Health Affairs

Editor’s Note: The March issue of Health Affairs is a thematic issue focusing on the child obesity epidemic and supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Two days after the issue and an accompanying series of policy briefs was released at a March 2 Washington DC briefing, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee held the first of a planned series of hearings on child obesity. Today, the Health Affairs Blog offers posts from Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA), the chairman of the HELP Committee (below) and Sen. Mike Enzi (R-WY), the ranking member of the panel.

Most Americans would be shocked to know that, for the first time in our nation’s history, we are in danger of raising a generation of children who will live sicker and die younger than the generation before them. Today, all the gains we have made in life expectancy thanks to public health and wellness programs are at risk. And one of the main reasons is the seemingly inexorable rise in childhood obesity.

Currently more than a third of our children are overweight or obese, and half of these children are clinically obese. Think about that: more than one out of every six kids in America is obese. This is more than twice the rate of just thirty years ago.
 
On Thursday, March 4, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, which I chair, held a hearing to begin a dialogue on how we address this epidemic. This hearing, the first in a series, included expert testimony on how we can take meaningful steps to promote nutrition and exercise among the nation’s children at every level: in the community, at home, and among kids’ role models. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin, who put forth recommendations last month on childhood obesity, described the urgency of the situation.
 
Studies have shown that children who are overweight and obese are at greater risk for a whole range of serious health problems, both during their childhood and in adulthood. Children who are obese are at risk for cardiovascular problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and type II diabetes. And children and adolescents who are obese are likely to remain obese as adults. As a result, one in three children born today runs the risk of developing type II diabetes, and others have higher risks of suffering severe health complications throughout their lives. Unless we reverse this disturbing trend, countless children’s lives will be cut short, all because of a preventable condition.
 
Obesity’s toll on children is especially disturbing. On the macro level, childhood obesity is a national public health crisis. But on the individual level—for each child afflicted with this condition—it is something else. It is a tragedy. A Yale University study concluded that children who are overweight are stigmatized by their peers as early as age three. They are subjected to teasing, rejection, and bullying, and they are two to three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts as well as to suffer from high blood pressure and/or diabetes. The author of the study concluded: “The quality of life for kids who are obese is comparable to the quality of life of  kids who have cancer.” If we are going to transform our nation into a true wellness society, we need to begin with our children.

Childhood obesity is more than a threat to public health; it is also a threat to public and private budgets. By increasing the risk for chronic diseases, obesity drives up the cost of health care. The cost for treating a child who is obese is approximately three times the cost for treating a child of average weight. This adds up to $14 billion annually in direct health expenses, $3 billion of which is for children covered by Medicaid.
 
The cause of this all is simple: children are consuming more calories than they are burning up. They are eating excessive amounts of junk food and not doing enough physical activity. We need to give kids access to healthier food, and we must provide incentives and places for them to be more active.

Fighting Back Against Childhood Obesity  

I applaud and thank First Lady Michelle Obama for recognizing the urgency of this crisis, and for personally mobilizing a new national effort to combat it. As she puts it, “We need commonsense solutions that empower families and communities to make healthy decisions for their kids.” It is just invaluable to have both the First Lady and the Surgeon General teamed up to take on this challenge.
 
There are other reasons for optimism. For instance, at a recent Health Affairs briefing on childhood obesity, researchers reported on multiple initiatives to address the factors driving childhood obesity. Examples include improving primary care’s role in preventing children from becoming obese; promoting healthy behaviors through employer-based programs; and both community-based efforts and public-private partnerships that facilitate healthy choices by increasing access to healthy foods and physical activity. There is a lot of experience and research out there to help us identify the best ways forward.
 
And I am especially pleased that youth role models like Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall, who was also at last week’s hearing, are taking up the effort and encouraging kids to be healthier. As part of the NFL’s Play 60 campaign, he is actively engaging children about the benefits of exercise. It is of great significance that organizations and leaders outside of the scientific and political spheres realize the importance of fighting this obesity epidemic.

I have long been an advocate of passing legislation to help curb the childhood obesity epidemic. Now, with the First Lady’s efforts and increasing national attention, I believe we have reached the moment to enact true reform, so future generations of children will be healthier and happier.

This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 5:10 pm and is filed under All Categories, Children, Chronic Care, Obesity, Policy, Prevention, Primary Care. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.