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Childhood Obesity Rates Have Not Improved Under Obama

In 2010, First Lady Michelle Obama unveiled her plan to end the childhood obesity epidemic in the United States. The goal was to reduce childhood obesity to 5 percent by 2030, using a multi-faceted approach: increase the healthy foods available to kids in public settings such as schools; reduce the amount of sugar in kids’ diets; encourage eating more fruits and vegetables; and increase physical activity through initiatives such as her Let’s Move project.

But, as is so often the case when government is involved, the seeds of a good idea failed to grow in the real world. Or, rather, as has been the case so often with this particular administration, “successes” in some parts of the country was offset by abject failures in others.

Predictably, forgotten regions such as Appalachia have seen obesity rates worsen since Obama’s project kicked off. North Carolina, Ohio and West Virginia were among the states where childhood obesity rates increased significantly. In West Virginia, childhood obesity rates rose from 14.4 percent in 2010 to 16.4 percent in 2014. In Chautauqua County, 19.3 percent of children tested from 2012-2014 were considered obese, a slight increase from the 19 percent measured in 2010-12.

To be clear, there is a lot of good information and some fantastic ideas for healthier meals and more physical activity, on the Let’s Move website. But rather than address the economic and cultural factors that brought many children to this point, the program ignores them. A sample two-week grocery list to produce the kinds of healthy meals suggested by the website is intimidatingly expensive — certainly not possible for many families in our area.

Or, consider the suggestion on exercise. While it may, indeed, be possible to encourage kids to get 60 minutes of physical activity daily, the following is not realistic for many families:

“To increase physical activity, today’s children need safe routes to walk and bike ride to school, parks, playgrounds and community centers where they can play after school, and activities like sports, dance or fitness programs that are exciting and challenging enough to keep them engaged,” says the website.

So much of what the Obama administration has attempted to put in place has focused on unrealistic timelines for future goals, while ignoring the realities of the present — those who fall behind are expendable. Parents may, indeed, need a little help in keeping their kids healthy and fit. But as the numbers bear out, the kind of “help” offered by the executive branch has been no help at all.

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