By Patricia Carter
June 16, 2008

In the past few weeks, newspapers across the country have reported that the incidence of childhood obesity, which had risen sharply in the last three decades, may be starting to level off. This news comes courtesy of a study by the National Center for Health Statistics that was published recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). Authors of the JAMA study conclude that childhood obesity hit a plateau from 1999 to 2006.

While this is good news, it is also news that must be digested with a hefty dose of perspective. Plateaus, after all, come in all shapes and sizes. For instance, the highest plateau in the world is China’s Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which has an average height of 4,500 meters above sea level, and its highest peak, Mount Everest, is 8,848 meters above sea level. The height of the childhood obesity plateau is considerable—one-third of all Americans under eighteen are currently overweight or obese. This translates into tens of millions of young people who are at risk for disease and premature death.

Commentary that accompanied the official report noted, “We’re not out of the woods by any stretch. Even if rates don’t go up any more, they are so high that the full impact of the childhood obesity epidemic will continue for the next few decades.” Community leaders must keep childhood obesity in the forefront of public discourse to ensure that the policies and practices that undoubtedly contributed to the creation of the current plateau can be enhanced and extended to help further reduce the incidence of childhood obesity.

At a June 6 leadership conference held in Washington (DC) and co-sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Dr. Dwayne Proctor of RWJF noted five action steps that, if undertaken, show promise for ending the childhood obesity epidemic. Proctor’s suggested action steps are:

1. Get healthy foods in schools.

2. Increase food access in communities. Expand the availability of things like farmers markets, food coops and traditional grocery stores.

3. Increase physical activity in schools.

4. Make communities safer. When citizens feel safe, they are more likely to use their community for recreation and exercise.

5. Limit screen time. Children and others who are involved in sedentary activities with TV, computers or video games are likely to miss out on vital opportunities to be physically active.

To learn more about what localities across the country are doing to fight childhood obesity, join the Mayors’ Healthy Cities Campaign. The Campaign is educating leaders about the impact of public policies on the health of children and providing information about policies and programs that support active living and access to healthy foods. To join the campaign online, go to the website http://www.usmayors.org/chhs/healthycities_registration.asp or contact Patricia Carter at PCarter@usmayors.org.