The Harvard Crimson
Published On Tuesday, December 04, 2007
By The Crimson Staff
According to the American Heart Association, nearly one in five American children between the ages of 6 and 11 are overweight. Perhaps that statistic doesn’t resound as much as it should—it means that nearly one in five children today are already on track for developing type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, sleep apnea, and the whole glut of diseases and disorders associated with obesity. If America’s dire obesity epidemic is to be contained, decisive action must be taken in the interest of the public health, starting with policies that encourage children and adolescents to develop healthy habits that will last a lifetime. It is admirable, therefore, that federal lawmakers have recently proposed legislation that recognizes the government’s responsibility in the fight against childhood obesity.