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Child obesity epidemic embarrassing, surgeon general says Friday, Jun 20, 2008 By John Lyon Arkansas News Bureau NORTH LITTLE ROCK - Despite some success in Arkansas and across the country in stemming the tide of child obesity, the problem continues to be a national embarrassment, acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven Galson said Thursday during a visit to the Natural State. Galson was joined at a news conference by Melissa Johnson, executive director of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, who honored Arkansas for being one of five states to win the National President's Challenge. Galson said child obesity numbers appear to be leveling off, but they are still too high. "We're still triple where we were in 1980," he said. "That's 9 million children over the age of six that are overweight, and that should be embarrassing to every parent, to every teacher, to every leader in this community and to people all around the country." The national Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported last month that child obesity rates had stabilized at 16 percent after rising steadily since 1980. Galson told reporters Arkansas has been a leader in legislative action to fight child obesity, including the state's program to measure students' body-mass index. "It's important in all areas of public health to know the numbers, and the leadership of this state in passing this legislation and tracking this is really important," he said. The BMI program, an initiative of former Gov. Mike Huckabee, was retooled last year to allow students to be tested every other year instead of every year, exempt high school juniors and seniors and make it easier for families to opt out of the program. Those changes probably made implementing the program "more realistic," Galson said. "It's still gathering absolutely critical data for tracking the obesity epidemic in this state, so it's still very effective," he said. Johnson said Arkansas had the second-best participation, behind Alaska, in the National President's Challenge, a six-week program that challenged Americans to be more active. "I always hold Arkansas up as a model everywhere I go and in every presentation I do," she said. "I really want to commend Arkansas for your commitment - the state's commitment, the leadership's commitment - to promoting regular physical activity as part of a healthy lifestyle." Galson presented a Healthy Youth for a Healthy Future Champion Award to Eagle Mountain Health and International Studies Magnet Elementary School in Batesville for its focus on nutrition and physical activity. |
