“Many people believe that dealing with overweight and obesity is a personal responsibility. To some degree they are right, but it is also a community responsibility. When there are no safe, accessible places for children to play or adults to walk, jog, or ride a bike, that it is a community responsibility. When school lunchrooms… do not provide healthy and appealing food choices, that is a community responsibility. When new or expectant mothers are not educated about the benefits of breastfeeding, that is a community responsibility. When we do not require physical education in our schools, that is a community responsibility. There is much that we can and should do together.”   

-David Satcher, M.D., PhD
US Surgeon General 1998- 2002  

The prevalence of childhood obesity among US children has increased between two- and four-fold in the last 40 years. In Oregon, one in four eighth graders are now overweight or at risk of becoming overweight.

The implications of the childhood obesity epidemic are significant: a child born today has a one in three chance of becoming diabetic and also faces-for the first time in recorded history- the prospect of a shorter life span than her parents, both due to the ever-rising prevalence of childhood obesity.

This epidemic has come about due to an array of environmental and social changes that severely challenge families’ ability to make healthy choices for their children. These changes include barriers to safe and accessible physical activity and fresh, nutritious foods; coupled with an increase in sedentary pastimes such as television and computers, and more frequent use of cars versus walking and biking for transportation.

Preventing childhood obesity is, overall, the easiest way to “treat” the problem. Most adults know from personal experience that trying to keep or achieve a healthy weight and lifestyle is a constant and challenging experience, often involving making and keeping several beneficial habit changes in order to achieve and maintain success. Likewise, children need our help in tackling the multiple factors that contribute to this looming problem.