Environmental Influences on Obesity
There is considerable interest in identifying and influencing various environmental, or ecological, variables that have been shown to – or are believed to – contribute to the obesity epidemic among children and adults in the US (BTW, speaking with a colleague yesterday who just returned from 5 years in El Salvador, she noted that the prevalence of childhood obesity “exploded” in front of her eyes during that time. The problem, she said, is no longer micronutrient deficiencies. Will obesity prevention programs expand to developing countries - or do poverty reduction goals come first?). Some recent news articles have reported on research and activities around school policies, television viewing habits, urban sprawl and a new private sector initiative.
Schools
From the San Francisco Chronicle - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, kicking off a statewide campaign to reduce obesity, signed landmark legislation Thursday that will raise nutritional standards for food sold at California schools and ban the sale of sodas on all campuses by 2009.
California will have the toughest school food nutrition guidelines in the nation when the new laws take effect. The legislation, which Schwarzenegger signed over the objections of the California Chamber of Commerce and food manufacturers, drew praise from educators and physicians who see it as a way the state can make a significant difference in shaping the health of the state's children.
SB12 sets nutrition standards for schools with the aim of limiting the amount of calories and sugar content that children consume. SB965 will extend the state's ban on the sale of soda during school hours to high schools, allowing only milk, water, juice and electrolyte drinks to be sold. The ban already applies to elementary and middle schools.
The LA Times, in a related story notes - In school vending machines, yogurt, nuts and milk will replace candy bars, chips and colas, while super-size muffins may make way for pizza slices with whole wheat crust and low-fat cheese. Even the giant candy bars sold for band and sport team fundraisers will be banished from campuses during the school day if they fail to meet fat, sugar and calorie standards.
Opposition came from candy makers and the state Chamber of Commerce, which argued that the causes of obesity were more complex than school restrictions could fix.
The Grocery Manufacturers of America also weighed in against the bills, arguing that legislation "will do nothing to motivate students, parents or communities to take the steps necessary to improve their overall health."
The GMA argument is the same one that was used by members of the US Congress when the USDA was preparing the School Meals Initiative for Healthy Children in 1995 and led to the development of the Team Nutrition program. It underscores the point that environmental changes in schools such as changing vending machine selections should be accompanied by other programmatic elements that support healthier food and drink choices to anticipate these objections. [Click here for the report on the Team Nutrition Pilot Study]
More on School Policies
The Detroit News reports that Action for Healthy Kids organization in Michigan has published guidelines on what type of healthy alternatives school districts should offer their students… From eliminating fountain soda drinks and placing timers on vending machines so they can only be used during after-school hours to cutting out cookies and potato chips, the districts are making the moves in anticipation of new state guidelines expected next summer. The federal government has mandated that states instruct school districts to come up with wellness policies by the start of the 2006-07 school year. Those policies should address healthy eating and physical activity at public schools.
Television Viewing
US News and World Report reviews a study in the recent issue of the International Journal of Obesity that offers another look at the relationship between television viewing behaviors and childhood obesity.
Researchers recruited children born in 1972 and 1973 in New Zealand. They first saw the children when they were 3 years old, then followed them every two years until the children turned 15. Between the ages of 5 and 11, the children's parents were asked about how much time their children watched TV; at ages 13 and 15 the kids themselves were asked. Researchers also measured the children's height and weight at each visit.
Children watched an average of 2.3 hours of television a week, and those who watched more were more likely to be overweight than those who watched less. Indeed, the researchers found that TV time was a stronger predictor of childhood obesity than either diet or exercise.
Urban Sprawl
This article from Newsday (Long Island, NY) describes a study on the relationship of living in various types of neighborhoods and the prevalence of adult obesity that appeared in the Journal of Regional Science.
A growing chorus of planners, health officials and others has said that spread-out suburbs discourage walking and might encourage obesity.
Professors Andrew Plantinga and Stephanie Bernell say people who are overweight and sedentary tend to gravitate toward neighborhoods with fewer opportunities for walking because it's not something they care about.
The researchers found that fit people choose to live in neighborhoods that allow them to walk to work or shop and fat people pick places where they need a car.
The study was adjusted to eliminate differences due to income and other factors.
"I think there are lots of really good reasons why you might want to pursue smart growth policies," Plantinga said. "But I think that we have to be careful in thinking that smart growth can deliver health benefits, as people have been suggesting. The public health benefits may in fact be very limited."
And From the Private Sector
USA Today covers the announcement of a new MacDonald’s program, the latest in a string of activities that can be characterized as Corporate Social Responsibility. While such programs are seen by some social marketers as the “holy grail” for reach and impact, as I’ll talk about next week, what you see (or dream) is not necessarily what you get. See some of the criticisms in this article for starters.
McDonald's says 31,000 public elementary schools with 7 million students have agreed to try Passport to Play this year. It's up to individual PE teachers how much they use the new activities such as boomerang golf from Australia; Japan's Mr. Daruma Fell Down, a game similar to red light, green light; and Holland's korfball, which combines elements of basketball and football. Each time students complete a game from another country they will get a stamp in a pretend passport — one of the educational materials that will carry the golden arches logo.
"It is a travesty to have a PE program branded by McDonald's," says psychologist Kelly Brownell, director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University. "It further commercializes schools and gets the company even more publicity with children."
Bill Lamar, McDonald's chief marketing officer, says, "This is part of our ongoing commitment to having children realize the importance of eating right and staying active."
Some obesity experts are not persuaded. Bryn Austin, assistant professor of pediatrics at Children's Hospital in Boston, recently did a study that found most Chicago schools are only a short walking distance from a fast-food restaurant. Pressure is mounting to get fast-food restaurants out of school neighborhoods, she says.
10:17:18 AM 
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