First Lady Michelle Obama has been incredibly vocal in the fight against obesity, especially among our nation’s youth. This week she announced the goal of ending childhood obesity in a generation. While this is certainly a lofty goal, I’m optimistic about the progress that will be made. Why? A few factors:
- Childhood obesity is one of the few “all-sides” issues remaining. Red or blue, left or right, rich or poor, we can all agree obesity rates nearing 20% among our youth requires action now. Too often, politics get in the way of progress.
- A multi-faceted approach – The First Lady has mandated plans from federal agencies, schools, foundations, and even grocery stores for helping attack the crisis head on. There will be no single solution.
- Awareness is on the rise - More and more folks we talk to already have obesity on their radar. The costs, both human and financial, are too great for elected officials and the media to ignore any longer. As a nation we’re quickly moving passed establishing a problem and are ready to look for solutions.
Optimism aside, Mrs. Obama and her team must begin to approach the problem from a few angle(s) in order to be successful. Our youth are quick to disregard advice given in a “do as I say, not as I do” tone. As we learned in the 80′s & 90′s, it’s virtually impossible to teach kids not to smoke if adults don’t practice what they preach. Obesity is no different. We’ll all need to be healthier if the next generation stands a chance of breaking the obesity cycle.
