Battling obesity
Published: Tue, May. 27, 2008 12:30AM
Modified Tue, May. 27, 2008 06:25AM
E-Mail
Print
tool name
closeI greatly appreciated the May 18 article "Obese kids face life of problems." What acting U.S. Surgeon General Steven Galson rightfully calls "a national catastrophe" is a troubling issue in North Carolina, where the number of seriously overweight children has nearly tripled in the past two decades.
The work being done nationally by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and others is exemplary. Our state has its model "Eat Smart Move More" plan for action at all levels. Local organizations are acting, too. Last year, the John Rex Endowment launched its Healthy Weight Initiative, a long-term effort to combat childhood obesity.
With funding from the endowment, 15 Wake County elementary schools are promoting healthy food choices and an active lifestyle, five neighborhoods are increasing opportunities for active living and WakeMed is expanding ENERGIZE!, a program that helps children reduce the risk of developing diabetes.
More Letters
Combating childhood obesity will take ongoing, coordinated and multi-pronged efforts. Our goal must be to create communities where healthy eating and physical activity are a way of life. The endowment is committed to promoting healthy weight in Wake County's children by providing resources to initiate innovative programs and community-wide solutions.
Kevin Cain
President and CEO, The John Rex Endowment, Raleigh
Get it all with convenient home delivery of The News & Observer.
The News & Observer is pleased to be able to offer its users the opportunity to make comments and hold conversations online. However, the interactive nature of the internet makes it impracticable for our staff to monitor each and every posting.
Since The News & Observer does not control user submitted statements, we cannot promise that readers will not occasionally find offensive or inaccurate comments posted on our website. In addition, we remind anyone interested in making an online comment that responsibility for statements posted lies with the person submitting the comment, not The News and Observer.
If you find a comment offensive, clicking on the exclamation icon will flag the comment for review by the administrators, we are counting on the good judgment of all our readers to help us.
