Force to unveil the Task Force action plan: Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity Within a Generation.
“For the first time, the nation will have goals, benchmarks, and measurable outcomes that will help us tackle the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family, and one community at a time,” Mrs. Obama said.
In February, the First Lady launched the Let’s Move! campaign to solve the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. As part of this effort, the President established the Task Force on Childhood Obesity to develop and implement an inter-agency plan that details a coordinated strategy, identifies key benchmarks, and outlines an action plan to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.
The action plan defines solving the problem of childhood obesity in a generation as returning to a childhood obesity rate of just 5% by 2030, which was the rate before childhood obesity first began to rise in the late 1970s. In total, the report presents a series of 70 specific recommendations, many of which can be implemented right away. Summarizing them broadly, they include:
- Giving children a healthy start on life
- Empowering parents and caregivers with simpler actionable messages about nutrition
- Providing healthy food in schools
- Improving access to healthy, affordable food
- Getting children more physically active
The Boston Globe recently reported that Massachusetts’ rate of childhood obesity was 13.3% and the overweight rate was 30%. While the obesity rate is lower than the national average of 16.4%, the overweight rate is almost par at 31.6%.
- Read the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity Report to the President
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