Two recent studies have reportedly suggested that obesity rates in America have remained constant for at least five years among men and closer to 10 years for women and children. Using data obtained from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC’s) National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), researchers concluded that although approximately 32 percent of men and 35 percent of women are obese, “the increases in the prevalence of obesity previously observed do not appear to be continuing at the same rate over the past 10 years, particularly for women and possibly for men.” In addition, a separate study apparently found a similar plateau in obesity rates for children. “Right now we’ve halted the progress of the obesity epidemic,” William Dietz, CDC’s Director of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, was quoted as saying. “The data are really promising. That said, I don’t think we have in place the kind…
Tag Archives obesity
A forthcoming study has reportedly concluded that, in terms of quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) lost, “the overall health burden of obesity among U.S. adults has increased consistently since 1993” and now rivals the overall health burden of smoking. Haomiao Jia and Erica Lubetkin, “Trends in Quality-Adjusted Life Years Lost Contributed by Smoking and Obesity: Does the Burden of Obesity Overweight [sic] the Burden of Smoking?,” American Journal of Preventative Medicine, February 2010. Researchers examined “the trend of the health burden of smoking and obesity for U.S. adults from 1993 to 2008 using currently available population-based data” obtained from the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, which has interviewed more than 3.5 million individuals. Designed to quantify the years gained by a health intervention while adjusting for quality of life, QALYs apparently use “preference-based measurements of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) to provide an assessment of the overall burden of diseases associated…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recently hosted a forum titled “Sizing up Food Marketing and Obesity,” which heard proposals from federal agencies, consumer watchdogs and industry representatives for regulating food advertising to children. In addition to addressing new research, First Amendment issues and self-regulatory initiatives, the forum unveiled a set of proposed nutritional standards (SNAC PAC) developed by an interagency working group at the request of Congress. Co-authored by FTC, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Department of Agriculture, SNAC PAC sets out three standards designed to limit the marketing of foods to children ages 2 through 17. Standard I describes foods that “are part of a healthful diet and may be marketed to children without meeting Standards II and III,” including (i) “100 percent fruit and fruit juices in all forms”; (ii) “100 percent vegetables and vegetable juices in all…
British researchers studying 300 Caucasian children with “severe early-onset obesity” (that is, 220 pounds by age 10) discovered that rare chromosome 16 DNA deletions, which remove a gene the brain needs to respond to leptin, an appetite-controlling hormone, gave the children a “very strong drive to eat.” Elena Bochukova, et al., “Large, rare chromosomal deletions associated with severe early-onset obesity,” Nature, December 6, 2009. According to one of the researchers, these children are “very, very hungry, they always want to eat.” Several children in the study had apparently been placed on the social services “at risk” register because authorities assumed their parents were deliberately overfeeding them. According to news sources, these children have now been removed from the register. While some medical experts cautioned that most overweight children do not have the gene deletion, they urged authorities to provide support to families with obese children. One was quoted as saying, “The…
This symposium article, co-authored by public health officials and a lawmaker, an attorney and a physician, presents the legal perspective on obesity prevention and control and focuses, for the most part, on public health laws and initiatives that have begun to address issues that affect obesity. The examples cited include laws regulating the nutritional value of food available to students and children in child care programs, mandating physical activity for schoolchildren, imposing zoning or land-use restrictions to increase access to affordable healthy foods and limit access to high-calorie foods and beverages, and creating incentives to offer and enroll in wellness programs. The article outlines how partnering with diverse stakeholders is essential “to design and apply law-based strategies” and provides examples of how this was done in several communities and resulted in nutrition labeling of food on restaurant menus and incorporating physical activity projects in municipal development plans. The authors contend…
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has announced a December 15, 2009, public forum titled “Sizing Up Food Marketing and Childhood Obesity,” which will include panels of industry representatives, federal regulators, consumer groups, scientific researchers, and legal scholars. The forum will address (i) the progress of self-regulatory initiatives, particularly the food and entertainment industries’ responses to the 2008 FTC report, “Marketing Foods to Children and Adolescents: A Review of Industry Expenditures, Activities, and Self-Regulation”; (ii) current research on the impact of food advertising on children; and (iii) the statutory and constitutional issues surrounding governmental regulation of food marketing. In addition, representatives from FTC, the Food and Drug Administration, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Department of Agriculture will report on the status of recommended nutritional standards for foods marketed to children. See FTC Press Release, September 29, 2009.
Nearly 20 organizations reportedly testified last week about the purported link between sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity at a special joint hearing of California’s Senate Select Committee on Obesity and Diabetes and the Senate Health Committee. Several researchers reportedly linked sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and obesity, but an American Beverage Association representative cited research showing that 5.5 percent of calories come from sweetened beverages and that a lack of exercise and other foods also contribute to obesity. She said that solely targeting soft drinks will fail to properly address the obesity issue, claiming research has shown that half of adults who don’t consume soft drinks are also overweight. Senator Elaine Alquist (D-San Jose) reportedly chided industry representatives: “To be told that all calories are equal, that sweetened soda pop is not contributing to obesity . . . the public is not stupid. We know you can do better.” See The Los Angeles Times;…
U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) has reportedly introduced the Growing Safe Food Act (S. 2758) to “help educate and train farmers and food processors in food safety.” Similar to the FDA Food Safety Modernization Act (S. 510) now stalled in the U.S. House of Representatives, the Growing Safety Food Act would create “a national food safety training, education, extension, outreach and technical assistance program for agricultural producers,” including small and mid-sized farms, food processors and wholesalers. The bill also requests $50 million to administer a competitive grant program, which would assist small and mid-sized businesses in “the areas of handling practices, manufacturing, produce safety standards, risk analysis, sanitation standards, safe packaging, storage, traceability, record-keeping, and food safety audits,” according to a November 10, 2009, press released issued by Stabenow, who penned the legislation after small farmers expressed concern that the Food Safety Modernization Act would impose prohibitive inspection fees and…
According to a news source, employers may have more reason to avoid hiring overweight employees after a workers’ compensation board in Indiana and the Oregon Supreme Court ruled that employers must pay for weight-loss surgery if their obese employees suffer weight-related injuries on the job. With no laws banning employment discrimination against the obese, beyond limited areas to which the Americans with Disabilities Act applies, human resource consultants are apparently speculating that fears about the costs of providing weight-loss treatment could increase an existing bias against hiring overweight job applicants. At the very least, some employers have begun requiring that their overweight employees either pay more for health-insurance premiums or enroll in weight-loss programs. While the obese “might call it a gross invasion of privacy and personal choice to have employers so involved in their weight . . . it’s come down to a case where this personal ‘freedom’ is…
The food industry has reportedly halted a new front-of-packaging (FOP) labeling campaign pending Food and Drug Administration (FDA) guidance. According to an October 23, 2009, press release, the Smart Choices Program™ voluntarily postponed active operations after FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg indicated “that the agency intends to develop standardized criteria on which future front-of-package nutrition or shelf labeling will be based.” While awaiting FDA guidance, the program will no longer enroll new companies or encourage use of the logo. “We welcome the FDA’s interest in developing uniform front-of-package and shelf-labeling criteria,” said program chair Mike Hughes. “The Smart Choices Program shares that exact goal, and was designed to provide a voluntary front-of-package labeling program that could promote informed food choices and help consumers construct healthier diets. We continue to believe the Smart Choices Program is an important step in the right direction.” See Reuters, October 23, 2009; FoodNavigator-USA.com and UPI.com, October…
