Last week Mayor Bloomberg announced a New York City Initiative aimed at addressing the growing obesity epidemic. “Reversing the Epidemic: the New York City Obesity Task Force Plan to Prevent and Control Obesity” received attention largely because of its’ recommendations regarding putting limits on the portion sizes of sodas and sweetened drinks, but in reality is a comprehensive report which can serve as a model for all communities grappling with this public health challenge.
Among NYC children ages 6-11, 21 percent are obese. This generation is at risk for premature diabetes, heart disease and death. Long Island is not immune-as a matter of fact there are some communities on LI where the prevalence of obesity may be 25% higher than in NYC. Not only is obesity a health challenge, but it is a threat to our economy by virtue of both direct medical costs and lost worker productivity from obesity related illness.
The NYC Task Force focused on the environmental support of obesity. Food packaging was a major concern. Sugary drinks are the leading cause of excess calorie intake in adults, and are the biggest contributor to the rise in the average daily caloric intake over the past three decades. Structural support for physical activity was also analyzed, as countries with building and architectural codes supportive of walking, biking and public transportation use have lower levels of obesity.
The Report included recommendations from three active workgroups: Food environment, Physical activity/physical design and City Practices. Examples of these are recommendations are:
- Developing “Wellness Councils” in public schools
- Installing more water fountains in schools to encourage water/discourage sugary drinks
- A “school gardens” initiative
- Salad bars in NYC schools
- Adopt the “Move to Improve” initiative
- Establish a maximum size for sugary drinks
- Expand healthy food access in the retail environment
- Establish a center to facilitate architecture and construction which encourages physical activity
- Create a city wide bicycle network
- Offer wellness programs to all NYC employees
- Improve the diagnosis of obesity in hospitals, health clinics and schools
Although we can debate the merits of some of these proposals, the importance of the initiative is the proposal to treat obesity as a public health issue, and to approach it as a societal problem with roots in our neighborhood and environment.
Hopefully, communities throughout the country, including Long Island, will take note of New York City’s plans, and discuss how schools, businesses and politicians can work together to fight the epidemic of obesity.
And because there's no such thing as discipline or responsibility for our own actions, we must have the "Nanny State" to do it for us. And with parental liability, the government will levy fines on you for every scoop of ice cream, each cookie, or donut you feed your child. You're a terrible parent for feeding sugar to your children... shameful.. Have we gone communist? We're allowing the government to dictate all of our daily actions? What happened to "don't tread on me"? I find it repulsive that the "government" has to tell me what to eat, when to sleep, or when to defecate. Sugar is not bad. Lots of sugar is. Education should be the way to go... not regulation. This sugar thing sets a dangerous precedent. What's next? Create laws that limit the sale of red meat to one 8 oz portion a month because it's linked to certain cancers? Limit Bacon sales to the public because of Nitrates? Create laws that limit sun exposure because of the risks of skin cancer? We're going to far... what do we cherish most? i thought it was Freedom, but I could be wrong.
http://bittman.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/06/06/limit-soda-for-kids-sake/ And then remember what it was like 30 years ago when smoking was cool and everyone did it and you didn't have to wear a seatbelt.
Yeah, sugar is bad in large amounts... but inactivity is worse. Drinking one 16 oz soda while doing nothing but playing Halo is worse than drinking a 32 oz soda after 3 hours of pickup basketball, burning 1500 calories; there's more sweat in your shirt than in the drink. 30 years ago, I remember an active junior society on LI/RVC. Ballparks were filled with kids; playing, running, etc. you couldn't find one ballpark that was empty. nowadays, the parks are grazing fields for geese. Prior to my move, I used to walk by Lister all the time; It's a ghost town compared to past years. Kids are so into onling gaming, texting, and "stuff" that playing a pickup game of football is uncool... unless it's professionally organized with uniforms. Only pick-up games I see anymore are 40-somethings reliving the good ol days. The real problem is the increasing sedentary lifestyle of all its citizens. Even a normal well-balanced diet is murder on someone who does nothing but sit in front of a computer for 8 hours a day. Instead of placing stupid bans on soda size, require more physical activity in schools for our children. Instead of 1 hr of gym, make it 2 hrs. Make at least one sports activity (track, soccer, basketball, football, baseball, softball, etc.) mandatory for all children under the age of 18. that would cure the obesity problem of our youth.
They don't have the guts to take on the alcohol and restaurant/bar businesses, but pick on the little guy who wants to enjoy one harmless soft drink. Throw these liberal bums out to the curb and restore our freedom to live by our own rules.
Soon sex will be banned by Bloomberg and his Nannies because it has been deemed unhealthy and disease related/