First Lady_ Michelle Obama- launched a major push against childhood obesity, which affects around 1 in 3 U.S. children and threatens to make the current generation of Americans the first to live shorter lives- than their parents.
President Barack Obama signed an executive memorandum setting up a task force on obesity headed- by the First Lady.
The memorandum said, my administration is committed to redoubling our efforts to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation through a comprehensive approach that builds on effective strategies, engages families and communities, and mobilizes both public and private sector resources.
I am so proud of the work that the First Lady, along with the cabinet secretaries behind me have done in trying to tackle one of the most urgent health issues that we have in this country, Obama said as he signed the memorandum, his wife's hand on his arm and the secretaries of health, education, agriculture and the interior looking on.
Because of obesity and the illnesses associated with it, including diabetes, heart disease and some cancers, doctors have warned that the current generation of U.S. children could be the first to live shorter, less healthy lives than their parents.
Nearly one in five U.S. kids aged 6 to 19 are obese and one in three is overweight.
Even babies are not immune to the scourge, with some 10% classified as obese.
The childhood obesity rate tripled in the United States between 1980-1999, creating an epidemic blamed on lack of exercise, a poor diet that's heavy on fat and sugar and not enough fresh vegetables and fruits.
A study released last year showed- the swelling obesity rate in the United States has also seen medical costs associated with excessive weight balloon from around 78 billion dollars a year in 1998 to around 147 billion dollars annually in 2006.
We must act now to improve the health of our nation's children and avoid spending billions of dollars treating preventable disease, said the memorandum signed by Obama.
At the first ever major meeting on obesity in the United States, childhood obesity was described as the country's worst health crisis, and parents were urged to ban television in kids' rooms as a first step to making sure children got out and exercised, last year.
Lawmakers have been encouraged to slap a tax on sugary drinks to combat obesity, and several schools have banned junk food from vending machines and even chocolate milk from the canteen in an effort to fight the fat.
Michelle Obama said in a television interview, We want to eliminate this problem of childhood obesity in a generation.
She has highlighted healthy living by planting a vegetable garden on the lawn of the white and joining in physical activities- including showing off impressive hula hooping skills- with U.S. schoolchildren.
Michelle Obama said, We're launching a nationwide campaign called 'Let's Move', adding that the importance of physical activity is something she stresses with her own young daughters, Malia and Sasha.
She said, my kids have to get up and move. They can't sit in front of the TV. I have my girls involved in sports because I want them as young women to understand what it feels like to compete and to win and to run and to sweat.
tag.Source URL: https://kmhighlights.blogspot.com/2010/12/michelle-obama-spearheads-us-push.html
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