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Report recommends local government action to curb childhood obesity
Suggestions include tax breaks for grocery stores that open in underserved neighborhoods, eliminating advertising of unhealthy foods near schools and parks.
A new Institute of Medicine report encourages healthy eating and physical activity strategies for local government officials to consider in planning, implementing and refining childhood obesity prevention efforts.
Zoning restrictions on fast food restaurants near schools and playgrounds, community policing to improve safety around public recreational sites, requirements that publicly run after-school programs limit video game and TV time and taxes on high-calorie, low-nutrient foods and drinks are some of the strategies local government officials can use to combat childhood obesity epidemic in their communities, according to the report.
“Local officials can make a dent in the obesity epidemic, as demonstrated by the examples we highlighted in this report,” Eduardo J. Sanchez, MD, MPH, chair of the IOM Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments, said in a press release. Sanchez is director of the Institute for Health Policy at The University of Texas School of Public Health and vice president and chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas.
“Although leisure activities and food consumption are personal matters, local environments influence the choices people make,” he said. “It’s hard to eat fruit instead of chips or cookies when neighborhood stores carry little fresh produce, or to bike to school on busy roads with no bike lanes.”
Actions for healthy eating, increased physical activity
Many communities in the United States lack sources of healthy food choices or may not provide safe places for children to walk or play, making it difficult for children to act in healthy ways.
The report cites 10 examples of local efforts to promote healthy eating and physical activity, including:
- Increasing community access to healthy foods by creating incentive programs (tax credits, grant and local programs, etc.) to attract supermarkets and grocery stores to underserved neighborhoods.
- Realigning public transportation routes so residents have easy, affordable access supermarkets and grocery stores.
- Requiring menu labeling with nutrition information in restaurants to improve the availability and identification of healthy foods and offering incentives to restaurants that promote healthier options (ie, substituting fruits or vegetables for French fries).
- Expanding community access to fruits and vegetables through farmers’ markets, farm stands and community gardens.
- Mandating strong nutrition standards for foods and drinks offered in publicly-run entities such as after-school programs and cafeterias and vending machines.
- Increasing participation in federal, state and local government nutrition assistance programs.
- Adopting a pedestrian and bicycle master plan to encourage activity in the community.
- Planning a network of sidewalk and street crossings to create a safe walking environment that connects to schools and parks.
- Instituting regulatory policies that mandate minimum play space, physical equipment and duration of play in preschool, after-school and child care programs.
“All children, including those in poor neighborhoods, should be able to find apples and carrots as easily as potato chips and French fries. They should be able to find a safe place to walk and play,” Susan Middlestadt, PhD, health behavior expert at Indiana University Bloomington’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, said in a press release.
“With its strategies to improve the environment, this report moves us forward and may help ensure the life expectancy of today’s children is not reduced,” she added.
Strategies to raise awareness
The report also offers strategies to reduce access and consumption of unhealthy foods through the elimination of advertising and marketing near schools and public places frequented by children and adolescents.
To raise awareness of the benefits of a healthy lifestyle, the committee recommended development of media campaigns through the utilization of various media, including TV, internet and social networking.
These are starting points that may help officials initiate childhood obesity prevention plans tailored to their jurisdictions’ resources and needs, according to the report.
The report highlighted efforts in place in Austin, Texas; Baltimore; New Orleans; New York City; Henderson, Texas; Shelby, Mont.; Somerville, Mass.; San Diego County; King County, Wash.; and the state of Michigan.
“We’re entering a third era, where we’re recognizing that it’s the social and environmental conditions in which people live that have the greatest influence on whether they can eat healthy foods and whether they can engage in physical activity, should they want to and be educated to do so,” Llyod Kolbe, PhD, professor in the department of Applied Health Science at Indiana University Bloomington’s School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation, said in a press release. “This is exactly what needs to be done if we’re going to be effective in reducing the obesity pandemic worldwide.”
The report is from the Institute of Medicine and National Research Council. The study was supported by funds from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and CDC.
For more information:
- Committee on Childhood Obesity Prevention Actions for Local Governments. Local government actions to prevent childhood obesity. http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3788/59845/72798.aspx. Published Sept. 1, 2009. Accessed Sept. 1, 2009.