Children's Health & Fitness ? Obesity Fight Needs A Big Campaign

May 14th, 2012 by Len Saunders

From the Tuscan Citizen via USA Today?..

Since first lady Michelle Obama made childhood obesity her signature project almost two years ago, the issue has had the kind of highly visible national leadership that it previously lacked.

But that isn?t enough, say public health leaders frustrated with the slow progress in stemming America?s obesity epidemic.

Something more ambitious is needed, they argue ? something more like the anti-tobacco movement.

The similarities between the two public health challenges are compelling. Tobacco use is the nation?s No. 1 cause of preventable death in the U.S., killing 467,000 people in 2005, according to a landmark study by Harvard University researchers. Being obese or overweight caused an estimated 216,000 deaths from heart disease, diabetes and other conditions, researchers estimated, while another 191,000 deaths resulted from being physically inactive ? another key contributor to expanding waistlines.

In terms of health care costs, obesity is now the larger concern, accounting for $147 billion to $190 billion in yearly expenditures, compared with $96 billion for tobacco.

After decades of lawsuits, damning reports about industry practices, and stop-smoking campaigns, smoking rates have plummeted, from a high of 42% of adults in 1965 ? a year after the surgeon general?s first report on smoking and health ? to just over 19% today. Meanwhile, obesity has been soaring since the 1980s and only last year reached a plateau, which experts say may be only temporary. Currently, 45 million American adults are smokers, while 78 million adults and almost 13 million youngsters are counted as obese.

To read the full story?..Click here

Entry Filed under: Health / Fitness Articles

detroit lions seattle seahawks space shuttle space shuttle new york courtney upshaw russell wilson catch me if you can