Don’t Stop Now!

The January 20 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) includes an article reporting that the rising rate of obesity in the U.S. may have slowed over recent decades. While this is great news, let’s not allow it to distract us from the work that remains. Rather, let’s use this positive momentum to fuel our efforts. The status quo isn’t good enough.

Here is an analogy: Think of the whole country as if I were one person. After someone who is overweight successfully loses some pounds, it’s not unusual for him or her to stall or hit a plateau. If complacency sets in, progress stops – or even reverses. So here’s a pat on the back, America. Now, let’s get back to the challenge.

We still need to work diligently on two fronts: (1) igniting and sustaining a downward trend in weight among obese children and adults and (2) preventing people, especially children, from becoming obese in the first place. Thus, as the American Dietetic Association (ADA) stated in a recent press release commenting on the JAMA article, obesity prevention through a healthy lifestyle remains an important public health priority.

The Healthy Schools Partnership (HSP) – goes straight to the core of the issue in an effort to trigger the systemic cultural change necessary to eliminate the threat obesity poses to the health of our nation. HSP collaborators include the American Council for Fitness & Nutrition Foundation, the ADA Foundation, and PE4Life. We have spoken about the innovative three-year old HSP program in this space before, but here’s a recap: The HSP model places registered dietitians as nutrition coaches in physical education classes. These RDs work seamlessly with physical education teachers to help children adopt eating and activity behaviors that promote energy balance and prevent weight gain.

Even as obesity rates level off, we must continue to work “downstream” with efforts like HSP to ensure that children grow into adulthood with deep-seated values regarding the healthful balance between eating and activity and the tools needed to achieve that balance.