Obesity Fight Needs Allies (?)
 

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...neral_obesity_4

Official: Obesity Fight Needs Allies

Mon Jul 21, 6:34 PM ET

By REBECCA CARROLL, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The government needs help from parents, community organizers, corporations and children in the fight against obesity, Surgeon General Richard Carmona said Monday.



"It takes a team to get the word out into all of the community so we can get children moving and keep them moving," he said. "We really need to get everybody to get on board and help us make this a healthier United States."


Carmona was speaking at the start of an anti-obesity initiative sponsored by the University of North Carolina and Gatorade.


"I cannot think of a more important message for athletes to send kids today than to talk about the importance of getting up, getting out and being active," said soccer star Mia Hamm, a UNC graduate.


Nearly 9 million American children, about 15 percent of those age 6 to 19, are seriously overweight, program organizers said.


In 2000, health care costs related to obesity were about $117 billion, Carmona said.


The initiative, called "Get Kids in Action," will include research, education and outreach. UNC's School of Public Health will study pilot projects in four still-to-be-selected North Carolina communities. The school's athletics department will help with outreach. Gatorade is paying the bills, $4 million over four years.


Carmona gave about 50 children from Washington area YMCAs the title "junior assistant surgeons general" and told them to tell their families, friends, teachers and others to stay physically active and to eat right.


President Bush (news - web sites) visited a YMCA in Dallas last Friday, promoting both health and economic benefits of exercise and nutritious food.


The Bush administration is also urging health insurance companies to join in combatting the problem. Health and Human Services (news - web sites) Secretary Tommy Thompson, who met Monday with insurance executives, said they could help address obesity by offering premium discounts to people with healthier lifestyles.


"Health is a great motivator," Thompson said. "But more importantly, so is money."


Overall, about 65 percent of Americans are obese or overweight, he said.


Many companies have refrained from offering different rates, either because some states' laws bar such discriminatory policies or they fear lawsuits. In response, Thompson has asked for a government study into how companies could offer rates based on health habits without violating laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act.


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COMMENT, PLEASE NOTE SPONSORSHIP OF GATORADE!

my commentary from the yahoo message board
 

The last 2 generations of kids did not have nearly the rate of obesity that the current generation is predicted to have. I believe the ADA has recently predicted that kids born currently have (at least) a 40% risk for getting type 2 diabetes.

So what has changed in the past decade?

Certainly more TV, more video games, more intense advertising, more technicolor, more varieties of candy and soda and cookies and crackers dancing on self-same TV... more temptation at schools (do we really think kids will resist the soda in the machines at school?)...

The kids in my neighborhood still play outside, even the chunky ones, by the way.

The most startling trend that coincides directly with the trend of Type 2 diabetes, which makes sense if you read some of Dr. Atkins works, is that we've also gone "low fat" in the past decade, which means "high sugar" because to replace the flavor of the missing fat, food manufacturing plants add corn syrup and other starches.

If you don't believe me look at the food labels on low-fat vs. regular foods.

We're encouraged to eat "health" foods comprised of breakfast cereals, potatoes, bagels, pretzels, and pasta. The high intensity of simple carbohydrates (and these are mostly refined with very little fiber or other nutrient dense value) in a normal serving (and who really eats a normal serving?) is silently driving us to obesity and diabetes by triggering an overproduction of insulin to combat the excessive carbohydrate load.

Insulin is what lays down the bricks of fat in our body. It is the mortar that is used to store the extra energy that we don't use immediately.

A large bakery bagel, for example, has 80 carbohydrates or more, which is a huge load for the body to eat at one sitting. A double serving of pasta is about the same. A bowl of frosted mini-wheats is very low in fat but has 40 grams + of carbohydrates.

High-simple-carb, low-fat, low-protein foods are not only not satisfying in the long run, especially with fat-free toppings, but have been shown to be addictive as well. It's easier to gorge on a bag of cookies than a dozen eggs, for example.

Have you seen the statistics on how much straight sugar is a regular part of the American diet?

The sugar industry was at odds with the WHO (World Health Organization) recently because the sugar industry claims that it is okay for 25% of the diet to be comprised of sugar! Just sugar!

The USRDA recommends roughly 200 grams of carbs a day which may be too high for some people. Not everyone can metabolize carbohydrates the same way. And the quality of those carbs ranges from nice whole grains and veggies to straight unadulterated corn syrup!

We are blindly pushing that boundary, especially for our children.