A disturbing new report released last week should keep us up at  night, but my fear is no one, or not enough of us, is paying attention.  Despite being declared a “public health emergency” in 2004 by the CDC, obesity in the U.S. continues to rise. According to the report released by the Trust for America’s Health (TFAH) and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. (RWJF),  F as in Fat: How Obesity Policies Are Failing in America 2009, the obesity rates for adults exceed 20% in forty-nine states. And for some perspective – in 1991, no state had obesity rates above 20%! In fact, two-thirds of U.S. adults are overweight or obese. The scary part is that the stats for kids are worse.  Every state in the Union has overweight and obesity rates for children that exceed 20%. The cost to us personally and as a nation are going to skyrocket.

We know the causes: over-eating of high calorie food, hours of media consumption, and lack of exercise.  Scarcity of adequate health care, lack of safe play areas, reduction of physical education and recess times in schools, availability of poor food choices at schools, and lack of community investment in children are also contributing factors.

School wellness programs, mandated by Congress, have been found to be inconsistent across school districts as reported in another Robert Wood Johnson report: Local School Wellness Policies. Policies relating to nutrition and physical activity in schools are up to federal standards in some school districts and not well articulated or unenforced in others.

The National Institute on Media and the Family, recognizing the role that media plays in the obesity epidemic, created Switch™, a family-centered obesity prevention, health and wellness program, that also helps schools meet their goals. Summer time is the time to Switch what you do™ , Switch what you view™ and Switch what you chew™. Addressing the three causes of childhood obesity - physical activity, media consumption and nutrition –  Switch gives kids and parents the tools to make healthy lifestyle changes that work.  Check out this video to see how Switch works with real families and make sure your family is on the path to long and healthy lives.

As a nation, we have a lot of pounds, and not much time, to lose.

-Dr. Dave