Obesity- related news from the past week!
January 20 - Washington, DC: In a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Michelle Obama announced her plans to launch a major initiative
to fight against childhood obesity in February. Her idea is "To put in place common-sense initiatives and solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids." For an article discussing her plans, click here.
January 18 - Boston, MA: As part of a Governor Deval Patrick's major campaign to fight childhood obesity, Public health officials require that all public schools in the state calculate BMI for students in the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth grades. Although this initiative launched last year, the
state expects that schools will increase screenings this month, freeing up time that was used earlier in the year for administering swine flu vaccines. For more details on this campaign, click here.
January 13 - New York, NY: The Centers for Disease Control released data suggesting that obesity rates for Americans may have reached a plateau. While the percentages of obese Americans are not increasing, they are remaining constant at very high levels. According to the CDC, "Nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent." Among experts, the debate over the progress of the obesity epidemic continues. For a New York Times article discussing the findings, click here.
January 12 - Cambridge, MA: The Institute for Community Health (ICH), a collaboration of Massachusetts health care systems, has been awarded a Harvard Catalyst Pilot Grant to develop a targeted intervention to reduce obesity among African-American youth. ICH's Dr. Chomitz says that although Black and Hispanic children are twice as likely to be overweight or obese, "Currently, there exists little evidence on effective interventions to reduce BMI disparities among communities of color." For more details about this effort, click here.
(source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
January 20 - Washington, DC: In a meeting of the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Michelle Obama announced her plans to launch a major initiative
to fight against childhood obesity in February. Her idea is "To put in place common-sense initiatives and solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids." For an article discussing her plans, click here. January 18 - Boston, MA: As part of a Governor Deval Patrick's major campaign to fight childhood obesity, Public health officials require that all public schools in the state calculate BMI for students in the first, fourth, seventh, and tenth grades. Although this initiative launched last year, the
state expects that schools will increase screenings this month, freeing up time that was used earlier in the year for administering swine flu vaccines. For more details on this campaign, click here. January 13 - New York, NY: The Centers for Disease Control released data suggesting that obesity rates for Americans may have reached a plateau. While the percentages of obese Americans are not increasing, they are remaining constant at very high levels. According to the CDC, "Nearly 34 percent of adults are obese, more than double the percentage 30 years ago. The share of obese children tripled during that time, to 17 percent." Among experts, the debate over the progress of the obesity epidemic continues. For a New York Times article discussing the findings, click here.
January 12 - Cambridge, MA: The Institute for Community Health (ICH), a collaboration of Massachusetts health care systems, has been awarded a Harvard Catalyst Pilot Grant to develop a targeted intervention to reduce obesity among African-American youth. ICH's Dr. Chomitz says that although Black and Hispanic children are twice as likely to be overweight or obese, "Currently, there exists little evidence on effective interventions to reduce BMI disparities among communities of color." For more details about this effort, click here.
(source: Robert Wood Johnson Foundation)
