Study: Sweeping changes needed to deal with U.S. obesity problem
By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times
They sifted through about 800 programs to prevent and fight obesity–to find the ones most likely to counter the nation’s growing girth. In the end, a panel of independent experts asserted that only by implementing many of those initiatives at once can the nation make real progress.
Reversing the nation’s “obesogenic,” or fat-promoting, culture will require sweeping changes across all aspects of daily life, “modifying factors that shape individual choices and incidental behaviors,” the Institute of Medicine concluded in a report issued Tuesday. Changing circumstances in one sphere of an individual’s life to counter the problem without instituting changes in all spheres of life will set the nation up for failure–and for a future of rising healthcare bills, shorter lifespans and sicker, unhappier people–the report said.
If more people participated in activities like the Bay to Breakers, maybe obesity would be less of a problem. Photo/LTN file
The panel recommended that schools position themselves as gateways to obesity prevention, ensuring that children get at least an hour of physical activity daily, barring access to foods and beverages high in calories, and offering all students healthful, nutritious foods and instruction in the fundamentals of healthful eating and living.