FROM CNN's Jack Cafferty:
The First Lady is calling on America to get moving - in order to fight childhood obesity. Michelle Obama kicked off a national effort at the White House today to try to reverse the growing epidemic.
[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2010/images/02/09/art.michelle.obesity.jpg caption="First Lady Michelle Obama looks on as Pres. Obama signs a memorandum on childhood obesity in the Oval Office. The measure is part of the First Lady's nationwide campaign to combat childhood obesity."]
And the numbers are just staggering: One-third of American children are overweight or obese. And one study shows the number of overweight children from ages six to 19 has tripled since 1970. These kids are at higher risk for diabetes and high blood pressure along with other ailments later in life.
The First Lady's initiative is called the Let's Move campaign, and is focused on what families, communities and the public and private sectors can do to reduce childhood obesity within a generation.
She's calling on everyone to get involved - from parents to teachers, doctors, coaches and children. Her plan covers everything from making healthier choices to getting kids to exercise more to providing healthier and affordable foods to inner cities.
Also, the administration is focusing on several steps that government and private companies can take, including:
- Making package labels easier to read. The FDA is set to work on labels that would appear on the front of the package. And the American Beverage Association has agreed to put calorie labels on the front of its cans and on vending machines within two years.
- The Obama administration wants to invest more money to make school lunches healthier; and major school food suppliers will have to decrease sugar, fat and salt while increasing whole grains and fruits and veggies in their meals.
Here’s my question to you: Why have we allowed one-third of our children to become overweight or obese?
Interested to know which ones made it on air?
Paul writes:
Pretty easy answers, Jack. Two working parents with less time, who are less inclined to monitor and instill discipline. Cheap and convenient junk or fast food that is tasty and accessible everywhere, and a society that focuses on sedentary entertainment (movies, video games, internet, cell phones). Put those three together and you got your answer, Jack. Kids almost have to motivate themselves to solve the problem and it shouldn't be that way.
Frankie writes:
"The American public" has come to be considered as "American consumers." American producers and financiers, a much smaller group of people, do very well and can claim that the economy is strong, the more we consumers manage to consume. It doesn't matter if we are consuming unhealthy food, or overpriced medicine, or goods produced cheaply overseas, just so we consume as much as we can. After all, anything else is socialism, right?
Gary in Oklahoma City writes:
Jack, Have you seen mom and dad lately? There's your answer.
Larry from California writes:
Perhaps you spend too much time on TV and not enough watching it. It's easier to sell things loaded with fat and sugar and so the airwaves are deluged with ads for absolutely unhealthy foods. In the same way that money buys political corruption, it buys obesity, diabetes and death.
Brian writes:
It is the grand scheme of things, Jack. Hasn’t gluttony and slothfulness been the downfall of every great society?
Daniel writes:
One word: cost. Why bother buying fresh food when I can just pop a filler-loaded prepackaged "meal" on the table for a third of the cost?
Eric writes:
When what you see in the mirror is what you see when you look at your kids there is no concept of overweight or obese to teach your children. People allow their children to become what they are used to looking at.
Paul in Florida writes:
Fat kids are easier to find.