Childhood Obesity: Causes and Prevention (Symposium Proceedings)

Excerpt from the report Foreword: In the 1940's, as the Nation positioned itself to enter World War II, it became increasingly evident that many of our young recruits coming primarily from the farms and rural communities of America were bone-thin and hollow-cheeked to the point of failing their physicals. In response to the problem of malnourishment, President Harry S Truman created the National School Lunch Program. Over the years, with the aid of Federal food assistance programs, expanding agricultural production, and a growing economy, malnourishment soon vanished. Today, we as a Nation are faced with a different and possibly more difficult and intractable crisis — that of obesity at epidemic proportions. Of particular concern is the problem of childhood obesity. Today, 1 in 5 children is overweight or obese. Childhood obesity is likely to persist into adult life and puts individuals at risk for stroke, hypertension, diabetes and other chronic diseases. It is also in childhood where eating habits are formed for a lifetime. Now as never before, the nutrition and medical communities are acutely aware of the link between nutrition and health. To focus attention on this growing problem, we at the Department of Agriculture held a symposium on Childhood Obesity: Causes and Prevention on October 27, 1998. There some of the leading scientific and policy experts in nutrition, diet and physical activity gathered to discuss solutions to prevent long-term health risks associated with childhood obesity.