Measures to Stem Childhood Obesity Are Found Lacking [WSJ]
By BETSY MCKAY
September 14, 2006; Page D3
The federal government, food industry and others have made too little progress in stemming a growing tide of childhood obesity, and more money, measures and leadership are needed, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine.
While awareness of the epidemic has grown and a wide range of organizations have implemented eating, exercise and education programs, the efforts remain "fragmented and small-scale," with no comprehensive national obesity prevention-and-control program, said the federal scientific advisory organization. Moreover, many existing programs haven't been studied to determine whether they are effective, the panel said.
The new report is a follow-up to a study the IOM released in 2004 concluding that a broad collaborative effort in which government, industry, schools, parents and others would each adopt measures would be needed to turn the tide of childhood obesity. But rates are only continuing to rise, said Jeffrey Koplan, vice president for academic health affairs at Emory University in Atlanta and chairman of a 13-member panel of public-health experts that compiled the report.
The report calls for the secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services to convene a high-level task force with senior officials at HHS, the Agriculture Department and other agencies to coordinate efforts -- a recommendation the IOM also made in its previous report.
The report also calls for increased funding for prevention and control programs that have been proven effective, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's VERB campaign. The program prompted a 34% increase in weekly exercise among the preteens it reached in its first year but will be discontinued this month because its federal funding wasn't renewed.
"This is something there should be outrage over," said Dr. Koplan, a former CDC director. Were a new vaccine to be proven effective but then shelved, "people wouldn't stand for it," he said.
Other recommendations included a call for evaluations of implemented antiobesity programs to determine best practices and evaluations of steps that food and beverage companies have taken to provide healthier products and promote healthy lifestyles. The report also called for more physical-activity programs in schools.
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