Arguments Against Childhood Obesity

Health Advocacy Campaign One area of significant concern throughout the United States is childhood obesity. Children have been becoming unhealthier and overweight every year. “Childhood obesity in the United States presents major health challenges, but neither the medical industry, public health advocates, nor policy makers have identified effective ways of reversing increasing rates of obesity among youth” (Kersh, Stroup, & Taylor, 2011, p. 1). “The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) describes children as being at risk for overweight if they are above the 85th percentile body mass index (BMI) and defines childhood overweight as a BMI at or above the sex- and age-specific 95th percentile BMI cut points from the 2000 CDC Growth

The policy I would like to see implemented would consist of regulations that require all schools to serve only healthy cooked foods. It would also require the schools to provide at least 1 hour a day in rigorous activities for the children, mandating that all children attend. I would also like to see a policy that states that all fast food restaurants provide healthy options as the majority of their menu, for both children and adults. Another part of this policy would be to make these options affordable to the population, at fast food prices. Most children and adults eat out a vast majority of their meals. By having healthy options available, more of the population would be inclined to eat healthier. Additionally, by having the costs be the same as eating a hamburger and fries, more children would eat a healthier diet. This could be accomplished by using the CATCH program above and using proper legislation to expand these ideas to all schools and even fast food restaurants. The strategies I would use to influence policy makers to regulate fast food to become healthier would include: curb fast food marketing to children, limit promotions that target children, reduce public subsidies for fast food corporations, and use zoning in an effort to reduce the fast foods influence on the population. My method would include meeting with the developers of the CATCH program and attempting to team with them to expand. I would elicit how they involved the policy stakeholders to buy into their program. I would then attempt to use the same methods, hopefully with the backing of the CATCH program. I would also elicit help from the American Academy of Pediatrics. By having two major organizations backing me, I would have a better chance of lobbying for these efforts. Another option would be advertising my ideas in the social media. Policy and law makers are