WASHINGTON -- Where you live matters when it comes to children's waistlines, says a report that finds lots of options localities could and should use to fight child obesity -- from easy bike paths, to luring healthier stores, to taxes on junk food.
Yes, whether you snack on a carrot or a doughnut is a personal choice, ultimately. But the report by the U.S. Institute of Medicine says local environments hugely influence those choices -- and it calls on city and county governments to make it easier for families to make healthier decisions.
"In some communities, actually doing the healthy thing is not as easy as it might be in other places," said Dr. Eduardo Sanchez, chief medical officer of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, who chaired the institute's report.
"Single actions can make a difference, and one at a time can start you in the right direction."
Two-thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese, and childhood obesity has tripled in the past three decades. Nearly 18% of adolescents now are obese, and doctors worry that we're raising generations who no longer may outlive their parents.
Preventing obesity boils down to being more active and eating more fruits and vegetables instead of fatty fast food and treats. But yesterday's report was sparked because a local government official asked an institute scientist what steps communities can take to do that. How do you get grocery stores that carry healthy produce to build in inner cities, for example?
The report offers a menu of suggestions. Among them:
* Require chain restaurants to post calorie counts.
* Use tax credits and other incentives to attract supermarkets to underserved neighbourhoods; and offer grants to small stores to help them stock healthier items.
* Use zoning laws to restrict fast-food restaurants, junk-food carts and even billboards advertising unhealthy fare near schools.
