America Needs Aggressive Approach to Fight Obesity

COMMENTARY | Jamie Oliver's "Food Revolution" is a television show that shines light on and proposes solutions for America's problem with obesity, heart disease and diabetes. On Tuesday's season premiere, Oliver continued his quest to educate people throughout the world about both the dangers and benefits of certain types of diets.

"It should surprise no one that Jamie concentrates a substantial portion of his effort on what kids eat - specifically what school feed to kids. Obviously at face value this is an unarguably noble cause," reports Huffington Post.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) state that about 17 percent of America's children are considered obese. Obese children face a set of risk factors that their healthy weight peers typically do not, such as high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. There are also social stigmas involved that can lead these children and teens to develop emotional, mental and self-esteem issues.

A healthy weight in its simplest form is achieved and maintained through a healthy diet and adequate exercise. The CDC takes it much further. It states that we also need to work on reshaping our entire lifestyle. We need to watch less television, overhaul school lunch programs to ensure they are nutritious, incorporate physical activity opportunities at work and promote wellness at the individual community level. We need to take an aggressive approach.

In recent years, school budget cuts have left many schools without physical education programs or recess. The CDC says we should provide all school children, grades kindergarten through 12^th grade, with quality physical education on a daily basis. We also need to make sure that nutrition standards are met for all breakfast and lunch programs, offering every student in the country low-calorie, low-fat and low-sugar food options.

The consequences of obesity are deadly. Heart disease, high cholesterol, Type 2 diabetes and associated complications kill millions of Americans every year. All are preventable medical conditions. Obesity is preventable. It takes aggressive efforts and needs to start at both the individual and community levels. Individuals need to take responsibility and take advantage of the resources available, and then communities need to make resources available.

In the United States, obesity is the number two cause of preventable death. Nine million children are overweight and 60 million adults are obese. The risk factors obesity sets us up for are preventable. Losing just 5 percent of your body weight lowers your risk of these factors.

Jamie Oliver has the right idea. He has a goal to get the world healthy, one person at a time. His approach is subdued. We need an aggressive approach to this growing problem. However, at this point, any approach, and any lives saved, is a step in the right direction toward a healthier and longer-living America.